Back in the '80's I worked as an industrial designer/ modelmaker. We used to scratch build designs and often cast them in silicon to produce duplicates. Later it all became SLA resin rapid prototypes but the old ways are still good for duplicating items you don't have in CAD. We used to use a vacuum chamber with a heavy clear acrylic slab top rather than a pressure pot - the silicon would 'boil' as the air bubbles came out. The pressure system squeezes the bubbles really small but they are still there. Never try casting without vacuum or pressure or you get voids.
I am not even doing any casting of any kind or any car restorations, but this is the second time I watched this video, it's just so much fun to watch :D
@@_Rich_. I would use this more if you cannot get a replacement. It is a bit time consuming but you don't have to use their products, they're probably not globally available anyway.
Wow, this has been one of the best tutorial videos I’ve ever seen. It’s so thorough and covers lots of essential processes and in depth details. Dope I appreciate you
Ive always wonder how this was done. I always thought repros were injection molded. I work with resins and now I have the answers to how to replace/fix missing or broken plastic lights,trims etc on vintages. THANK YOU!
Great video. I'd like to see how you'd tackle a three-color tail light lens. I assume you'd want to pull a new single color lens out, then cut it apart on the color lines, and build it up with three separate pours, using the partial lens as a part of the 'mold' for the first one or two pours, depending on design.
I never understand how I end up at videos like this, but I watched it completely through and now know where to go should I need to cast something in the future. You make it look ridiculously easy, which I am sure it isn't.
Can u make a video on how to make lenses with 2 colors side by side colors? Would be very helpful for guys looking to replicate multi color taillights.
Don't know how I got here but am glad I did. One of the better instructional videos I've seen for such a technical subject. There is almost no chance I'll have to cast a lens like this, but now, strangely, I want to.
Comprehensive and Educational and No nonsense like music or such, one of THE best instructional videos I have ever seen on the Web, And I´ve seen plenty. Well done sir.
Great Idea. I did something similar many years ago. I used fine grain sand mixed 50/50 with plaster of Paris ( the sand/ plaster mix is for a stronger mold ). I made tail light lens for a 52 dodge that I was restoring.
Google heard me talking about doing this exact thing for my camper I'm restoring. I can't be too upset though because you saved me a bunch of research on the correct resin and squish molds for this kind of object. If only a distributor were closer!
This is great I've been trying to figure out how to reproduce lenses for a while. Ironically I just took the casting class at the Tech Shop in Round Rock Austin Texas. The gal who puts the class on is a special effects artist and has her own company she recommended your product and that's what we used in the class. Once again great video thank you.
I watched this video by accident and loved it. I did not know, a mould could so easily be made with rubber. It so happens that I want to change a trailer light similar to the one on the video but a bit bigger. So I looked for a distributor in my area and found one. I will be visiting this week or next week. Thank you.
this is so awesome. I'd love to see more of these thin walled plastic part reproductions. I always thought this could only be done with high pressure injection molding.
From an R&D toy company design draftsman / prototype guy,,,,,well done ! Great instructions , good product. I personally like slip forms but yours is quick and cheep for a one time shot. thanks for a great video .
Thank you for your response to my request! You can expect an order soon! My next request would be items such as radio knobs and other handles/knob for automotive application. If you really want a challenge, take an antique auto knob that is in rough condition and try to create one in it's original shape!
Its easy to do. I make glow in the dark accessories. Was thinking about making some how to videos without using high tech or costly items that the average person doesnt have.
if the handle is in 1 piece but pitted with holes try this mix some bondo to fill crack and holes let it dry about 1 hr then sand to the original shape should mold like new
Excellent job of explaining the procedures. Very nice job. I’ve also create parts for valance hangers that I couldn’t find replacements for. The second part was for a drape hanger. They came out exactly like the originals and the feeling you get by making these parts is unbelievable. Best regards, Richard
Great tutorial and excellent explanations of the steps. Some diy videos are vague and requires watching several videos to fully understand what needs to done to have good results. Fine job sir!!!!
