My lens making thread.

[Zymurgy]

My second mold complete, this stuff is really great to work with. This is a massive mold, it comes in at over 12 lbs. Very happy with the mold making process.

 

[Welder guy]

Keep up the great work ! I’ve never seen anything like this before. It’s just amazing. You have a great thing going on here and I will be following you with great interest.

 

[live4theking]

I'll be awaiting to see your new taillights in Golden in person at Carlisle.

 

[Zymurgy]

Holy cow this pressure pot is massive and beefy. I couldn't tell from the picture if it was truly 10 gallons I was afraid it was miss marked and it was a 5 gallon which may not be big enough. I definitely got a great deal on this, stainless steel too.

 

[mopar_4life]

BTW, The restoration garage car show just showed a bit of this process on their show. They were having similar issues and built a tank out of a couple propane cylinders. Keep up the work. It's gonna be rewarding to make these again.

 

[Zymurgy]

After multiple trips to the hardware store and a trip to my shop, I got my pressure pot set up to function as my last step in creating the lens. Nothing poured this weekend, many other things going on, but I have done a dry run on everything and am very happy with the set up.

This pressure pot is incredible, rated to 110psi so 60 psi is nothing for it, my little pancake air compressor works prefect to get it up to pressure. It is set up on it's side for easy loading.

 

[live4theking]

Getting so close.

 

[MarPar]

Oooooh baby...waiting with baited breath!

 

[Robert Saigh]

Good Luck with this endeavor! We need a few more sources for lenses and other Chrysler parts products!

 

[Zymurgy]

One step closer, I am feeling very happy. Not a single bubble anywhere with the pressure pot.

I knew I had a problem with the pigments. Way too strong, I will need to find translucent pigments. I put 3 drops of red and one drop of black, which totally muddied my color. I added 2 more drops of red too get I closer to the actual color.

Opaque lens anyone???

 

[Zymurgy]

I am feeling great now. I found a source of translucent dyes. They have several variations of red, I will probably get all of them to have the ability to nail the color. They said their examples are 1 to 6 drops of dye in 2 ounces of resin. I used about 6 ounces resin in the mold above, so I will have much better control and am sure I can hit the color.

 

[65sporty]

I just got caught up on the thread, great progress. Looks like your almost there.

 

[commando1]

I am feeling great now. I found a source of translucent dyes. They have several variations of red, I will probably get all of them to have the ability to nail the color. They said their examples are 1 to 6 drops of dye in 2 ounces of resin. I used about 6 ounces resin in the mold above, so I will have much better control and am sure I can hit the color.

View attachment 169103

I knew the Benjamin Moore Magenta wouldn't work...

 

[Robert Saigh]

Keep up the good work.....I wish I had the skill and determination to do stuff like this! My hats off to you!

 

[cantflip]

I knew the Benjamin Moore Magenta wouldn't work...

Good call, but at least we got one of the few around here we can count on to make a perfect color match.

I am serious, once the backlog of 66 300 lenses has been met, I'd really love to get the back bumper lens for our Formals on the list. They are apparently difficult to remove intact and don't have a ready supply out there. The demand may be low, but I'd be worth a few pairs.

 

[300rag]

I am feeling great now. I found a source of translucent dyes. They have several variations of red, I will probably get all of them to have the ability to nail the color. They said their examples are 1 to 6 drops of dye in 2 ounces of resin. I used about 6 ounces resin in the mold above, so I will have much better control and am sure I can hit the color.

View attachment 169103

If you know a good painter, he might be able to help you get the right tint

 

[Fratzog]

Once again, amazing thread. Thanks.

 

[Zymurgy]

If you know a good painter, he might be able to help you get the right tint

My wife is an art teacher also and matches colors even more than me, and teaches color matching at the beginning of her painting class. I think I might have this area covered.

 

[Zymurgy]

The piece de resistance! The Chrysler designers must have been able to do nearly anything back in the day. I would have loved to meet the person who came up with this wrap around taillight.

I would have completed the mold box this evening, but made an error in calculating the height of the box, so here is the unobstructed view of the lens mounted to the box base.

 

[commando1]

Unbelievable....