Cdn Para Corps Cap badge - Bakelite in Silver?

[Bill A]

Rob, Has Ken Joyce seen this badge? (I will send him a link to this thread.)

[Rob Dekker]

Nope, not that I'm aware of.

[Bill A]

Rob, Ken sent me the following:

That is interesting Bill. It all depends whether it is actual silver power plastic OR painted.

They did get samples of a silver plastic badge from The Canadian General Rubber Company before making the final decision to go back to brass. This was done after Bradbrooke commented to Ordnance about the silver plastic Parachute Regiment cap badge they were seeing in England. However those sample badges were made entirely from a silver plastic, not painted silver.

It is true that some British manufacturers did apply a coat of paint to the duller greyish silver of some of their plastic badges but this would not have anything to do with the badge in question.

Now this info is in my Maelstrom book which then raises suspicion. If it is paint, someone may have been trying to cash in on this information by painting it so well that the finish could not be removed.

I have seen painted Cdn Para Corps plastic cap badges in B&W photos however they appear, due to the tone, to be painted gold or to resemble brass. There is a clear shot of Pte. Monte Marsden wearing an example. Unfortunately when I asked Monty about the photo, he could not remember. I have also seen a molding of the plastic badge from a vet painted gold. It appears to be some sort of clear plastic painted gold. There is no way to find a date for that and I suspect was done in Association days for a plaque or something.

So there are these possibilities...

a. Solid Silver Plastic Sample made by Canadian General Rubber Company
b. Original badge painted silver to deceive
c. Badge painted silver by veteran *However this really makes no sense as they would not have been permitted to wear it. That is why Monty wears what looks like a gold painted badge so it resembled the brass issue. Silver would have stood out too much.
d. Possibility that it was painted silver by Veterans Association a long time ago and used for a frame or plaque of some sort.

[Rob Dekker]

Hmmmm....are you daring me to dig or gouge the back of the badge?

[cw2311]

If you can't remove the silver paint Rob, then paint it brown!!

[Rob Dekker]

Found the chocolate!!!

[cw2311]

How did you clean it Rob? Looks pretty good.

[Rob Dekker]

I'm quite pleased with the results but funny story...I found the badge in the trap of the washing machine. Seems that I had left it in my pocket. Anyhow, I noticed some paint had came off along the edge and I was able to scratch more off with my finger nail. I worked up the courage to try other products. First, I tried brake cleaner...notta. Then, I stepped up my game and used xylene with a toothbrush. Scrub for a minute and quench in water and repeat...

[Bill A]

Great result. Make sure none of the active agent is left, especially in the nooks and crannies...

[Rob Dekker]

Rinsed with water and brushed, then decontaminated with Windex and rinsed again. Still see traces of water in the pics.

[Bill A]

If you have access to some compressed air, give it a "brush off" with that. Carefully, obviously.

[Rob Dekker]

Speaking of compressed air...soda blasting would have worked well...is there such thing as a micro blaster?

[Bill A]

Yes there is, but I am not sure how "micro"... or how expensive.
And with this turn of events, it is obvious someone painted the badge..... (maybe it was a period alteration as Ken said...)

[Tanker Mike]

I'm surprised the brake cleaner did not melt the plastic.

[Rob Dekker]

I just made a little dab test on the back...didn't penetrate the paint at all. Also tried a solution of cola and vinegar which didn't work either. It was xylene to the rescue. Full strength acetone might have worked but I couldn't find any in my garage.