TY for the excellent tutorial. I've done lots of metal casting & made alot of molds for it . I've become very interested in working w/resin & this lesson was very informative. TY again & keep up the good work
This is exactly what I need to reproduce 2 different Lucas Gothic lamp tail light lens. These lens are no longer available. A company in England made them for a few years but are out of supply and maybe won't be available ever again. The lens have a flat back and raised outside facing surface with some decorative patterns. Looks like fun.
Real nice tricks here such as the acorn nuts for the mold keys. I've been doing this kind of stuff for years but the guy in the video is much more attentive to detail than I am. good job!
Do you think a 3d printed mould could have produced similar results to your silicone version? Of course you'd have to model the lens in 3D which could be a challenge.
Thanks for this video, I'm restoring a DeLorean and parts shipping from the USA is very expensive, so I might look into these methods for some of the lenses and perhaps even the switches. Smooth-on looks like a very easy to use product!
I did the same for an aircraft wingtip light lens. One was missing, and the other was broken, so I glued the pieces together, and made a 2 part mold. Mixed up some Red and Green resin batches, and cast the new set - exact copies of the original, right down to the crack!
I would love to have a video on the process of making a 50/50 turn signal. (half amber half clear) That would be very interesting (and specific to me needs) Great video with clear and precise instructions!
good show bro, did you script everything before shooting? video quality is far superior to what I'm used to on youtube. almost needs the "how it's made" intro music.
I would love to get into this hobby it looks so fun!!!! I did not like the yellow tone for this lens but it can become a great small business to restore lenses !
Thank you dude I could not find parts for my classic Cadillac And i almost five up until I found your video now I could my that classic dashboard and tail light cover Thank you so much my friend ✊😊✊
I have a concern about whether this material will hold up to heat as well as the original, and UV exposure. Heat may not be as much of a problem on a turn signal indicator, except if someone forgot to turn it off.
I use a food dehydrator at 145F to post cure my lenses, left on one half of the mold. This increases the strength of the resin a lot, strength it would normally only reach in 2+ weeks. I've used some of my failed castings at shows to do drop demos onto concrete and asphalt to show how tough and scratch resistant they are. Another reason for post curing Crystal Clear 202 is to increase its heat resistance. The lens cast in this video, if put in water the temp that comes from a typical kitchen hot water faucet, would soften and be easy to distort. Heat it up in a dehydrator for a few hours and it won't ever soften at any temperature lower than that. Even after this curing I can still use a dip in 200F water to bend castings for doing modifications to make another mold to replicate the new shape. But you cannot do this post curing so soon after casting. I wait a minimum of 24 hours before post curing and I leave the castings in the pressure pot that long. Why? Because leaving a 'green' 202 casting in contact with the mold *without* being under pressure tends to cause 'suck back' markings, areas where the resin shrinks away from the mold. Using convection heat, flowing hot air, is important! When I first started resin casting with Smooth-On products 16 years ago I tried to use a normal oven but the radiant heat ruined the castings (massive suck back) no matter how old they were. An old food dehydrator or countertop convection oven is ideal for post curing. Since the dehydrators I have only go up to 145F I bought a small convection oven which only goes down to 200F, for resins (like some epoxies) that need higher temperatures to reach their ultimate strength.
Your mold making videos are really adding new things to the Smooth On videos. I hadn't seen the sideways pressure pot trick or the cutting resin vent tricks before. If you were doing a completely clear piece would you have to vacuum degas the silicon too or is the pressure pot enough?
this is like exactly the video i need. i want to make clear lenses for my tail lights because no one sells them. ill have to buy some stuff but hey, maybe i can even sell some lenses.
watching this while waiting for a set of clear tail light lenses to arrive from brazil... at 11:00 at night... as if I would actually buy a pressure pod and do this... wish i had this kind of time.
You could always go the other way and just by a couple of generic indicators and fit them to the truck, then blank out the space where the old indicators were. I don't suppose many people have a silicon pressuriser tank or whatever that thing is called, come to that I don't suppose many people have silicon laying around in their garage, mind you many people don't even have the luxury of a garage. So an alternative to the problem of not being able to get hold of the right lens for your truck or car is to use a generic indicator and blank out the old one's. Seems pretty easy enough to do, and you don't even need a welder. But if you really want to do this you have done a good job explaining how it's done.
