I'm going to 3D print my tail lights (Yes I'm nuts)

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KevinB

KevinB

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The bezels on my 66 dart have the typical pitting issue. Rather than spend a fortune trying to get them restored, I'm just gonna make new ones! There's a new 3d printer coming out in a month or two that prints 4 colors. That means I can send one model to the printer with (for example) silver, red translucent, white translucent, and dissolvable support material...all in the same model. No assembly required. No worrying about how it all fits together. If it fits in the damn hole, then it fits. Printing will probably all be done in ABS.

The one drawback is I can't print chrome. But I'm reducing the trim on my dart anyway, so having the bezels painted in body color doesn't bother me. I might even nix the candy canes along the top of the back fenders, since they intersect the chrome of the tail lights.

LED bulbs will be used of course. I plan to incorporate the reverse lights into the centers like a '65 dart (Except I'm going to use all 4 reverse light spots, not just the two outers). I'm using a '65 bumper, why not the tail lights too lol. First step is modeling. Will post an update in a couple of weeks.
 
That sounds awesome, Peyote! If it works out, please let me know. I would be interested in a set for my 66. That is, if you would be willing to make another set. Following.
 
PapaTroy said:
That sounds awesome, Peyote! If it works out, please let me know. I would be interested in a set for my 66. That is, if you would be willing to make another set. Following.
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I assumed everyone would be pissy about the lack of chrome and the '65 reverse light styling lol

If there is interest I will for sure sell them. This is a problem that's plaguing so many Dart owners...happy to help others. But my design is going to be customized for me and me alone...no changes will be available to the model once I've finished it, so you're all just gonna have to live with my decisions MUAHAHAHA!
 
Peyote said:
I assumed everyone would be pissy about the lack of chrome and the '65 reverse light styling lol

If there is interest I will for sure sell them. This is a problem that's plaguing so many Dart owners...happy to help others. But my design is going to be customized for me and me alone...no changes will be available to the model once I've finished it, so you're all just gonna have to live with my decisions MUAHAHAHA!
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MUAHAHAHA!................The Peyote is going to your head!!!!!:poke::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
Worst case scenario, I think I have seen "chrome" paint in a can somewhere out in the market meant for I think interior trim in case you really wanted to go that route. I am a huge fan of the printing in one piece and having it body color trim. Watching!
 
Projectile Dart said:
Worst case scenario, I think I have seen "chrome" paint in a can somewhere out in the market meant for I think interior trim in case you really wanted to go that route. I am a huge fan of the printing in one piece and having it body color trim. Watching!
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Yeah, I couldn 't really think of a way to paint the trim to look like chrome that I thought would stand up to the elements...but I haven't looking into it much
 
Mike69cuda said:
There is chrome film you can stretch around stuff if the shape is compatible.
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True! I'm not a huge fan of vinyl wraps...but between that and the latest in chrome sprays it might be doable to come away with something that mimics true chrome well enough
 
Peyote said:
True! I'm not a huge fan of vinyl wraps...but between that and the latest in chrome sprays it might be doable to come away with something that mimics true chrome well enough
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I powder coated the trunk panel on my Barracuda. They had a pretty shiny silver. It turned out pretty nice. I don't know how original you want it to look??
 
Treblig said:
I powder coated the trunk panel on my Barracuda. They had a pretty shiny silver. It turned out pretty nice. I don't know how original you want it to look??
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not totally worried about originality, but I don’t like mixing material finishes if I can help it, for instance I wouldn’t want silver next to body painted silver next to chrome
 
as opposed to 3d printing have you thought of making out of clear/colored resin?
 
The advantage of 3D printing is that the machine does all the work for you. You get it all set up, start the program and go to work outside. By the end of the day (or sooner) it's done. No sweat!!!
 
The other advantage printing has over moldmaking, it I can make it all as one part, and customize to my liking the design
 
Mike69cuda said:
It will be interesting to see if they have good optical properties.
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There are others that have printed brake lenses, so it's not unheard of...in the model I'm definately going to add the pyramid shaped indentations on the inside of the lenses that serve as a diffusion pattern on the originals. Checking what the light looks like coming through will all be part of the iteration process
 
ABS has poor UV resistance and will degrade over time when exposed to sun light. However, any printer capable of printing ABS is also capable of printing ASA which has all of the good properties of ABS plus UV resistance and high temperature resistance.
 
TurboGLH said:
ABS has poor UV resistance and will degrade over time when exposed to sun light. However, any printer capable of printing ABS is also capable of printing ASA which has all of the good properties of ABS plus UV resistance and high temperature resistance.
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thanks I can never remember which is UV resistant
 
TurboGLH said:
ABS has poor UV resistance and will degrade over time when exposed to sun light. However, any printer capable of printing ABS is also capable of printing ASA which has all of the good properties of ABS plus UV resistance and high temperature resistance.
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actually looking at Taulman Tglase now, as it has good light transmission, uv resistance, and doesn’t warp or shrink. Comes in transparent colors as well as white and clear
 
Peyote said:
actually looking at Taulman Tglase now, as it has good light transmission, uv resistance, and doesn’t warp or shrink. Comes in transparent colors as well as white and clear
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I'll have to take a deeper look when I get home, I'm not familiar with it.

I'll admit that I haven't done any printing with translucent materials, or flexible stuff like TPU. I've stuck to stuff that's more mechanically functional (spacers, brackets, fixtures, etc). Closest I've come is a cluster replacement, and that's still in progress as I fiddle with the model to adjust fitment.

If you can make it work, it's the perfect project. Something that traditional mfg isn't cost effective for but there's still some demand.
 
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