Air Dam Lights replacements

[speedy04]

So the other day while I was out for a ride, a branch decided to jump out in front of me only to take out one of the lights. It punched out the hole fixture. The only thing I have left is the trim on the front of the dam. I did some checking on the site and saw that JamtJrus 3D printed a new light ( which is pretty cool by the way). I was wondering if anyone has tried to resin cast a replacement? This site is full of creative people so I'm hoping that others have had this idea. If not is anyone familiar with the process and can give any tips.

[speedy04]

Since I'm having no luck even finding an air dam to use as parts I decided to try and make my own. Well I finally got some new mold making rubber and this is the mold it self. I'm pretty happy how it turned out so far. It needs some cleaning up before I can actually try to resin cast a new one, but hopeful later tonight I'll be looking at a new usable fixture for the air dam.

[speedy04]

So here is the test fixture. I need to clean it up some, but I think it will do. Have to drill out the mounting holes for the new screws and support bracket. The original lens fits perfectly. I haven't made the mold yet for the lens as I'm trying to find a clear resin that I can color either with a pigment or paint itself.

[WingAdmin]

It looks great! Just like the original!

[speedy04]

Thanks WingAdmin. I primed it and found a large amount of air bubbles around the front trim. I've hopefully corrected those issues and am going to try pouring another today. Once the fixture is good, then I'll move on to the lens, being clear and with all those facets on the back side should be loads of fun.

[WingAdmin]

Thanks WingAdmin. I primed it and found a large amount of air bubbles around the front trim. I've hopefully corrected those issues and am going to try pouring another today. Once the fixture is good, then I'll move on to the lens, being clear and with all those facets on the back side should be loads of fun.

I wonder if using vibration on the fresh-poured material might help the air bubbles to dislodge and migrate up to the surface, kind of like a cement vibrator?

[speedy04]

Well I'm glad I'm not the only one who was thinking that .... I put the mold on a base plate for a palm sander and It seemed to help some. I think it's partly how I cast the mold. As the resin it is an exothermic reaction so no matter how much I vibrate all the air bubbles that are created have no way to escape. I'm gonna give some bondo a try and see how that works. Finally 30 years of model making is paying off.

[speedy04]

The first coat of primer is on and It's hard to tell which is the original and which is the new one. A bit more work and they'll be good to go. The new sockets arrived today so I can start working on fitting those inside.

[speedy04]

Fresh out of the mold.

All except for being lighter in color the lens turned out great. It's still a bit soft but that is due to the curing time on this resin. 3-5 days it will be totally cure. I may just give it another shot while I wait and add a lot more dye to the resin . It looked pretty close while I was pouring it. Maybe it will grow on me, but I wanna try and have the lenses as close to the same as possible other wise it will annoy me to no end. OCD at its finest . Almost have the new sockets wired as well. Another 3 days or so and we can see how it looks back on the bike, well not totally back on as I'm also doing the water pump since the air dam is off

Original fixture

New fixture

[speedy04]

Here is the finished product. I am happy with how it turned out. It's now a wait and see game as to how it will hold up to the elements.