"Silicon pressuriser tank?" 😄 It's a paint pot. Also known as a pressure pot - which is the term he uses. It has nothing to do with silicon (or even silicone, LOL), specifically, other than this is one of the many things you can do with it. This was explained, I'm sure, in this video, although perhaps not in tiny, technical detail. "Use a generic indicator and blank out the old ones?" What kind of backwoods, uncle-dad, three-tooth, tabbacky-chewin' stuff are you talking about? The man has full access to this shop, where he works, and is doing what his boss tells him to do. Why on this green earth would he do some junk-yard, spray can chrome, duct-taped bumper job of something when he has everyhing needed there to do it correctly? 😄 Besides, if one has the room, a relatively cheap air compressor and a $25 auction-find paint pot can get you set up to do the exact same thing, no blacking-out of extra lights needed.
A vacuum chamber helps suck out the bubbles before pouring. A pressure chamber helps squeeze the tiny bubbles after pouring. They do different jobs, and you can use both. At 60PSI any entrapped bubbles will be shrunk to (I think) 1/4th their original size.
@@maxanderson755 Casting rubber: ~$35. Casting resin: ~$42. Pressure pot: $100 from Harbor Freight if needed. Total would be under $200 with the pressure pot. Access to an air compressor is assumed, but if you're doing a project like this you'd likely already have one anyway. No, it isn't a cheap way to get a lens, but if the lens isn't otherwise available it beats not having it. I need to replace the tail light lenses on a 50-year-old car, and I haven't yet been able to find anything other than the complete light assemblies for $250 each--and even if they're in perfect condition, the lenses are still 50-year-old plastic and not likely to last.
@@dcpred3889 I haven't yet used this technique. If one lens is broken and you have all the parts, I'd expect you could glue them back together (maybe with CA glue) to make the mold. If not, I'm not sure what would be the best way to proceed.
@@dcpred3889 First off, I've never done what is being shown here. with that said, to make a mirrored part, would take an extra step or two, but basically not hard to do at all. In the example of this video, the mold he made is the negative, the part he created is the positive. It would just take some playing with positive he made (Maybe cutting in half, to reverse the locations of screw holes, as an example.) I'm gonna say it takes some creative thinking, that's about it. Another thing that may come into play, when trying to make a mirrored part, is not letting a "POSITIVE" part dry completely. If it is possible to take a part out of the mold when only 50 - 75% cured, then do what ever slice & dice, and than let the part fully cure. The quality of the part {Finish} may look bad, but what your after is: Can you now use that low / bad part to cast a part with a great finish. Or maybe simple as making a mold (Positive, put another way, this would be your 2nd mold) from the first (Negative) mold created.Just an old autobody (25 yr's) 15 yr's welder, metal CAD-Designer/Fabricator., offering my two cent's. Remember, you get what you pay for, you paid nothing for this advice. LOL!!!
@@dcpred3889 To my knowledge there's no reasonable way to accurately reproduce something so detailed in a mirrored form, using hand-working techniques. Ideally you'd borrow a good pair of lenses and make a mold from them, then give them back. Otherwise, unless you're proficient at Solidworks, Alias, or a similar program, and have access to a very high quality 3D printer or 3 to 5 axis mill, it's going to be worth your money to literally buy a parts car just for the other lens.
i have a 1983 suzuki LT125. it was handed down to me by my father. the plastic fenders are discontinued, and EXTREMEMLY hard to come by in any decent shape. i wish i could mold my own :(
- BATER- I just bought then sold a 1985 LT 185 in mint shape... Then bought a z50 for my girls son, wish I never sold the LT. Thing was awesome and a great starter quad.
