Maybe it’s to make you the coolest kid on the block or perhaps for the fun of it. Whichever way, custom badges seems to be growing in popularity and you can join the moving train (and save additional costs too) with casting your own custom badges! Custom badges are designed to suit the taste, style, and personality of the car owner.
Customized car emblems
No matter the car you drive, it should be adorned with an emblem or badge. Emblems are much more than the symbol or logo of the car manufacturing company. In recent times, they have become a statement because of the use of designs that are a reflection of the car owner.
If you want to go for the mass-produced car emblems, it is quite cheap and takes less time to produce. It is important to note that a custom car emblem takes more time to make and this is dependent on your choice of material and design.
Why do I need a custom car emblem?
With customized emblems, you can have a wide variety of choices to make. You can make a bold statement! Custom car emblems allow you to showcase your passion and interests by a specific design of your choice.
Custom badges each tell a story. They are different emblems that cut across different countries, places, sports teams or entertainment stars. A custom car emblem can be a great addition to your car accessories, further accentuating your style.
Types of car emblems
Before we go into the casting, it is important that we explore the different types of car emblems that exist. The decal emblems are available in different colors and are made from a single material – vinyl. However, this particular type is less permanent in comparison to others and quite easy to stick. This also means that you won’t have to deal with marks from mounting holes in your car!
The enamel car badges, on the other hand, are made of the metal base of copper, which makes them more sophisticated. Often comes with enamel colors, plated with chrome, nickel, and gold. They are not easy to install as they have their own hardware for mounting.
If you are looking for a custom badge that comes almost-hassle free, your best bet is the plastic car emblem. Anyone with a little bit of car knowledge can add this emblem to their car. They are produced from automotive grade plastic and can be installed using adhesives.
Chrome-plated car emblems go through the same process as some factory car emblems and make for great additions to the car. They make use of adhesives, which makes it easy to stick them to your car.
For durable car emblems, the steel emblem comes to mind. Made from carbon steel, they can withstand rough outdoor conditions and weather. The material is heavy-duty; hence, there is hardware that can be used to support the weight while mounting the emblems.
Billet aluminum emblems are hand-made using polished aluminum. Quite durable, they are light and can withstand harsh weather elements, dirt, and heat among others without wearing out. There are different installation options available for this type of custom car emblems.
How then do you cast your emblem in a way that is guaranteed to last?
First things first! It is not as difficult as it may seem. With mass casting, you can pretty much cast whatever design you want from the comfort of your garage!
Before you think of casting, the design must be known. A model can be drafted in order for corrections and adjustments to be made before molding is done. The molding phase is a phase whereby a prototype of the emblem is made or hand-crafted and prepared for waxing.
Think of molds in two forms. It can be as simple as a bread pan forming a loaf of bread or it can be used for complex shapes. The most important thing to note is that mold is a cavity that receives the liquid metal that is poured into it and produces a shape of that cavity when cooled.
In casting, there are three metals that are commonly used; brass, bronze, and zinc. These metals are melted down and poured into a mold. A mold is basically a hollow cavity that is made into the shape of whatever design of custom badge you choose to have. Heat is an important element in casting as it helps form the shape of the custom badge and also helps for a clean finishing. Thus, hot wax is injected into the mold and allowed to harden.
The final step of the casting process is the finishing where the emblem is polished in line with the hand-crafted model or design that was made at the beginning.
