Tailgate Lettering Technique

[cericd]

I’m going to post this question here because I know this is where it should go. Not sure how many eyes will see it since the main forum gets more traffic but I hope to find an answer to a question I’ve see asked before but never truly answered.

Do any of you know how the tailgate lettering was originally painted? Every repainted gate that I’ve seen has had the crisp edges that proper taping and masking provides (or has had the vinyl lettering). On every unaltered tailgate that I’ve seen, the lettering paint has soft/feathered edges, often slightly misaligned. I would really like to replicate that look when I have my lettering redone. I’d imagine some sort of template was used but I can’t figure out how they got the soft edges. I’m sure it was unintentional but it has a certain authentic look to me that I would prefer on a stock build.

Anyone know exactly how it was done originally or the best way to replicate it?

[MARTINSR]

I have wondered this myself and I believe it was done like a "silk screen." I think something like a cloth was painted, it then was set on the gate transferring the paint to the gate. I THINK is is how it was done.

I know you could practice it and see how it works easy enough. It would have to be a very fine cloth with something to soak up paint behind it.

Again, this is just something I have thought for years, I could be wrong.

Brian

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by MARTINSR

I have wondered this myself and I believe it was done like a "silk screen." I think something like a cloth was painted, it then was set on the gate transferring the paint to the gate. I THINK is is how it was done.

I know you could practice it and see how it works easy enough. It would have to be a very fine cloth with something to soak up paint behind it.

Again, this is just something I have thought for years, I could be wrong.

Brian

What you have described is called "pad printing". That's often how the lettering on gages is produced.

The '67-72 programs were a little before my time, and there is no one left here to ask, so I will speculate just like you all.

One point worth mentioning is that when painting two tones we normally apply the secondary color first, then mask the pattern and spray the primary color over the top. Removing the tape and masking reveals the desired two tone.

I would suspect tailgate lettering would be done in a similar fashion, except a reusable mylar or plastic mask could be used. Taking the stepside gate as an example - one could spray the "inset" color (white or argent) and create a mask for the "G M C" letters. Spray the primary color on the gate and you would be done.

By the time I started with GM the tail gate letters were adhesive, either white or black.

K

[hewittca]

I've also been interested to know how the gates were painted. I believe that the primary color was actually painted first, then the lettering. I'm only going by what I've observed on patina'd trucks here, and every single one that has fading of the lettering has the primary color showing through.

Another thing that may allude to how the feathered edge was "achieved" is that only the inset was painted, not the radiused edges. I could image that a mask laying on top of the gate would then have depth between it and the inset so that when the lettering color was sprayed, it would result in the feathered edge.

Picture of my untouched original '68 gate for reference.

[cericd]

Thanks for the input Brian. I can't believe that this hasn't been answered on this forum. I've searched for it for about 6 years now on this forum and across the web. I guess no one really cares for the sloppy/soft lines of the original gate lettering. I probably should have posted this in the main forum to get more eyes on it.

[mongocanfly]

if they used the same process in the later yrs then Keith Seymour might know. ..

[cericd]

Thanks for posting that pic hewittca. I was looking for a picture that illustrated that exact point. After reading Keith’s response I remembered seeing several patina and survivor gates with the main color of the truck showing from beneath the worn lettering color. I feel like they must have used some type of template that didn’t seal perfectly to the contours of the stamped lettering. This would account for the alignment being slightly off and the feathered edges. I ran across a website where someone was painting camouflage on models of vintage fighter planes and they kept the stencils raised slightly off the surface of the model which gave the soft edges.

[Keith Seymore]

Looks like I blew that one.

If I can track down one of the "old guys" I will ask them how it was done.

K

[oem4me]

Originally Posted by cericd

Thanks for posting that pic hewittca. I was looking for a picture that illustrated that exact point. After reading Keith’s response I remembered seeing several patina and survivor gates with the main color of the truck showing from beneath the worn lettering color. I feel like they must have used some type of template that didn’t seal perfectly to the contours of the stamped lettering. This would account for the alignment being slightly off and the feathered edges. I ran across a website where someone was painting camouflage on models of vintage fighter planes and they kept the stencils raised slightly off the surface of the model which gave the soft edges.

