I want to make clear lenses for my vehicle out of a mould I will make out of my current lenses, and I was wondering what can I use that I can mix together in liquid format, apply to the mould, and would harden as clear as possible. I need something like Epoxy Resin, but clear instead of the yellowish hue that Epoxy Resin makes. I can't order clear rear lenses for my car as its very old; 1981 Toyota Supra, so this is my only option. I've looked around for light kits but havn't come up with anything, and this idea just suddenly came to mind. If anyone has anything in mind that will work please let me know. BTW this is for my rear tail-lights, brakelights, and turning lights fixture. It's one complete unit; here's a picture below. BTW notice my license plate starts with the letters BRA. Just found that funny when they picked it out of the pile when I was registering my car so I kept it.

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Ever thought of acrylic? Someone had a monitor mod that used some kind of moldable acrylic.

Any links or anything to that; that's the kinda stuff I had in mind; or liquid acrylic or something.

I need something that will harden and be as clear as possible. Any kind of clear epoxies out there or any kind of glues or anything?

u could make a mold out of plaster (cover the stock lense with the plaster and pull it out when it dries) then put a sheet of arcrylic on top of the mold and put it in the oven. once u determine the right temp ( through trail and error) the arcrylic will sink into the mold and take its shape. then just trim it and glue it to the inner lens in place of the stock outer lense. the only thing i'm not sure of is if the plaster can take the heat of the oven (somewhere around 300F). if not, i'm sure u could find something else at a craft store that would withstand the heat.

I would use Acrylic/Polyesther Resin. I had an '89 Supra I was considering doing the same thing on. Never tried it though. But you'd just make a mold of the lenses and pour in the resin for a perfect match. The only other way to get a very close replica would be using a vacuum mold. USPlastics.com carries it.

And yes, plaster can take a lot more heat than acrylic should you decide to try an oven mold... just make sure to give it time to dry well before use.

Also before molding the orignal lenses, lube them up or cover them in celophane. If you don't, you'll have a pretty hard time pulling them out.

How do you go abouts using Acrylic/Polyesther Resin. Any links you could point me to? Thanks for both the ideas of using a mould and melting acrylic, and the idea of using a mould and pouring in Acrylic/Polyesther Resin. I need more info on the later idea though as I don't know what I need to do. I know you need about 290F to melt acrylic.

Quote: Originally Posted by AMD Daddy How do you go abouts using Acrylic/Polyesther Resin. Any links you could point me to? Thanks for both the ideas of using a mould and melting acrylic, and the idea of using a mould and pouring in Acrylic/Polyesther Resin. I need more info on the later idea though as I don't know what I need to do. I know you need about 290F to melt acrylic.

Acrylic/Polyesther Resin mixes like epoxy, resin and hardener.... From what I've been told it's slightly thicker than water and you simply pour it into the mold. You could also disassemble the original and make a cast of the interior, press that into the exterior mold to make a copy of both sides. Sounds good to me. I haven't tried it, but I've met a few people who have and they all recommended it. I don't know if it would be good for front end lights though. Automotive lamps are made of polycarbonate these days, it's far more scratch resistant and is pretty hard to break (compared to acrylic). The benefit of the resin is that it's more resilient than acrylic (this is how I understand it anyway). You might look for plastics suppliers/fabricators in your area and give them a call. If the resin is strong enough it's your best option here. Acrylic doesn't truly melt, it needs a catalyst. A vacuum mold is your only real second option if you want to make a lense as close as possible to the original. A vacuum mold is where you take a mold of the desired form, drill tons of tiny holes through it and place it on a vacuum table (can't recall if it has a proper name), then you heat the acrylic until it's thoroughly pliable (average at sea level is 275F, if I remember correctly), drop the sheet over the mold with the vacuum already turned on. This will suck the sheet down until it forms against the mold. This technique really is best for extrusion molding.... you're looking to do the opposite, but since it's a simple sheet it should work fine.



EDIT: Heat the acrylic too much and it will start bubbling... that sucks.

Here's a good link with lots of info about molding acrylic sheet. It also gives good coverage of potential hazards, problems, errors and solutions.

Where can I get Acrylic/Polyesther Resin from? What would you recommend making a mould out of?