Making Enthusiasts Grille Badges

by Gar Cole.

The Group grille badges have always been received warmly by our members with very positive comments in the quality and detailing. A common question I'm asked is why it takes over 8 weeks to make just 60 - 80 badges, well last year I was invited to our suppliers workshop for a tour; if you're interested in top quality old-school British craftsmanship then read on.

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There are no computers on the shop floor, just old-looking mechanical presses and other interesting devices. The badges start by being stamped out from a sheet of 2.5mm thick steel. Once the desired amounts are cut they are individually smoothed around the edges with a belt wheel, then placed into a clamp where there are stamped with our design using our custom tool head.

Now the artistry starts; the writing and outer edges of the flag are raised with the coloured areas recessed from the press, the white, red and blue enamel paint is applied by hand (fascinating to watch), the outer lettering is also covered in white paint at this point as is the centre writing in the middle of the flag in red paint.

Once applied the badges are 'cooked' in the oven for 30 mins at 220f. Following this they are allowed to cool and 'stabilise' for 24hrs. The next process is to lightly sand the leading face; this carefully removes all the enamel paint from the raised surfaces of the lettering, outer ring and the flag borders which re- exposes the base steel metal on the raised surfaces.

After cleaning , the coloured areas are filled in with a type of wax using a tiny pipette - this protects the paint from the next process. The badges are then dipped in a large bath of bubbling steaming chemicals firstly for a short 20 seconds, then twice more, each time progressively longer to build up the 'Rose Gold' plating which interestingly is their most expensive finish - we do like quality in this group.
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Following the plating process they are hung to cool again, then the protective wax covering the paint is dissolved in a solution. Finally the newly-plated rose gold finish is polished to a bright shine on a finishing belt machine. All very labour-intensive, but the quality speaks for itself; currently available to buy below.

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