The '68 Rebuild Begins - Slowly

As this is a work in progress and I have not started the finish pieces, I will give some details and a few photos of the making of the prototype. I'm making a few changes and waiting for some revised graphics but the process is not likely to change.

First off, I am not a plastics expert nor do I have any experience with molding or casting plastics. I'm sure there are many ways to do the same thing that I am doing and many tools and products that would make the job easier. I did a good amount of research and talked to a resin casting expert who gave me several tips as to which products and techniques to use.

The original emblems were very well made. Essentially the plastic disc was polished. The lettering and round border were then silkscreened onto the back (flat side) of the disc. A mirrored foil was then applied over the entire back. Finally, a protective coating was applied to the back (very similar to the stuff they used on mirrors back in the day). This kept the adhesive from damaging the foil. It is not practical to use this method today - even if you could find someone to do it. Out of necessity, I am using vinyl decals.

Picture of original disc



The first step was to build the mold box and mold. I carefully removed the protective coating, foil and silkscreened black lettering from the back of one of my old and beat discs. I gave the back of the disc a light sanding on a perfectly flat surface (glassing) so I did not change the shape of the disc. After that, I polished the front of the disc to a high shine using Mother's plastic polish and a 3" foam pad in a mini polisher. I put a piece of double stick tape on the back of the disc and pressed it firmly into the bottom of the mold box that I had made out of some spare MDF board. The pictures showing the finished mold show it with the bottom already removed but you can see the screw holes.



Once I had mixed and poured in the platinum catalyzed silicone rubber material I let it set up and then unscrewed the bottom. I carefully pried the bottom off evenly and the disc that was taped to the bottom came out still attached to the bottom. I screwed the bottom onto the other side of the mold box to give the silicone mold some extra support. I then mixed up a few ounces of AquaClear optically clear resin per the instructions. I poured the resin into the mold in a very slow steady stream to try to minimize any air bubbles. The air bubbles are a real PITA! You need to be really careful when stirring and pouring the catalyzed resin to keep from making air bubbles as the resin does not really degas on it's own. I ended up using a little less catalyst so I would have more time to work the bubbles out.

this is a picture of the mold with the resin poured and curing (the surface is actually very smooth - the flash makes it look a bit distorted)



MORE TO FOLLOW

After the resin had cured (24 hours) I carefully removed it from the mold and post-cured it for 6 hours @160 degrees. This is important as it gives it the required hardness and makes polishing it much easier.

For illustration purposes, this is the first disc I made which was rejected due to air bubbles. Also, I only gave it a light polishing so it would show better in a picture





Unfortunately, I did not take pictures of the next two steps because I had to hurry. I will take pictures when I do the finish discs for anyone who is interested.

Iniially, before popping the disc out of the mold, I tried to wet the decal with resin and place it on the still tacky disc and pour a little resin over it to encapsulate it (which is the proper technique), but it was impossible to get the air bubbles out of it. So after I popped the disc out of the mold, it was polished to a shiny swirl-mark free finish. Due to surface tension and the heat generated in the curing, the very outside edge of the back of the disc rises up slightly and needs to be flattened during the sanding/polishing process. I then prepared the vinyl decal and mixed up a very small batch of resin. I brushed some resin onto the entire face of the decal using a nylon paintbrush and then took the disc and pressed it into the resin coated decal which was lying on a flat surface. By pushing down and twisting the disc slightly all of the air bubbles were squeezed out the edges. I held pressure on the disc for a few minutes and then placed a weight on top of the disc. To make the polishing process easier, you can scrape away any excess resin that oozes out the edges once the resin has gelled.

This is the raw prototype after curing for several hours. I did not take the time to clean up the cured resin that oozed out the edge, but it cleans up pretty easily. Any bright spots in the photo are from the overhead lights/flash



This is the edge view that shows the domed shape



This is the prototype alongside the original




The prototype is just a little bit more mirrored than the original because the original is somewhat hazy from age. I am going to make a few adjustments before I complete the finish pieces.

One of the quickest way to spot a reproduction badge is the lettering. As you can see in the picture of the two badges side-by-side, the lettering on the early Fastback badges is slightly different from any other Norton logo I have ever seen. The tips of the N's are different. Most reproduction badges are made using a shrunken tank image.

Maximini, when my friend wanted to make a set of badges, he tried several times to cast them, but didn't have any experience with casting resins or making a mold. He gave up after a few tries. That's why he finally turned them from acrylic rod.

