embossed crest

[Mark McDonald <tomswift@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I have a '71 coupe which has a similar embossed eagle on the headrests of
the standard bucket seats (kind of a bench/bucket, really).  In fact, that's
one of the reasons I bought the car-- I liked the eagle in the seats so
much.  You don't see that kind of thing anymore and it looks quite nice.
Kind of has a Moorish or Spanish style to it, to my eye.

Anyway, I think you ought to talk to a leather worker, but I think Allan R.
is on the right track.  I think you could use something called liquid latex
to take your first impression.  I'm not sure where you find it-- I know it's
used in theatrical makeup a lot, so you might be able to find it through a
makeup supply company.  It's a liquid that you can brush or pour on, and it
slowly hardens into a rubbery solid.  You will probably need to coat the
area of the seat first with a thin layer of vaseline or maybe Pam to prevent
the latex from sticking too tightly and tearing when you peel it off.  You
might also need to come up with something to act as a backing-- maybe a thin
sheet of foam rubber? --to press onto the latex after you spread it on,
because the latex will be thin.  Then you let it harden, peel it off, lay it
out flat on a board and make a plaster impression as Allan suggested.

I am kind of just thinking out loud here; don't know if it would work.

I believe that the way they did this originally-- I'm guessing-- was to wet
the leather, or soak it, and put it in a press still wet under pressure.
Then, as it dries, it holds the impression.  At least, this is how I seem to
remember being taught how to put your name or initials on a wallet or a
belt.

This type of thing is one of the things that makes an original car so
original and so special-- the craft things that manufacturers used to do but
don't anymore, and which are hard to reproduce.

Good luck, it sounds interesting

Mark

bandmgrinding@xxxxxxxx wrote:

> Hi Mike.
>    If I remember right, there is a way to make a mold of the original
> embossing using a rubber product that dries like silly putty without the
> stretch, you could then transfer this to a hard plastic moulding compound
> or plaster making a male and female. If you use the plaster, you could
> then make a metal male and female mold and use a press to emboss this
> into the leather panel. I know that it sounds like a lot of work but at
> least when you were finished, you would have the original look and I'm
> sure that it would do your heart good every time you looked at the seats.
> Of course, if the originals are embroidered you could find an embroidery
> shop that has a computerized embroiderer and they could copy it from the
> seat or maybe a picture.