SD-40 Possible Production pt.2 (1 Viewer)

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I have several switches with knobs that look like they are beyond restoration as well. And this is the first I’m seeing of you taking this project on. :cool:
 
I have several switches with knobs that look like they are beyond restoration as well. And this is the first I’m seeing of you taking this project on. :cool:

Well this is the first that I’m posting about it. I’ll throw up a post on making the molds and casting the knobs some time this week.
 
Maybe one of those Texan gals from those LC calendars?
 
@Krondor awhile back I watched some videos on glass molding. They commented that they used temperatures of 1600° F starting at 500° F and increasing 500° F every hour and holding for 30 minutes.

Annealing they dropped the temp as quickly as possible to 960 for 3 hours.

Btw, they used recycled glass that was manually crushed for this. Not sure if that makes a difference or not?

Hope this helps
 
Seems to me you need to use a release agent that can with stand heat. Similar how carbon and fiberglass is molded?
Yeah I ended up using a Boron Nitride release agent. That helped get it out of the mold. but I am still having trouble with the annealing. I'll do some more research at a later date but for now it's on the back burner.
 
@Krondor

Saw an alternative you might look into using "Liquid Glass" or similar. Although it's not glass, it does seem like a good option. Molds can be simple silicone. This type of material is epoxy based so it is fuel resistant and many manufacturers add UV stabilizers to prevent yellowing. This is used in table tops and live edge projects.

Amazon product ASIN B07PXGFGCS
 
Thanks. I'll look into that. I already have experience with casting silicone molds so it shouldn't be too difficult. May have to order a sample, dunk it in gasoline and see how it reacts over some time.
The link to the product I sent you has a UV stabilizer added so it should survive under the hood without yellowing for quite awhile. Apparently, yellowing is common with Epoxy based materials. Epoxy inherently is fuel and oil resistant. It's used in many products to to seal leaks in fuel tanks. I'm sure there are similar products available as well.

I would try my hand at this, but I've got too much going on.

About the only downfall is it being a softer material than glass with the ability to get scratched. Not a big issue for the sight glass as far as I'm concerned.

Robert
 

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