Moulding Badges..

does anyone know a good method of making a mould of a badge? the VW badge font is impossible to replicate, and i would like to make a mould of my badge incase of theft.. as it is possible the only one in Aust.. and i would like to get one up to scone NSW for Lee 😉

i was thinking a 1 piece mould of the front in plaster of paris, and filling with aluminium.. is this possible? i know nothing about melting down aluminium or plaster of paris.. but they came to mind pretty quickly. the badge i want to replicate has a script font in it also.. so VERY difficult to "copy" from sight.

if successful, might be worth making moulds of all known VW badges incase one needs to be replicated pretty cheaply

any ideas? any input very welcome!

what baout getting a digital (read electronic outline) outline made , which then can be used for cutting new badges using laser/waterjet?

you may even be able to do this form a good quility photo?

are you able to replicate the tapered edges that way though? the badges arnt 2d.. yanno what i mean?

yep i know what you mean. you may be able to if you get a good draftsman to do it. and get it drawn in 3d then you just need a lazer cutter that works in 3d.

might be easier to mould it. what baout talking to professional caster/forgers?

what baout sand moulding?

i have an article somewhere on a liquid rubber made especially for this purpose. just sink your badge into it, let it dry, then remove your badge and pour some metal (pewter or similar) and u have a new badge.

bay bus could u look that up for me?

wwell i'v tried plaster - dosent work 🙁..

emptied a whole tube of silicon sealant into a tray and stuck thebadge in.. will give it a week or so.. probably even longer untill it sets, then i will try filling the mould with a metallic filler.. if that fails, i'll get somone else to make up like 50 or so 🙂

Performance Buildups Vol-3 No-2
3120 RTV or Elastosil M4470 with T37 catalyst - rubber for the mould
chemical mould release to get the original back out
Talcom powder the mould so metal doesnt stick
JA12 (can be chromed) or Pewter (cannot be chromed) - metal for new badge

beneath the article is an add for Solid Solutionsin Bentleigh Vic (tel. 95790573) who can probably give you better qadvice and provide the equipment to set you up.

thanks cheif 🙂

Hi

Ive seen a few of those badges at swaps, they were fitted to imported cabrios I guess. Richard @ V Force (Alexs dad) has been getting some cool badges profile cut, like VW2232 etc.

1302Steve

the badge i have is from the first 6 months of the 68 production year of Auto-Sticks in Germany (all auto sticks were made there.. and only the VERY first 6 months worth have the badge)..

the rest changed to VW-Automatic.. some others are around in Oz ihaveheard.. but not in one piece unfortunatley 🙁

im lucky enough to have a whole one, with the VW logo on the back, with part number.. so i know it is an original, not a repro..

the plan is to make some up, to keep on the car, keep the real one safe, and get one out to anyone with an Auto-Stick who would like one 🙂

This isn’t really an answer, but it is the best I can do.

I remember watching on Cruzin (Hot rod show on channel 31 in perth) a segment on a product that will let you replicate badges and other plastic trim pieces. It was a two step process.

Make the mould with a two part epoxy like playdoh, just press the badge into it. It hardens in a couple of minutes.

Then I think you pour another epoxy into the mould and pop it out when it is dry. The finished product is then paintable etc.

However, that is as far as my memory goes. I cant remember what it was called. I have tried a google search for it but I couldn’t turn anything up.

Maybe someone else can remember something about it.


Clint

maybe you could make a mould out of plasta and then fill with pewter? might work ive dont it before with other similar things.

killakornkobb wrote:wwell i'v tried plaster - dosent work 🙁..

because of the script it gets stuck very eaisily, and how fragile the badge is, it is impossible to get it out of the plaster, with out breaking the plaster off it..

almost snapped the badge trying to get it out 🙁

maybe you could get some sort of spray or grease that make the badge come off the plaster and doesnt stick to it, might work, maybe vaseline, i dunno really but i hope u find a way.

If you can find someone that does sand moulding and casting, they will have a new one made that is identical to the original in about 2hours tops. I work at an aluminium smelter, and used to "find" 😉 a whole heap of scrap aluminium for a bloke in town who had his own mini cast shop in his shed. He could melt it down and cast it to any shape you wanted as long as he had something to copy - ie. could make a sand mould of the object. No harm done to original and new one a perfect replica. I'm sure in the sunny metropolis of Melbourne you would be able to find someone doing the same sort of hobby out of their backyard.......

im going to try and do the plaster again.. but put some glad wrap over the soft plaster before i push the badge in.. but first i have to get all this damn silicon off the badge🙂 i tried the other night after work.. but the turps smell pissed everyone off 🙁

maye, duno if youve looked, but classic vw make repro badges like that

If you know of any old hot metal printers around they could make a neg of the badge and then produce what was called a 1/4 inch zinco! I did this some years ago in England with a karmann ghia script badge then ran off about 10 and got them all chromed,

Send it to me before you destroy the badge,
I do this sort of thing all the time, I would be happy to make a mould for you.

dont let silicone sealant set on the badge or it will be history.