Reproduction badges from silicone moulds

[Ratwagon1600]

Hi all.

 

Back from an exciting work adventure so time for an update.

 

Yesterday I finally got around to casting the fender mould I have really been wanting to do.

 

Unlike the first attempt:

 

 

This one came up much better !

 

 

As usual, photos don't do it justice, and despite a milky appearance, the badge itself looks pretty damm good in real life.

 

Second one out of the mould this morning:

 

 

Time for a little bit of a tidy up around the edges and then a coat of the poor mans chrome ( spray chrome).

 

I'm going to airbrush these ones and see if they come out any better than the pressure pack spray, although at the end of the day, when they are on the car they will still look pretty good I think.

 

Finished handpainting the SSS pillar badge:

 

 

Another crappy pic, but, again in real life, doesn't look too bad.

 

Bought a magnifying glass on a stand ( left of pic) and this helped with the finer detail when finishing.

 

If you stand about two feet away it's very difficult to tell whether it's NOS, or a repro ( I think).

 

Need to work out a method for making mounting pins for the fender emblems, have a few ideas, just like everything I need to get time to do it !

 

Cheers

 

Jason

[the nice machine]

Nice work!!! Making things can be so much more fun than buying them. Cool stuff.

[Pedro]

Jason you should look into doing clear lenses for the front comb lenses & front guard arrow lenses. Would be good money in them.

[dimedude]

this is a awesome thread iv been re making jdm emblems for the 510 as well, I was reading through your post and saw that you were having trouble with bubbles in your emblems I also ran into this problem most people told me to vacuum the silicon to get the bubbles out but i was getting bubbles in the resin aswell and vacuum pumps are pretty pricey what i found you can do is make your molds under pressure i use a paint pressure pot which is like a metal 5 gallon bucket that you hook up to a air compressor and fill with air( i fill it to 40psi) i use this when making the molds of the emblems and when casting the emblems and it works great no more bubbles and it is cheap too it only cost me $30 for the paint pressure pot. also dont know if yoou have heard of this website but smoothon.com has everything you need for mold making

[Ratwagon1600]

this is a awesome thread iv been re making jdm emblems for the 510 as well, I was reading through your post and saw that you were having trouble with bubbles in your emblems I also ran into this problem most people told me to vacuum the silicon to get the bubbles out but i was getting bubbles in the resin aswell and vacuum pumps are pretty pricey what i found you can do is make your molds under pressure i use a paint pressure pot which is like a metal 5 gallon bucket that you hook up to a air compressor and fill with air( i fill it to 40psi) i use this when making the molds of the emblems and when casting the emblems and it works great no more bubbles and it is cheap too it only cost me $30 for the paint pressure pot. also dont know if yoou have heard of this website but smoothon.com has everything you need for mold making

 

Haven't heard of the site but will definitely have a look.

 

I " still" haven't finished my vacumn chamber and need to pull my finger out!!

 

So far my mould pours haven't got any noticeable air bubbles ( touch wood).

 

Pedro:

 

Am going to look at casting other stuff down the track, need to get my head around the badges first.

 

Cheers

 

Jason

[Dguy210]

Haven't heard of the site but will definitely have a look.

 

I " still" haven't finished my vacumn chamber and need to pull my finger out!!

 

So far my mould pours haven't got any noticeable air bubbles ( touch wood).

 

Pedro:

 

Am going to look at casting other stuff down the track, need to get my head around the badges first.

 

Cheers

 

Jason

 

Sorry no updates lately, I'm in the process of moving and most of the stuff is packed up or soon to be packed up.

 

The badges look great, I wish I could paint stuff that well. I'm impressed with how clean a cast that script badge is. Did you have any issues with overflow forming excess material on the back that needs to be cut away?

 

Anyways we've been using a platinum catalyzed silicone at work lately that does not require a vacuum chamber. Once mixed the viscosity is low enough you just don't get air bubbles against the part, you do still get a few in the bulk material though. However, the shore rating (stiffness) is kinda low, which is good for undercut parts, but it doesn't feel quite as durable. It is also a lot more expensive than the tin catalyzed standard RTV.

[Ratwagon1600]

No issues with overflow on the back of this one ( well almost).

 

I used a very fine layer of modeling clay on the back of the badge and pressed it firmly against the base of the mould.

 

Then used a scalpel and a cotton bud (I think you call them q tips) to clean the excess away from the edges.

 

Unlike my first effort which you can see in a couple of earlier posts, this one was much better and only had a very thin film of leakage around the zeros. This came away pretty easily by some careful scalpel cuts.