I'm glad you posted this. I wanted the same factory effect on my gate so I experimented with a masking technique which mimics the factory stencil result as mentioned in the post above.
It's easier than you might think. While toying with ideas, I produced an acceptable result and more or less just left it. Here is a link to my original post (includes pictures) on the process a few years ago. Starts at post #33
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...=409385&page=2

First thing is paint the gate the main body color using proper catalyzed material and let it cure. Then later (after masking described below) paint the letters using non-catalysed paint similar to a high quality spray can. The reason being, If you don't like the result you can easily remove the lettering paint with some mild solvent and start over. Mine happened to come out ok on the first go.
As for the masking itself, let it FLOAT. That is, stick the tape on but let the edge hang out over the indented letter and DO NOT press it down against the metal. Seems crude, but it works! The edges of the letters will be fuzzy and poorly defined as long you apply your paint straight-on and not too heavy.
It's obvious looking at factory originals that the painting process was done quickly with a stencil, and without too much care on accurate registration.
Once the lettering paint is on and dried, if desired you can clean up and refine/define the fluffy edges a bit using some rubbing compound and a hard rubber sanding block tightly wrapped in a cloth. Block only the flats around and in between the letters and leave the painted indents alone. Works like a champ! It's actually really fast and easy.
What you are left with is NO hard edges, NO perfect masking outlines, and NO countless hours spent with fine line tape, buffing, clear coating, etc.

[nsb29]

To me commonsense would mean that it would have to be done on a production base which would mean a stencil So reading through this I was thinking the way to do it would be to mask off the outside of the letters and letting the edge of the tape overhang the recess Slightly I think what OEM4me did is perfect
In 79 I bought a jeep pick up it had raised letters and had literally been painted Poorly with a roller I remember at the time thinking this is the best you could do LOL

[oem4me]

Here's a bunch of pics indicating what the original factory look actually is (60-66 era). All but the last pic in the following post are legit original paint tailgates in good condition. The letters range in appearance from pretty clean to pretty horrible, sometimes even on the same gate!

[oem4me]

More pics.
Obviously, not much need for perfectionism if you are replicating the original look!
The last pic (light blue) is my quick attempt to get a semi-original feel using the floating mask and block/polish technique. It's actually a little too clean, but at least there are no hard edges.

[cericd]

Thanks Keith, that would be cool. I know there are at least a few of us that would like to know.

[CC69Rat]

This is why I didnt paint my tailgate letters in my gold truck. I didnt want that harsh tape line look on the letters, or the vinyl look so I just left them unpainted.

No offense, I like painted letters I jut didnt fool with it in my truck for the cleaned up look.

[MARTINSR]

Originally Posted by CC69Rat

This is why I didnt paint my tailgate letters in my gold truck. I didnt want that harsh tape line look on the letters, or the vinyl look so I just left them unpainted.

No offense, I like painted letters I jut didnt fool with it in my truck for the cleaned up look.

The thing is, you can mask it off, paint the letters and then spend a few hours cutting and polishing the edges so it doesn't have the hard line.

Brian

[mongocanfly]

just curious because ill be painting my tailgate letters soon....would it be better to spray the letter paint first, and then tape the letters and spray the body color?......or vice versa?
mine has raised letters if it matters....

[MARTINSR]

Taping off the previously painted letters then painting the final color would be the easiest for sure. HOWEVER, it depends on the precision of the look you are after. If you do this there will be a pretty big built up edge being the top coat is going to be bc/cc (I would think) and thus that will leave a pretty funky edge.

If you paint the color first and then mask off the letters you can then apply a quick coat or two of ss on the letters and not have as big a build up on the edge. You could polish it a bit as I described in a previous post to make it more "original" looking.

But also, unmasking them after painting the bc/cc can be a monster too, for that reason I would think do the letters last. And what ever you do, make sure it's scuffed well up to the edge! Or your unmasking is going to be a serious bummer.


Brian

[mongocanfly]

thanks Brian. ..

[cericd]

It's been quite a while and I've still never found an answer to this tailgate trivia question so I'm bringing this post back up in hopes that someone may see it and have the answer.

Fingers crossed.

[HAULIN' IT]

I'll add my thoughts...some of what I speculate & some factual. For sure the letters were painted on top of the base color of the truck originally.

Now onto the speculation (from many years in the autobody industry) & also some ideas of how to try to reproduce the effect.