Your set up looks good!

The original certainly looks more like an English stylized Fraktur (German gothic) typeface than the new one, at least the end points on the letters. It would be interesting if you could make the new one like the old typeface. The old one looks lots different (and better typeface) to me. It's like what I remember of the old decals, the new ones just don't look the same, the 'apostrophe' off the beginning of the N certainly flows better on the old one.

http://german.about.com/od/readinggerman/a/fraktur.htm

You are doing an outstanding job though, I haven't a clue how you are doing it. Power to you for being so anal (not a complaint).

Dave
69S

looks like the lettering on the old one is lower than the rest of the plate like it was stamped in? You're doing an amazing job though

Great stuff Max,

The missus does decoupage using resins and thus I know a little about it that might be of assistance to you. The first is to take your time pouring and mixing the resins to reduce the amount of air bubbles in the first place. Don't be vigorous! The second is that CO2 will draw the bubbles out (sorry, not my field of expertise - no idea how or why). If you use a straw to blow on to the surface of the resin before it cures, it kills the bubbles. Be careful not to drip though! We've also used a gas torch flame in the vicinity to make CO2, but the results were not conclusive and not great to have a flame around. Some other sources of CO2 might be worth investigating - soda syphon charge bottles? We were able to get perfect results by being careful in the first place and with judicous use of a straw where necessary.

All the best!

I also noticed the difference in the lettering. The badge that I gave the graphic artist was the best that came off the bike and when I compared it to the other two badges I can see that it is different, most notably in the small "n" in Norton. The old (and my other two badges) logo has the "n" that is pointed on the bottom. (I think it is safe to assume that the badge I gave the graphic artist was a replacement badge and the other two were the originals) The big "N" is also somewhat thinner on the older badge. As I said in my earlier post, I was waiting for revised decals from the graphic artist so I'll see how the new ones look with the revisions.

Notice the bottom edges of the non-round letters, they are very sharp and end with a flat area pointing to the lower right, all of them the same, very Gothic looking. The upper left beginning of the capital N is a give away too, it just looks so right, the new one looks squished.

I'll give it a shot working with the old picture you have in Photoshop and see if I can give you something, I'm no artist though.

Dave
69S

Appreciate the help Dave.

I saw the revisions from the graphic artist this morning. She is almost there. A couple of small revisions and then I will send the file to the decal guy so he can make a couple for testing.

The issue with the style of the lettering is one thing, but the matter is complicated because there is some optical distortion due to the plastic disc and the fact that it is domed. This can make the letters look somewhat different after attaching the plastic dome. Essentially, it makes them look a little fatter. Further adjustments will probably need to be made to compensate once I see how it looks after completion of prototype #2.

Maxi, are the Tank and tail badges the same dimensions?
Al

I made some progress while waiting for my updated graphics for the tank/tail badges


first time it sits on it's own wheels in five months







It's down to the finishing touches now







Devil is in the details so now the detailing begins

Very nice. Are you going for 'concourse' look? Where did you get that '038' clock label, I remember they were on mine, but of course they disappeared somewhere in the years. Again, very nice, can't say it enough. I see you went for the original 'H' fuel harness too. Those look like original taps, did you find replacements or did you make the originals work? Mine drip, drip, drip no matter what I do.

Dave
69S

Dave - The date codes on the clocks were made using a Personal Touch label maker. They match my originals almost perfectly. The fuel taps were redone by a friend of mine. I don't know how he did it but, knock wood, they don't leak. They were already re-plated when I got them back and there was no evidence of anything having been done to them (I did not think you could actually do any service type work to them).

Dave - sorry it was a really long day. The petcocks on the Norton are a pair I have had on the shelf for a while. The pair that my buddy worked on were for my BSA.

That's just ridiculous.

Great job. I don't have the talent to bring mine back to that level of detail. Congratulations.

Outstanding!! Cj

I think you should be commited, you are obviously crazy and while they put you away for good, I can take care of your bike, can't promise it will be as clean IF you ever get it back :mrgreen:

IF and I do say IF you are sane, then it is clear you have access to a time machine :wink:

Jean

Hey, some people are committed, notice he even polished the inner primary? Someone has to do it for the rest of us. I'm in complete envy, but in a good way, not compulsive.

Dave
69S

I second that, that is one beautiful bike, amazing! it nearly looks to nice to ride.