 

The painting is such a fiddly task and was done in a couple of stages. The $6 magnifying glass made a big difference to the final finish. It was interesting to see how many little detail bits I hadn't painted properly, although when you look at the badge without the magnifying glass you dont notice them as much. Overall, better detail finish with the magnifying glass.

 

Thanks for the feedback, it's much appreciated ! All of this has been trial and error and done in my shed (a well stocked shed though).

 

Have to admit, I was very happy with the first casting of the fender emblems. All the detail is there and if I could get a decent spray chrome they would look almost like original. As it is, it's going to take a pretty discerning Datsun enthusiast to tell the difference.

 

I'm going to make the mould for the large "Datsun" badge that sits on the rear beaver panel next.

 

I'll post pics of the mould making process and what I do with the clay so hopefully it will make a bit more sense.

 

Cheers

 

Jason

[Ratwagon1600]

Got impatient and spray painted one of the fender emblems ( without using the airbrush).

 

 

Top one is an original one, albeit dirty. Bottom one is a repro with what I consider poor quality paint.

 

Pretty sure when I get the paintingrocess sorted they are going to look good!

[paradoxx]

wow this is a nice job!! I see that you used Humbrol modeling paints, I used them on my emblems something like 12 years ago and it still looking good, no cracking nothing. Humbrol or testors are a good option.

[illest]

next stop JDM Grills? that would be awesome :thumbup:

[Ratwagon1600]

Bugger !!!

 

Dropped one of the fender badges last night and this was the result :(

 

 

Need to look at something to give the casting mix a bit more rigidity.

 

Not surprised it broke there.

 

Pillar badges are great due to their density.

 

Whilst the fender badges are ok, they would benefit from something to give them more strength.

 

Thinking cap now on !

[the nice machine]

^^^^hmmm... maybe you could try mixing some kind of fiber into the epoxy? When i make cement pool coping for halfpipes (for skateboarding) they have to be really really strong and impact resistant. In addition to using cement hardener i mix in chopped up fiberglass insulation. It works the same way as rebar but on a much smaller level. It helps hold everything together in case it cracks. I've never tried it with epoxy resin but it seems like the same principles would apply. Just a thought.

[Ratwagon1600]

^^^^hmmm... maybe you could try mixing some kind of fiber into the epoxy? When i make cement pool coping for for halfpipes (for skateboarding) they have to be really really strong and impact resistant. In addition to using cement hardener i mix in chopped up fiberglass insulation. It works the same way as rebar but on a much smaller level. It helps hold everything together in case it cracks. I've never tried it with epoxy resin but it seems like the same principles would apply. Just a thought.

 

Good idea, all input gratefully received at the moment.

 

The only possible issue with adding additional materials (yet to be experimented with of course) is the viscosity of the mixture and the fine detail of the moulds I.e. if I reinforce it with additional materials, will it fill all the little nooks and crannys ?

 

I've got plenty of fibreglass mat and I'll try chopping it up into really fine pieces ( now where is the wife's blender) and see if that works.

 

I've just poured two more badges, and upped the hardner by roughly 30%

 

No guarantee this will make it stronger, but, as with everything this is a trial and error process.

 

Thanks

 

Jason

[Dguy210]

Good idea, all input gratefully received at the moment.

 

The only possible issue with adding additional materials (yet to be experimented with of course) is the viscosity of the mixture and the fine detail of the moulds I.e. if I reinforce it with additional materials, will it fill all the little nooks and crannys ?

 

I've got plenty of fibreglass mat and I'll try chopping it up into really fine pieces ( now where is the wife's blender) and see if that works.

 

I've just poured two more badges, and upped the hardner by roughly 30%

 

No guarantee this will make it stronger, but, as with everything this is a trial and error process.

 

Thanks

 

Jason

 

 

The polyurethane resin is much stronger compared to most of the clear resins. One thing you can also do is a light pour of resin without filing the mold, let partially set, and then add the fiber and finish the pour. This should retain the detail and still give decent strength.

 

One other thing I have been considering is some of the low melt bismuth based alloys, as these should be stronger then resin and allow for polishing or electroplating, while still being able to be made in silicone molds. Lot higher price though then the resin at ~20$ per 450g.

[Ratwagon1600]

 

 

 

The polyurethane resin is much stronger compared to most of the clear resins. One thing you can also do is a light pour of resin without filing the mold, let partially set, and then add the fiber and finish the pour. This should retain the detail and still give decent strength.

