Anyone on here know of someone or some company that can cast a pair of taillight lenses? Nobody repops them, and I don't want to fool with buying the products to cast them myself, as I'm sure I'll screw that process up.
the current Tech Week threads include one for making cast emblems. The same basic process applies, albeit without the molten metal. there was once upon a time a thread on here for making lenses. A search will ensue. EDIT use the words "cast lens" in the search function and several threads show up
Not sure if it will help but I made my own dash knobs, the light shines through pretty well. Same principle as the metal but you use epoxy. 1955 - 1959 task force knobs http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/index.php?threads/1955---1959-task-force-knobs.930007/
Yeah, I know I can make them myself, but I don't want to, too many irons in the fire to tackle another project. I just want to send a taillight lens to someone and have them make copies for me.
A friend just had some rare Chrysler lenses done, I will be at his shop tomorrow and ask. What lenses are you after? bet this guy has the molds
My friend did a set of unavailable Kaiser tail lights for Donne Lowe's Chevy, in my shop. Donne had only one, luckily it was the same lense for both sides, but there was damage to the lense. What we did, was to make a mold of the lense, then cast it in resin. I repaired the resin lense, and he made a new mold, of the perfected lense. He uses all materials from Smooth-On. To make the new lense was quite a chore. The clear resins used for lenses aren't quite strong, and since they're clear, you can see any air bubbles in them. I didn't do the castings, but I believe he experimented with translucent dyes to get the color right, and just red is not enough. It's too clear, and light. Not sure what he used to darken it. I think he used a vacuum set-up I made for doing fiberglass, to vacuum out the air bubbles in the mixed, red resin. Then into the mold, and into the oven for low temp curing. It was in there for a long time, and we pulled it out of the mold the next day. I believe the first try was unsuccessful, but the next 2 were good to go. We made a third, perhaps even a fourth, "just in case". I'm not sure of everything, because he did all the casting work, I just fixed the lense, and helped a bit. So, what I'm saying here, is that it is a long and tedious process to make them. I'm sure my friend would NOT make them again, even for money. I'm sure you could not charge what this is really worth, by the hour, and materials aren't cheap, either, considering the waste, mold size, and possible failed attempts. Unless you feel like working a whole week on this, or find someone who likes to do castings, or has streamlined the process, you might not get your lenses!
Believe it or not, the guys main Business is holds for indoor climbing gyms. All I have is the name, Klimbing Holds, Kalamazoo Michigan oh, and this http://www.klimbingholds.com/index.html
Chopolds, yeah I've done resin casting, and even acrylic heat press forming, but I don't want to go through the headache again. Would rather pass it on to someone who has all the stuff at hand that can knock it out without issue.
I make parts using Smooth On resin and dyes. To keep the finished part from having bubbles, cure it under pressure. I'm using their Crystal Clear 200, and after pouring, I put the mold in a pressure pot at 70 PSI overnight before heat curing the casting. I'm going to do some marker lenses for a friend, once he gets the originals pulled out so I can make a mold of them.
Is that three color lens just three lenses assembled in the housing, or one lens poured in three colors? Try the pressure pot for curing without bubbles. A Harbor Freight paint pot with the outlet plugged and a shop air compressor is all you need for bubble free casting.
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