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Posted

Does anyone remake the door garnish inserts to suit a 1940 Chrysler? Mine are missing on the coupe and I was considering looking into getting something 3D printed?

door garnish insert.JPG

  • Like 1
Posted

I've gotten pretty good results making plastic parts by making silicon molds from originals.  Even beat up originals can work, but you have to have something to start with.  I haven't messed with 3d printing yet but it's probably the way to go if you don't have anything to start with.

  • Like 1
Posted

You might try Mac's Auto Parts. Although they are dedicated to Ford and Mercury, I was able to find a number of interior trim parts for my '40 Plymouth wagon there. The link above will take you to the escutcheon page.

  • Like 1
Posted

I think the short answer is no, nobody is remaking them. I've done both silicone molding from originals and 3-d printing and have had some success with both. The 3-d printing worked very well for simple forms on rear door and rear vent window trim panels. I made bunch of measurements and tracings, turned them into a CAD drawing of the pieces, and electronically sent the job to a 3D print shop. There are lots of colors available for the plastic material, or you can paint what you get to be the color you want. You'll want to spray some clear coat on them anyway, probably, for a little more UV protection, although the modern 3D print materials can be pretty good in that regard. The 3D printed pieces I got back did require a little hand-sanding to smooth the machining lines out, but that worked very well. I did have to invent a method of attaching them to the door/window molding pieces, but the the 3D plastic printed material drills and taps easily, so that worked well. For the more complex pieces, I tried some silicone molding, using an original piece. For that, I had to doctor up the originals to fill cracks and holes and stuff with a little body filler. And making good molds that pick up all the detail is tricky. I wound up making several different molds and several plastic castings before getting something satisfactory, which then got a little paint to look the way they should. So: 3D print simple stuff, try casting more complex things. 


Silicone-molded steering wheel insert here on 1941 Chrysler. 

IMG_0118.jpeg.922a1f0cfff078e70a439230fbdecb75.jpeg

 

3-D printed garnish molding pieces as received from printer:

IMG_0561.jpeg.2460b41fd84af8597b03220ded94c42f.jpeg

 

And installed on re-painted moldings:

 

IMG_0563.jpeg.48b4bb558341a4b9cee880a3276f0a03.jpegIMG_0568.jpeg.afb6bb2a8ff8c968fdfd8347905b4269.jpeg

  • Like 4
Posted

Simple forms like that you can probably just cut yourself from applicable sheet material :)

Otherwise, if you can do a CAD model or 3D scan, you can print anything you want.

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