• Hi Guest!
    You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

BJ8 Front Emblem

Share this page

Sorry if I'm being a pedant, but it is really Champleve enamel one these badges, not Cloisonne ... Cloisonne uses small flattened wire, sitting on its side - normally pure silver or pure gold - to separate different areas of colour. The term cloisonné refers to 'fences' - the wires. Champleve refers to 'raised walls' like around an irrigation area...
 
Cloisonne
X.jpg
You can see the little wires separating the design/colours.


Champleve
ha-121f.jpg
 
Right you are, CanberraBJ8. The badge construction is more appropriately described as Champlevé (note the accent) than as cloisonné (note the accent). However, the enameled badge could also be described as basse-taille, since the metal badge is stippled in its enamel cavity so as to show a textured effect through the enamel.

Hey, do you know about the BJ8 Registry? If your car came from the USA, I might have some previous history on it.
 
Certainly was a USA car Steve - form sent. Not expecting you to know it, but fingers crossed :smile:
 
Steve,
I believe it is aluminum because it is non-magnetic and I get a black residue when I polish it. It is definitely not chrome and there is no evidence of any residual chrome on the badge. In addition, it tarnishes slightly over time. I would speculate that someone had it stripped, but the red cloisonne is perfect. Hard to believe you could strip the chrome without damaging the red portion.
Thanks.
Gary Sable
 
Hi All,

A while back, I became dissatisfied with my original frontbadge as I had over polished the chrome during the previous 40+ years and the “Champlevé” became discoloredat one part. As a result, I purchased anew badge and was disappointed to find that, within only 4 years ofinstallation, it shed the colored portion. Additionally, I was late to notice that the lettered portion of thecasting was also rounded and much thinner than original and very closelyresembles the picture posted by BigGreen. Having installed the acquired part long after purchase and having it inplace for at least 4 year, I never thought to return or complain about thequality or rapid deterioration of this badge.

Istill have this badge and tried to purchase some red translucent paint from ahobby shop to replace the color. Hasanyone succeeded in applying a Champlev’e-replicating color to this badge? If so, what did you use and how did you doit? I am not talking about red paint butsomething that would provide the translucent color depth of the original (eventhough it will still have the skinny letters).

Ray(64BJ8P1)
 
CanberraBJ8 said:
Certainly was a USA car Steve - form sent. Not expecting you to know it, but fingers crossed :smile:
Click to expand...

Yes, I have it. I'll be contacting you directly with some history. Thanks very much for completing the questionnaire.
 
RAC68 said:
Hasanyone succeeded in applying a Champlev’e-replicating color to this badge? If so, what did you use and how did you doit? I am not talking about red paint butsomething that would provide the translucent color depth of the original (eventhough it will still have the skinny letters).

Ray(64BJ8P1)
Click to expand...

There was a fellow south of here that was an enamelist (I say was, as he has in the last few years succumbed to the 'Big C' - which I rather suspect was partly due to working with enamels...) and a very good one at that. One of the services he provided was re-enamelling car badges. So it must be possible. I have done an amount of enamelling myself, but wonder what effect firing the enamel has on the chromed badge. Pity this guy isn't around anymore, or i could ask him :-(

Does anyone know what effect heat has on chrome? I'd try it on my badge - which has a section missing the enamel (don't know if it is the original badge, as it was on the car, and as now, when i bought it), but dont want to risk damaging it further...

There are some lower melting point enamels available, so the temp might not have to be extreme. I think something like 400 degrees celsius from memory?

Sorry - to answer the question of how is enamelling done - enamel is essentially ground up glass, with the colour coming from various oxides included in the glass. It is generally applied (at least in jewellery and similar objects) mixed with water so it can be picked up with a small brush and 'loaded' onto/into the metalwork. The water must then be dried off, and then the piece fired in a kiln. The enamel is built up in thickness gradually, as trying to fill the recess in one or two goes results in the enamel fracturing as it cools due to the shrinkage differences in the metal and glass, and perhaps there is also a 'tempering' effect on the glass (not sure about that). It generally is a slow and skilled process...
 
Last edited:
I have got myself an other one ;-)

AH BadgeRedPaintMKIII.jpg
 
@ Bob,

I still have to find out, its on its way from Germany
As soon as it arrives I will see if i can tell what it is

Hans

Edit
It arrived and thus I found out it to be a reproduction
Somewhat sad, but the price was low enough not to complain
The letters are what they need to be (round on top)
But the paint is to much like the cloisoné and not as dark as it looked in the picture in #32

Hans
 
Last edited:
Fingers crossed, another one coming in from the UK
Must be over 30 years old

AHBadgeRedPaintMKIII.jpg

Edit; Paint is the same IRL as in the picture, dull red. The badge itself is chrome.
The seller told me it was in a drawer for more than 30 years
The threads at the back are used, but in good condition

Hans
 
Last edited:
Another Painted BJ8 badge on eBay
In a bad state, but showing the (original) colour
AHBadgePaint eBayUSA.jpg
 
.
I have two BJ8 front badges without any trace of paint, and I have seen many more. It is my opinion that some left the factory without cloisonné/champlevé or paint. I've seen too many without the slightest trace of red paint to justify the notion that the paint was polished off, in my opinion.
 
Yea Reid I have read somwhere that an unpainted badge was used on a group of cars but i do not recall the information.--Fwiw


I am away from home on a shared computer and can not check my files OK.
 
I have a late 67 BJ8 that had an unpainted/aluminum badge on it when I got it . It doesnt appear like the paint wore off . When I restored it I put on the cloisonne style badge as they look way better .
I can sell you the unpainted one if anyone is looking . Its in my box of sundry Healey left-overs . I need to have a garage sale and make some space someday .
 
Back
Top