Art Anderson Posted January 21, 2012 Posted January 21, 2012 Those who have known me for decades will remember my concentrating on Indy cars from the late 60's until 1984, building perhaps 200 or so models of cars that faced the green flag on race day. About 1975, I began digressing into antique and classic cars, when the thought occurred to me "what is missing from my dashboards?"/ The answer was easy, lenses covering the instruments! I thought about making my own hollow punches, to punch out clear plastic for instrument lenses, but two problems cropped up: First, every model would have meant machining punches to match the diameter of whatever instrument I needed a lens for (and not all of them were round!). Second, by the late 20's, instrument lenses were becoming "domed" in shape, no longer flat glass, I suspect due as much to designers wanting to minimize the reflection coming off flat glass, particularly in open-bodied cars, glare that made it pretty hard at times to really read speedometers etc (having had a few antique cars of the era, I can attest to that having been a problem. By the early '30's, DuPont's Plexiglas was everywhere, and notably in domed instrument lenses--so, how to do those? The solution was so easy, it escaped me for weeks--until I realized that a drop of clear epoxy would do that, with a bit of practice. Here is the latest result of domed instrument lenses--on the round dials on the Moebius Hudson dashboard: This was done with a generous dollop of DevCon 5-minute epoxy--practice over the years has taught me just how much (by fit and feel) to use to get the effect. A side benefit of this is that the epoxy lens actually makes the instrument decal "pop", it becomes slightly magnified, and the optics allow the dials to be seen at the oblique angle one views the dash when looking through the side windows as well. I am well aware that DevCon Epoxy, as with many, can yellow at least slightly over time, but with the black background of the decals, and the off-white used for detailing, I don't think that presents any problem. Time to make? Oh, only about 5 minutes start to application! (I didn't bother to make epoxy lenses on the radio dial nor the temperature/fuel gauge panel, as those had flat glass covers on them. Art
Jairus Posted January 21, 2012 Posted January 21, 2012 (edited) Okay, now do 1969 Mustang "dagmar" coned lenses! Seriously, this is a great tip! Thanks Art. Edited January 22, 2012 by Jairus
Ramfins59 Posted January 22, 2012 Posted January 22, 2012 Thanks for sharing this tip Art. I hope you are well. I've used this method for a few years and yes, it does work very well, and yes, the epoxy does yellow over time, but I find that on most older cars it looks "aged" just like the car.
mad_dr Posted January 23, 2012 Posted January 23, 2012 What a great technique - I'm going to file this away for future use - thanks for sharing!
Evil Appetite Posted January 24, 2012 Posted January 24, 2012 Ive been using 5 minutes epoxy for lenmses for a while now, the problem I always have is little air bubbles after mixing the 2 up. Stil looks good though.
scalenut Posted January 24, 2012 Posted January 24, 2012 I've been using use future,tho takes a bit longer to dry
Bartster Posted January 24, 2012 Posted January 24, 2012 Nice tip! will any other types of glue work, or does it need to be 2-part epoxy?
Ramfins59 Posted January 24, 2012 Posted January 24, 2012 From my limited experience, I don't think any other glue will work this way. 5 minute epoxy will kind of magnify the gauge, making it very clear. To avoid air bubbles, mix the 2 parts together slowly with a toothpick in a circular motion. Then you can pick up a "glob" of it on the end of the toothpick and let it flow onto the face of the gauge. Try practicing on a spare gauge cluster... you should get the technique down pretty quickly.
bbowser Posted January 26, 2012 Posted January 26, 2012 I use Micro Krystal Clear. It might take a couple of applications but you don't have to mix it. I've also used Elmers for headlight lenses but it doesn't always dry completely clear.
raisin27 Posted January 26, 2012 Posted January 26, 2012 To expand on your idea a bit............I also did a little drop on the center of the steering wheel over the decal to simulate the clear plastic cover. Raisin
Art Anderson Posted January 29, 2012 Author Posted January 29, 2012 To expand on your idea a bit............I also did a little drop on the center of the steering wheel over the decal to simulate the clear plastic cover. Raisin Rich, good tip, and one that I will do on my steering wheel hub as well, and then expand it a step further: Same epoxy drop on each of the wheel cover centers, as those were clear plastic medallions as well, with transparent red Hudson arrowheads molded in. Art
David G. Posted January 29, 2012 Posted January 29, 2012 I use artist's gloss medium. It dries clear and can be built up in layers. I'll have to try some epoxy and see how they compare- thanks for the tip! David G.
Casey Posted February 4, 2012 Posted February 4, 2012 Art (or anyone else), have you tried mixing in some Tamiya clear red or orange to use for side marker lenses or similar?
David G. Posted February 4, 2012 Posted February 4, 2012 Art (or anyone else), have you tried mixing in some Tamiya clear red or orange to use for side marker lenses or similar? That's one of the nice things about artist's medium. Since it's essentially colorless acrylic paint, it can be tinted or colored with acrylic paints or raw pigments. David G.
Art Anderson Posted February 4, 2012 Author Posted February 4, 2012 Art (or anyone else), have you tried mixing in some Tamiya clear red or orange to use for side marker lenses or similar? In most any craft store, there are dyes that are used with clear casting resins (clear polyester resin) to create transparent colors. I've used those with epoxy in the past, but prefer using Tamiya clear colors OVER a lens (be it a clear styrene kit lens or home-made epoxy) rather than mixed in, as those dyes in any serious concentration do interfere with the epoxy.
Dr. Cranky Posted February 5, 2012 Posted February 5, 2012 Ice Resin works really well too, and it can be tinted. Art, beautiful tip, thank you.
race06 Posted February 26, 2012 Posted February 26, 2012 SWEET, any recomendations as to type or brand of epoxy?
Art Anderson Posted February 26, 2012 Author Posted February 26, 2012 SWEET, any recomendations as to type or brand of epoxy? I've always used Devcon 5-minute epoxy.
Ragnar Posted February 26, 2012 Posted February 26, 2012 I have been using 5 min. epoxy to make lenses for well over thirty years! I first learned to do this from a model Aircraft Magazine in the early 70s. I was asked about how I made My lenses on my 32 Ford Three Window by one of the Forum members last year, and told him about this method. It is the best way Ihave ever found to do lenses. Yes you can use artist tints or transparent acrylic to ten the epoxy. I have used both Devcon, and Loctite brand 5 min. epoxy to make lenses. The Tail light lenses on several of my builds are made with tinted epoxy. Crystle Clear makes great flat lenses if you only put a thin coat on them!
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