Front turn signal light covers project (Page 5/7)
seajai JAN 24, 11:23 PM
Time for an update:

Both molds are done and ready for a production run:



I finally figured out what was causing my pock mark issue......dust! The kind of dust you can only see when the sun is shining in the window. Acrylic is really prone to static buildup, and the 18% humidity in my garage was only making it worse. No matter what I tried I couldn't stop the acrylic from acting like a giant dust magnet. I got the humidity up to 35% and even put a pan of water in the oven but nothing would stop the dust. After a dozen tries I finally found something that worked.......Plasti-Dip. There is a product out there specifically designed to protect acrylic throughout the thermoforming process, but it's not cheap, so I thought I'd try Plasti-Dip a substitute. It works quite well and eliminates 99% of the dust divots.

Blank coated and ready to form:



Formed:



Peeled:



Cut and ready to install:



Overall I'm happy with the final product, they aren't perfect, but pretty close. I will start a sale thread in the mall. http://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum4/HTML/073403.html Please check it out on contact me if you'd like to purchase a pair.

[This message has been edited by seajai (edited 01-24-2016).]

Dylpro JAN 25, 12:42 AM
Very cool! I may be in for a Formula set when they come around
Slammed JAN 25, 03:36 AM
A much faster and cheaper solution is to leave the outer sheet on the bottom. This will only work if you can heat from above and the sheet hasn't been scratched.
seajai JAN 25, 09:39 AM

quote
Originally posted by Slammed:

A much faster and cheaper solution is to leave the outer sheet on the bottom. This will only work if you can heat from above and the sheet hasn't been scratched.



Will it work with the paper coated acrylic or just the plastic film? I thought about trying it but thought it would just melt the protective film.
Slammed JAN 25, 01:00 PM
Just the plastic. Every pull of acrylic I leave half wrapped

If you don't have an ir heater and have to remove the sheets, just use acrylic cleaner. It removes the static. And Don't blow with air as this creates static.

BTW, why are you using such a large sheet? For something so shallow, you can get away with less than an inch of trim. Get some half inch square tubing and remake your clamping frame. You'll save a ton of product

[This message has been edited by Slammed (edited 01-25-2016).]

Rare87GT JAN 25, 01:06 PM
Very cool. I am in line for the Formula front and rear bumper covers (non-tinted most likely)! Also, don't forget what I messaged you about on the headlight covers


Thanks,
Amir

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Best 1/4: 11.7 @ 115mph
Best 60ft: 1.60

[This message has been edited by Rare87GT (edited 01-25-2016).]

seajai FEB 18, 09:48 PM
Time for an update. Progress on the Formula lens covers has been a little slow but things are happening. Due to the long shallow area on the bumper I have decided to drape form the acrylic instead of vacuum forming it. This means the piece of acrylic will be cut prior to heating, after heating it is laid in the form and the other half is set on top to form it to shape.

To make the molds, I used a Formula bumper set flat on some saw horses. After filling the opening with ultracal30, I formed a plug to the compound curve of the bumper opening. Once that was set, I applied a release agent and covered the area with another layer of ultracal30 to pull a negative mold. I left that to dry for a few days and then applied 4 coats of wax as a release agent. Tonight I filled the negative mold full of ultracal30 to form the positive half. This will need to dry for a few days before I can run a sample lens to check fitment. If all goes well, I will repeat these steps 3 more times to make molds for the other lenses.

Here are a few pics, note the compound curves, these follow the bumper contours exactly. As a side benefit the curves should also add some rigidity to the long narrow lens. Stay tuned.......





[This message has been edited by seajai (edited 02-18-2016).]

Slammed FEB 19, 12:48 AM
Looking good!

If you ever need to do body work or fill holes on the ultracal30, joint compound is the absolute best hands down
Gwhite18 FEB 19, 02:38 AM
Where's the like button?
Danyel FEB 19, 07:23 PM


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Black Widow Build Thread 2007 - 2014 Tylers Toy
My Low Profile Buckets for sale My LED Sidemarkers for sale

[This message has been edited by Danyel (edited 02-19-2016).]