Missing Headlight lenses

[Bullitt]

I'm in the process of assembling my 1970 Cuda and appear to be missing the headlight lenses. Anyone have a suggestion on fabricating new ones from glue, craft items etc, or perhaps something else to use?

Thanks

[BigTallDad]

Here's one way...

http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/102571-vacu-formed-headlights/

[Earl Marischal]

You might want to try this stuff.

 

steve

[StevenGuthmiller]

I've been messing around with "Clear Cast", a clear resin for making parts such a this.

I haven't had much luck with the mixture yet. my parts won't harden.

The instructions say half & half mixture, but that doesn't seem to work, so I've been experimenting with mixtures to see if I can get it down.

I'd like to be able to cast my own head light lenses so I can stop robbing them from other kits.

I tried the Testors "Window Maker" & clear parts cement.

didn't work real well for me.

 

Steve

[Ace-Garageguy]

You can very often find entire clear parts trees on ebay for not much money...it just takes a little digging.

There are, unfortunately, some pig-greedy sellers who try to get more for a single parts-tree than you can buy a whole kit for, so buyer beware.

The old round sealed-beam headlights were only made in 7" and 5 3/4" variations...the 7" units went in 2-headlight applications and the smaller ones went in 4-headlight applications...for the most part.

That means you don't have to find the exact parts for the model you have...the right diameter from anything will work.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/AMT-Parts-64-Mercury-Clear-Custom-Pieces-/252120612820?hash=item3ab38f3fd4:g:V28AAOSw3ydV4-MN

Clear casting-resin SHOULD work IF YOUR RESIN IS COMPATIBLE WITH YOUR MOLD MATERIAL. A clear epoxy should also work fine, with the same caveat.

Edited October 20, 2015 by Ace-Garageguy

[Harry Joy]

The 1969 Riviera that I posted below on Sunday did not come with headlight or taillight lens. It was not kitted with them. I was not happy with the bare chrome look, so I built up lens covers with the very same Micro Krystal Clear posted above by Earl Marischal, which I then gave a light coat of Future. I think they turned out pretty great. In my pictures posted, the lens covers were not 100% dry yet, so they appear just a tad cloudy, but they are very clear and glossy now.

In my instrument panels, I put just a few drops of Future and that's enough to give the appearance of lens', but I am too impatient to build up big parts that way. The combination of Micro Krystal Clear and Future works perfectly.

Edited October 21, 2015 by Harry Joy

[StevenGuthmiller]

Clear casting-resin SHOULD work IF YOUR RESIN IS COMPATIBLE WITH YOUR MOLD MATERIAL.

Both products I bought at Hobby Lobby.

Alumilite "Mold Putty" & "Amazing" clear casting resin, both made by Alumilite.

I would think they should be compatible.

 

Steve

[Ace-Garageguy]

Yes Steve, That's a perfectly reasonable expectation. Have you tried mixing the clear casting resin and pouring it into an inert glass container just to see if it will cure if it's not in contact with the mold product?

Not to sound braggy, but I have rather extensive experience in composite materials, and it's rarely effective to tinker with the mix-ratios specified by the manufacturer. Generally only four things impair resin-systems from curing.

1) Temperatures below 60deg. F

2) Product well out of shelf-life

3) Contamination by some unknown substance, either in the mixing container/tools or the mold itself

4) Improper mixing ratio.

If it's this product you're using, is says "overnight cure".  http://www.alumilite.com/store/p/1023-Amazing-Clear-Cast.aspx

Here's the TDS for it.   It calls out "avoid contact with moisture and water".           https://www.alumilite.com/PDFs/MSDS/Amazing-Clear-Cast.pdf

 

[Foxer]

I made some headlight lens castings using Bondic. a clear plastic material that hardens under a blue light. They are about 3/4 down the page I have been posting my experiments on.

[peteski]

You can also use epoxy resins for casting clear parts. Just do not use glue-tyoe of epoxy (like the 5-minute epoxy) as those will eventually discolor and turn brown. Plus, those are usually too viscous to get good results.

I have successfully used Envirotex (stocked by hobby and arts/craft stores) and also resin from http://www.unrealdetails.com/ .  Both of those have overnight cure time. As mentioned earlier, make sure to have them cure at a temperature over 70 degrees F.  I usually cure my clear-cast parts in the dehydrator at around 115 degrees F.  And make sure to measure the A and B parts very accurately.

[Bullitt]

Thanks for all the resources.

Much appreciated.

[sjordan2]

I'm in the process of assembling my 1970 Cuda and appear to be missing the headlight lenses. Anyone have a suggestion on fabricating new ones from glue, craft items etc, or perhaps something else to use?

Thanks

You might try a bag of Googly eyes (used for stuffed toys/dolls) in a variety of sizes. Just remove the backing. In any case, you'll have slightly convex circles useful for multiple applications.

Edited October 21, 2015 by sjordan2

[Art Anderson]

You can very often find entire clear parts trees on ebay for not much money...it just takes a little digging.

There are, unfortunately, some pig-greedy sellers who try to get more for a single parts-tree than you can buy a whole kit for, so buyer beware.

The old round sealed-beam headlights were only made in 7" and 5 3/4" variations...the 7" units went in 2-headlight applications and the smaller ones went in 4-headlight applications...for the most part.

That means you don't have to find the exact parts for the model you have...the right diameter from anything will work.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/AMT-Parts-64-Mercury-Clear-Custom-Pieces-/252120612820?hash=item3ab38f3fd4:g:V28AAOSw3ydV4-MN

Clear casting-resin SHOULD work IF YOUR RESIN IS COMPATIBLE WITH YOUR MOLD MATERIAL. A clear epoxy should also work fine, with the same caveat.

I've used the three most common 2-part clear resin compounds over the years to make such as headlight lenses:  Epoxy, Polyester Casting Resin, and Polyurethane resin.  Of the three, a clear epoxy works, but for best results, check the jewelry-making sections of say, Hobby Lobby or Michael's--there are water clear epoxies made for use in jewelry-making. It will harden against say, an RTV mold.

 Polyester casting resin is the stuff that smells like fiberglass resin, but is water clear--the big problem with this is that it relies on a highly evaporative watery catalyst, which when the mixed resin is eposed to air, will evaporate off the surface--leaving a sticky layer that simply won't harden. Some mold-making compounds, particularly silicone RTV rubber, allows this extremely thin consistency catalyst to "leach" or soak into the RTV rubber surface just a bit, causing the same stickiness.

Polyurethane resin can be had in "water clear" form, but it's the most expensive of the three types of catalyzed resin.  It sets up just fine in an RTV mold, and is what most resin casters use/have used for making transparent parts such as headlight & taillight lenses--some have even used it to cast reproductions of clear styrene winshields.

Perhaps, as Bill suggests, your best bet would be to find headlight lenses from another kit?

Art

[AzTom]

Both products I bought at Hobby Lobby.

Alumilite "Mold Putty" & "Amazing" clear casting resin, both made by Alumilite.

I would think they should be compatible.

 

Steve

That may be the stuff I tried with the same results.  Upon further research I was told that when mixed it generates heat to make it cure and my part was too small. I tried adding my own heat but still did not cure.

 I'm going to try "Polyurethane resin can be had in "water clear" form," that Art suggested.