Reproduction badges from silicone moulds

[Ratwagon1600]

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

 

Pm me if you have any questions.

 

This has been very much a lot of trial and error although I'm pretty sure I've got it sorted now!

 

Cheers

 

Jason

[jrock4224]

nice progress still....like the new sig too... makes me wanna imoortalize in my goon, now this may not be my place ratwagon... but your sig is lhd.....lol...

[Skib]

i like this thread :)

[Ratwagon1600]

i like this thread :)

 

Thanks skib !

 

I've tried to make it as informative (and interesting) as possible.

 

Ha ha, Thanks Jrock, actually, hadn't noticed.

 

There's some goodies on their way to Tristin, make sure he shares them with you !

[Ratwagon1600]

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

This is what I'm using for the really fine detail stuff.

 

Cost me $6 at Aldi ( don't know if you have Aldi in the US?)

 

Really makes a difference in being able to see some of the finer details.

 

 

[72240z]

Really good thread. At some point I'm going to try and make my own fairlady 432 badges since the originals are bank.

[Tristin]

There's some goodies on their way to Tristin, make sure he shares them with you !

 

[jrock4224]

Thanks skib !

 

I've tried to make it as informative (and interesting) as possible.

 

Ha ha, Thanks Jrock, actually, hadn't noticed.

 

There's some goodies on their way to Tristin, make sure he shares them with you !

 

hate to admit this but tristin is famous for sharing his goodies...cant wait to see your handy work in my hand...wait ...that came out wrong....look forward to seeing them..wait..

[Ratwagon1600]

 

 

hate to admit this but tristin is famous for sharing his goodies...cant wait to see your handy work in my hand...wait ...that came out wrong....look forward to seeing them..wait..

 

Thanks you goose :), I just nearly pissed myself laughing when I read your post !

[Ratwagon1600]

Really good thread. At some point I'm going to try and make my own fairlady 432 badges since the originals are bank.

 

Thanks for the comments.

 

Dguy and others who have contributed to this thread have helped heaps.

 

As I've said before, this has been a learning experience from the start and I'm really glad I gave it a go.

 

Cheers

[jrock4224]

no prob maverick... :thumbup:

[Dguy210]

This is what I'm using for the really fine detail stuff.

 

Cost me $6 at Aldi ( don't know if you have Aldi in the US?)

 

Really makes a difference in being able to see some of the finer details.

 

 

Yeah I should, I'm not sure if it will compensate for my crappy fine motor control/hand-eye coordination or not though :rofl: I"m thinking I might try some kind of stencil next. I keep trying to think how they painted them at the factory, and it had to be some kind of stencil.

 

The aluminum powder badges look really good, the natural color is very nice. Have you tested to see if this makes the badge conductive? You might be able to do some electroplating.

[Laecaon]

I want to find the "Wagon" script badge for the back of a 510 wagon. I know I have seen them before. I think they go in place of the "510" badge on the back...

[Ratwagon1600]

 

 

Yeah I should, I'm not sure if it will compensate for my crappy fine motor control/hand-eye coordination or not though :rofl: I"m thinking I might try some kind of stencil next. I keep trying to think how they painted them at the factory, and it had to be some kind of stencil.

 

The aluminum powder badges look really good, the natural color is very nice. Have you tested to see if this makes the badge conductive? You might be able to do some electroplating.

 

I shake like a dog shitting razor blades so I use a small bag filled with sand to rest my hand/ wrist on.

 

Saw the engraving shop guy at the local mall do this, trust me, it works.

 

Hadn't thought about the electroplating idea (doh).

 

Just so happens, previously I've done zinc plating of parts with a home based plating kit.

 

Slightly off topic (it is my thread though) heres a picture of some of the stuff I've done.

 

 

It's an absolute bitch to prep the parts as they have to be what is called "chemically clean".

 

I use an acid solution to clean most of the shit off and then after drying them, bead blast to get them spotless.