Cool little time-consuming but well worth it specially have an old vehicle I'm a 1960 F250 flatbed one of my lenses is cracked Can't Screw it back on so I got the main part of it but there's other ones on it they're still good now I know what I could do thanks man I'll forward this on to other people
Great video. I have a question. I have a motorcycle and want to change the look of the headlights. I have a zx14, Can I use this method to redesign them?
This is a great video and demonstration of the products. I will certainly consider these products when I'm ready to make a set of clear lenses for my Datsun.
Material is cheap, 100%. I can find like $5 or so Tools? A standard 2hp compressor here can cost $300, small chamber pot (5liter) cost me $200 But then, i realized its worth every penny, i can make money from it
Awesome job on the video and the mold. I've many several molds but not a squeeze mold yet. I'm really looking forward to trying it and this video was a huge help. Thank you!
Definitely need to do some of these myself. A question though would be setting up multi colored lenses say where the clear backup light is integral to the red lens.
probably have to cut the clear area out of the red. then make a clear to glue in that hole. that's how my taillights where made clearly because they broke in a wreck. was pretty obvious. I'm not an expert like that guy though.
Pour it clear and then tape off the section needed to be red. Spray it with a can of red tint spray. You can get it from the parts house for about $12. I’ve don’t it many times and it works perfectly.
Your process is very professional and intelligent, well done. Id like to see if you can do a more complex headlight shape. The market for replacement lenses in the retrofit world is massive.
That is absolutely fantastic answered so many questions that I've been asking, one issue I'm not sure about I was watching another video but they used vacuum pressure to get rid of bubbles your using the opposite why do you use pressure rather than vacuum cheers for any help great video again
@@duckguide4109 Why in the world are you doing on internet waking up people with your comments? Could not you have waited til Monday during working hours? Aaaaaaaaargh. Now it is probably going to be close to impossible to go back to sleep. Why? Whyyyyyyyy? Okay. I think I got your point. Later gator. Please let people sleep. Go play some video games or write something good in your journal. Good night y'all.
Private One 1) I don’t play games that often 2) I don’t have a journal nor want one and 3) I’m tired also...i have to get 8 hours of sleep and get ready to bowl. 🎳
For wxample my new Renault has a light lense which covers all stuff. So the lense is different colours and you can see the plastic is moulded together to allow this. Just curious on that process as it broadens skills. Being able to lotsrally copy all. Painting on afterwards I just wonder how long that would last and how good it would look.
I've always found those 3M respirator masks easier to put on if you clip neck ones on first, then grab the head strap and flip the mask up onto your face. Pulling the head strap off and leaving the mask hanging down is also handier if you need to pull it off for a moment and quickly put it back on, if you have to blow on something for example. [I even like to put a thick piece of electrical tape around the heard strap as a tab to pull the mask down quicker, or if you have dirty gloves on and don't want it touching your head/hair]
I agree. That's the type of respirator I used for decades as a painter, and I would often have it hanging like a weird necklace while I didn't need it on (like when mixing some more paint up), and then could just slip it back on easily. I always had something covering my hair, like what used to be called a "danbanna" (who knows, it may still be called that), or more often, a painter's hood over the top of that, so I never had to worry about overspray getting in my hair. Didn't have the issue of needing a tab or anything that way. 😉
Multi colored lenses can be done by beginners. Make 2 molds or split your mold in half. For the back up lights on trucks, make a seperate clear square ( or bowtie, get creative ) and glue ( resin ) them together. Now, whats missing is the reflectiveness, so I just add glow in the dark powder to the resin. The lenses glow a bit at night, heps your car to be seen ( & car shows cant get enough of glow pieces, lol ) I never thought people would be interested in this process so i never thought about doing a video of glow accessories. Maybe in the future i will.
Yellow and red lenses are used in many cars and in many countries a yellow indicator lens is required along with a red stop and or taillight. I have paid close to 4 figures for good original lenses that were unavailable. This process appears to be able to replicate those without to much expense. I would be very interested in further lens casting demos using more complex lens shapes.
My 1990 Lincoln and 96 both have plastic head lights and turn signals. I have learned to aerospace 303 and motorkote spray them to keep them from cracking so far it seems to work.