 

One other thing I have been considering is some of the low melt bismuth based alloys, as these should be stronger then resin and allow for polishing or electroplating, while still being able to be made in silicone molds. Lot higher price though then the resin at ~20$ per 450g.

 

Thanks.

 

Ill try the half and half method but give the fender badge thickness is appro .122 inch, not much play room there.

 

Hadnt considered other mediums like the bismuth based alloys you mention, I'll get onto mr Google and see what I can come up with.

 

just got caught trying to get the blender out of the house :)

 

Her, " what are you doing"

 

Me, " um, nothing!"

 

Her "yeh right"

 

Me "I need a blender for some garage stuff, can we go shopping tomorrow" (what women is going to refuse that offer).

 

Her, " ok"

 

I've now scurried back to the garage :)

 

 

[Dguy210]

Thanks.

 

Ill try the half and half method but give the fender badge thickness is appro .122 inch, not much play room there.

 

Hadnt considered other mediums like the bismuth based alloys you mention, I'll get onto mr Google and see what I can come up with.

 

just got caught trying to get the blender out of the house :)

 

Her, " what are you doing"

 

Me, " um, nothing!"

 

Her "yeh right"

 

Me "I need a blender for some garage stuff, can we go shopping tomorrow" (what women is going to refuse that offer).

 

Her, " ok"

 

I've now scurried back to the garage :)

 

LOL :rofl:

[Dguy210]

So I ended up picking up some more silicone today, and I'm going to do one last mold before everything gets packed up. So which one should I do....

 

[Ratwagon1600]

It's a toss up between the bluebird u and the violet one.

 

Not sure what the U signifies?

 

Today's brilliant plan sort of worked.

 

Went to the local mall this morning with wife and kids in tow and lashed out and bought a $20 blender ( nothing but the best) :)

 

 

This morning before leaving home I had what I think was a brilliant idea of mixing powdered aluminum into the resin mix. Was going to use the blender for chopping up the fibreglass mat, and thought why not for Aluminium.

 

Plenty of aluminum swarf lying around the lathe.

 

 

On the way home from the mall, stopped at the local auto parts shop and just happened to bump into the chap who owns the fibreglass supply shop in Canberra. Had a quick chat with him about my idea and he confirmed powdered Aluminium is what they generally add to give resin mixes more strength ( woohoo for my warped thinking being right). Told me he stocks powdered Aluminium and to drop into the shop if I need some. Discussed my blender idea with him and he said no reason why it shouldn't work.

 

Got home, unpacked blender, scraped a bit of the aluminum swarm of the lathe and ready to go !

 

 

Two minutes later, smoke pouring from the base of the blending jar !

 

Hmmm, not good methinks. Anyway, cut a long story short, cheap arse blender has shit itself.

 

Pulled it apart to clean up and return to the shop for a refund tomorrow ( damm tough ice cream soda I was making).

 

Wife saw what was going on and threatened to emasculate me if I went near any of the kitchen appliances today.

 

Oh well, back to the shop for a slightly more expensive blender tomorrow ( I might lash out and buy the bigger $24.99 one) and then off to the Fibreglass shop,for some powdered Aluminium ( just incase the next blender has another meltdown).

 

At least I know I'm on the right track now and am looking forward to see how noticeable the difference in rigidity/ strength is with the mix.

[DAT510]

[Dguy210]

Fresh out of the mold.

 

[Will]

Looks good, with no bubbles - how does the strength compare to the factory plastic? Is it brittle?

 

Fresh out of the mold.

[Dguy210]

Looks good with no bubbles - how does the strength compare to the factory plastic? Is it brittle?

 

Strength is quite good, not as good as the original ABS, but still pretty decent. The polyurethane is much less brittle than the previous resin I was using, even a very tiny bit flexible. The script badges even hold up decently without fiber reinforcement.

 

Painted, still needs touchup though, and I suck at painting still. Good enough for 5 feet though.

 

[Ratwagon1600]

Fresh out of the mold.

 

 

VERY! Pretty

 

Got the Aluminium powder this morning.

 

When they say powder, they really mean it.

 

It is about the same consistency as talcum powder.

 

Mixing up a batch for another fender mould now.

 

More pics once it's poured and set.

 

 

[Ratwagon1600]

Well I've let the fender mould set over night.

 

I got impatient with the pillar badge and pulled it out of the mould to early.

 

Interesting outcome.

 

It appears to be slightly stronger, though hard to tell.

 

I mixed a fair bit of powder in this one.

 

About to try another with probably half the powder this time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[merlin]

i have some one of a kind Nissan badges i'd like to reproduce... gunna have to read this thread from page 1 on.