For starters, the paint was an odd, rather transparent product & it appeared to be that one coat was sprayed & move on. You can see the actual "droplets" of paint collected together where the middle of the letters are more solid as it goes toward the edges. At one point, I considered they may be done like a printing press of sorts (rubber pad dunked in paint, then placed up to the truck) but like has been mentioned, Ive seen some WAY off of the raised peaks of the letters, but still mostly painted the right width of each letter...which couldnt happen that way. The last, script off to the side Chevrolet gates (81-87?) seemed to be rather bad for this shift (the smallest/thinnest of all of the gate letters). Once in a while you will see a "thinned" painted letter where say part of the H vertical is thin & the rest is normal which raises even more question.
Im going to explain how we reproduce the chip guard on the bottom of some of the vehicles nowdays that have a straight, but "soft" edge toward the bottom of the vehicle with the purpose of working back into the letters. On the panels hanging vertical as they are/would be on the vehicle we tape a row of 3/8" nuts an inch or so above where we want "the line". On top of the nuts we tape a straight piece of cardboard hanging down past the nuts (the nuts just keep the cardboard up off of the panel) & then spray a careful straight, level coat right at the cardboard & below. When done, you have a straight but not masked-off line with a soft edge.
Back to the letters, my guess is they had a 1/4" to 3/8" thick plastic "guide" with gummy/sticky stuff that held it to the gate (but not vinyl tape like we are used to seeing) with a thin outer layer holding the center of the O & R all in line. Once stuck down, the top layer would be removed & the letters sprayed. Then the plastic chunks removed. Done! The thickness does two things, it makes it easy to grab to remove (unlike a decal mask) & also fuzzes the edges. Paint wont go to the corners when applied straight on into a thick corner. I could be WAY OFF, but that is just my thoughts. We can discuss how I would go about trying to reproduce the "correct" effect if anyone is interested. Lorne

[cericd]

Originally Posted by HAULIN' IT

I'll add my thoughts...some of what I speculate & some factual. For sure the letters were painted on top of the base color of the truck originally.

Now onto the speculation (from many years in the autobody industry) & also some ideas of how to try to reproduce the effect.

For starters, the paint was an odd, rather transparent product & it appeared to be that one coat was sprayed & move on. You can see the actual "droplets" of paint collected together where the middle of the letters are more solid as it goes toward the edges. At one point, I considered they may be done like a printing press of sorts (rubber pad dunked in paint, then placed up to the truck) but like has been mentioned, Ive seen some WAY off of the raised peaks of the letters, but still mostly painted the right width of each letter...which couldnt happen that way. The last, script off to the side Chevrolet gates (81-87?) seemed to be rather bad for this shift (the smallest/thinnest of all of the gate letters). Once in a while you will see a "thinned" painted letter where say part of the H vertical is thin & the rest is normal which raises even more question.
Im going to explain how we reproduce the chip guard on the bottom of some of the vehicles nowdays that have a straight, but "soft" edge toward the bottom of the vehicle with the purpose of working back into the letters. On the panels hanging vertical as they are/would be on the vehicle we tape a row of 3/8" nuts an inch or so above where we want "the line". On top of the nuts we tape a straight piece of cardboard hanging down past the nuts (the nuts just keep the cardboard up off of the panel) & then spray a careful straight, level coat right at the cardboard & below. When done, you have a straight but not masked-off line with a soft edge.
Back to the letters, my guess is they had a 1/4" to 3/8" thick plastic "guide" with gummy/sticky stuff that held it to the gate (but not vinyl tape like we are used to seeing) with a thin outer layer holding the center of the O & R all in line. Once stuck down, the top layer would be removed & the letters sprayed. Then the plastic chunks removed. Done! The thickness does two things, it makes it easy to grab to remove (unlike a decal mask) & also fuzzes the edges. Paint wont go to the corners when applied straight on into a thick corner. I could be WAY OFF, but that is just my thoughts. We can discuss how I would go about trying to reproduce the "correct" effect if anyone is interested. Lorne

Hi Lorne,
thanks for the info. I'd certainly be interested in how you would go about reproducing the "correct" effect. I'm sure I'm in the minority but I like the feathered edge on the lettering. It just looks right to me. Do you have any pictures that illustrate how you would do it?

[raggedjim]

Years ago I remember someone on eBay selling what he said was an original GM factory mask for tailgate letters. He had only one and it was way too much $ for me. I wish I had saved the pics but it was similar to Mar-k's design.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=647295

[cericd]

Hey Mark, thanks for the detailed shots. Looks like you got one that is pretty much straight. I like it. I always enjoy seeing these factory painted gates. Even with any imperfections.

[72c20customcamper]

I picked it up in New Jersey . Was going to paint it since my truck is complex two tone but decided to leave it as is .

[cericd]

Bringing this back up to the top just in case someone with knowledge of the original tailgate lettering method sees this.