DIY repro badges?

N8Nagel

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
Anyone ever make their own repro badges for speaker grilles?

Specifically looking for Rectilinear III lowboys. I actually have an offer to borrow one. Need at least four copies, two for me, two for the gu y lending. I'm sure there are others out there who might want some as well if we get the procedure down.

Anyone up for walking me through this, or is this something better handed off to someone with experience? Anyone here willing to volunteer?

Thanks!
Rectilinear Badge.jpg
 
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Plastifix kit maybe? It's a two part plastic - fill a mold with powder, then drip the activator into it for a solid plastic piece. I've mostly used it to repair motorcycle bodies, and it works slick. Good idea to put some of the liquid in the mold first, then sprinkle in powder to fill all the gaps completely, then build the part to the right thickness by adding powder and wetting it in stages.

The kit comes with putty molding blocks that you heat, then press down around the original part. Once it sets shape, peel it off, and use that to make the copies. Paint or finish as required.
 
I think laser engraving is the easiest way. There are some "metallized" plastics that are black inside. The laser will burn the metallized surface and show the black back.

You can engrave real metal too.
 
Pretty sure the originals are plastic.

Someone on the vintage audio group recommended asking a trophy shop. Once I have a sample in my hands I may pursue that route as I work closely with a local place that does them among other things including fire alarm annunciator panels (why I work with them.) Maybe they'd cut me a buddy deal on a small run. Maybe they wouldn't. I know my attempt at getting some Studebaker AM/FM dial glasses repro'd years ago turned out to be cost prohibitive, this was before I really got back into home audio and knew of Radio Daze who I would have gone to first had I been aware.
 
Look up this lenco badge on Ebay. If he doesn't already have your emblem he can make it. His ebay name grossbjorn
 
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That's kind of what I was thinking. Recommends for silicone mold material? I was thinking that I'd seen gold leaf at Michael's, and I could "fix" it with clearcoat afterward. Am I thinking right?

Look up this lenco badge on Ebay. If he doesn't already have your emblem he can make it. His ebay name grossbjorn

Russian federation though... if I got one original I'd have to figure out how to ship it to him I'm guessing, I'm pretty handy so really wanted to try to do it myself
 
I bought all my materials at Michaels. Make sure the silicone kit has a recent date. I think they have gold paste like the silver.
Not sure about the clearcoat but it should work. My silver paste dried ok and doesn't rub off.
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It worked good for me. The hard part is getting all the bubbles out of the resin when you pour it into the mold.

Stir resin and try not to make bubbles. Pour into mold and vibrate to release bubbles.

It took me two tries. Side by side you can spot the repro but at three feet it's hard to tell the difference.
 
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