 

Parts sit in a bath of solution and scavenge off zinc anodes.

 

Once plated, they are dipped in a gold colored solution which gives the above results.

 

Anyway, back to the main topic, if they do conduct electricity I'll resurrect the plating bath and see what happens.

 

Thanks for kick starting my memory!!

 

 

[Ratwagon1600]

Fucking around with a gazillion different things as usual.

 

I "think" I've finally worked out how to cast the fender emblems with the Aluminium powder mixture, and not get bubbles in them.

 

Still haven't done the vacuum chamber (mea culpa).

 

Have been experimenting with mixtures and reckon I've now got something which is, given its thickness, structurally strong enough given the "lack of thickness" of the badge.

 

I've placed the freshly poured mould on my case tumbler.

 

 

And let it vibrate the fcuk out of the mould.

 

Despite having previously using my ultrasonic cleaner, I think this is the solution.

 

 

The final badges seem much less brittle than the others.

[the nice machine]

Ya know... using less hardener should help keep it less brittle. It will take longer to cure, but i remember messing with mixture ratios a while back. When i used less hardener the plastic came out softer.

I might be wrong, because using such a small amount of the hardener may have made it cure so slowly that it still wasn't cured after a week. It was a long time ago but i do remember a couple of pieces that stayed relatively soft forever.

 

Speaking of trial and error, i recently used a boiled egg to make a two part mold out of plaster. I was going to use it to pour a plastic shift knob but it turns out the plaster is too porous and the resin soaks in and becomes permanently bonded. Live and learn.

[the nice machine]

i forgot to mention another thing about air bubbles a while back... you can mix in up to 10% acetone to thin your mixture, it makes it less viscous so less air bubbles get trapped when you stir it up. Another trick is pouring your mixed epoxy into a shallow container and using a spray bottle to spray acetone on the surface. This will pop any bubbles that rise to the surface.

[bonvo]

Not at this stage.

 

I'm going to have to experiment with them as to how to do this.

I know im late to the party but what you do is take some clay and press the badge into it poking some centering holes around the outside then pour the silicone over that once the silicone dries remove the clay and pour the silicone on the back this vid discribes it well

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joexdltgj-k&feature=BFa&list=PLC1672C46F266F336

[Dguy210]

Fucking around with a gazillion different things as usual.

 

I "think" I've finally worked out how to cast the fender emblems with the Aluminium powder mixture, and not get bubbles in them.

 

Still haven't done the vacuum chamber (mea culpa).

 

Have been experimenting with mixtures and reckon I've now got something which is, given its thickness, structurally strong enough given the "lack of thickness" of the badge.

 

I've placed the freshly poured mould on my case tumbler.

 

 

 

And let it vibrate the fcuk out of the mould.

 

Despite having previously using my ultrasonic cleaner, I think this is the solution.

 

 

The final badges seem much less brittle than the others.

 

You might try polishing these with a 000 steel wool, I know for the bronze cold casting (bronze powder similar to the the aluminum powder) this brings out the shine.

[Ratwagon1600]

Thanks as always guys, all good ideas which I'll give a try.

 

Bonvo, hadn't seen this particular YouTube video despite having watched probably everything I can find on the Internet relating to this process. I'll certainly give it a go.

 

Cheers fellas.

 

Jason

[bonvo]

glad i could help its something ive done a few times when building a model so i thought it might come in handy

[Dguy210]

Trying something new, died the resin black and will spray chrome later. Did this right before packing up the last of the mold making stuff. Also low melt alloy is on the way.

 

[Tristin]

 

Tits.

[Dguy210]

Stuff has finally settled down after moving and visiting in-laws. Got some time to play with the mold making stuff again.

 

 

Test piece of the low melt alloy, used a mold that didn't come out so great for the testing.

 

Casting this and the 5 speed badge again right now. Took a while to find the rear 510 badge.

 

[mcmlxxxv]

wow ! that is really cool :thumbup: