Metal Movie Cap Shield on a budget **DONE!! FINAL PICS ON PAGE 4

Re: Metal Movie Cap Shield on a budget

I started by using a dremel with cutoff wheels. After 20 minutes and using all my cutoff wheels I swiched to my jigsaw with a finetooth blade. Done in 2 minutes. I smoothed the edges with a bench grinder.

I wanted to comment on some questions about why I didn't try the scored lines that are in between the rings on the Movie Shield. I thought long and hard about this and eventually omitted them on my design. Why? The shield (sled) is only about 1/16" thick. Any attempt to etch a deep groove would come perilously close to going through the sled. I really don't miss them in my design. I did have the thought that I could paint or draw a thin darker line at the edge of the color rings to simulate the shadow a groove would make. But I chickened out.

Re: Metal Movie Cap Shield on a budget

I've gotten some questions about the scoring of the star. First, attached is a template for the star. It's based on a 10" blue circle.

Here's the steps for making the star:

You'll need at least a 10"x10" piece of thin sheet aluminum. I'll get the exact thickness when I run to the store tomorrow. You'll want it thin enough to bend around the curve of the shield.

1) Take your sheet of sheet aluminum and drill a tiny hole in the middle. Tiny because it will remain in the middle of the star so you don't want it to be very noticeable.

2) Take a wood paint stir stick and pound a tiny nail in the middle of it. This will be your spinning arm that you'll use to create the spun lines. Like a propeller!

3) Place a piece of paint stripping pad (something like this Amazon.com: 3M 7413NA Hand Sanding Stripping Pad, 4.375 in x 11 in, Green, Coarse: Home Improvement) and wrap it around the paint stick. Put a nail through the hole in te paint stick and pound it through the hole in the metal sheet onto a piece of board. Now you should have a piece of aluminum with a paint stick "propeller" mail into the middle of it.

4) Now holding the metal in place, spin the paintstick and abrasive pad around in some circles. You're just trying to spin a light texture into the aluminum so don't get carried away.

5) Remove your propeller, and use the centerpoint of the star template to tape the star to the center of the template is directly over the hole in the aluminum.

6) Cut through the star template marking the star onto the sheet aluminum. Remove the paper and you should see the star marked on the aluminum.

7) Now with a sharp utility knife and a straight edge, begin scoring the outlines of the star. Go past the tips of the star. You are not trying to cut through the aluminum, just deeply score it.

8) Once the outlines are made you can hold the aluminum and gently begin to wiggle the aluminum along a score line. Don't force it too quickly. You're not trying to bend it. A little wiggling and you'll feel the scored line starting to give and the metal will snap cleanly along the line. Do this along each edge to break your star free.

9) The additional decorative score lines in the finished star are made with a broken tip of your utility knife and a straight edge. Again, don't go too deep. Drag the blade gently at first to make a mark, then repeat a few times to get the right depth. Start by making the lines from the hole in the middle of your star out to the inside corners. That makes the 5 radiating lines in the middle. The other border lines around the outside are makes with a felt tip pen (not a Sharpie) and etched with the utility knife.

10) I also found some round rivets around the workshop that I glues on the points, but you can omit those if you want.

Re: Metal Movie Cap Shield on a budget

Thank you for being so forthright with your build information, I really appreciate it. Sometimes people try to keep stuff a secret or just don't take the time to share like you are.

Re: Metal Movie Cap Shield on a budget

Thanks for the info Valor!

Re: Metal Movie Cap Shield on a budget

That's just BEAUTIFUL!!!!! :thumbsup

Makes me want to drop everything and complete mine!
(Unfortunately I have other priorities first!)

Re: Metal Movie Cap Shield on a budget

Just figured I'd drop a quick note, the tape Valor recommended is actually some seriously strong stuff. Tested a 1x1 piece of tape at the end of an 8" piece of flat alum to the top of another end of flat alum, tried to pry that sucker apart ended up bending the flat metal before the tape gave lol

Re: Metal Movie Cap Shield on a budget

Thanks for the template of the star Valor, I redrew/traced my star after finding the center and taping it down. I just finished drawing the inside lines, it looks much sharper than before.

Re: Metal Movie Cap Shield on a budget

Sorry, I've been low on picture updates. More to come soon. In the mean time. Here's the finishing process I followed:

After the two color coats are down, I used the following product, Krylon Clear Laquer:

http://www.acehardwareoutlet.com/productdetails.aspx?sku=998055446&SessionExpired=True

I put a whole can worth of thin layers on. When you're done the finish may look a bit dull or "orange peel". Don't worry, that's what the next steps are for:

Use the red sheet of paper from Testors Wet/Dry Sanding Film set to wet-sand then entire front of the shield. This will even out the finish. It will still be dull, but more smooth.

Testors 8802 Wet/Dry Sanding Film- 5 Grits, 5 Sheets

The grab a wet piece of cotton t-shirt and use Turtle Wax Polishing Compound to remove the tiny scratches from the sandpaper:

Buy Turtlewax Polishing Compound (10.5 oz.) T241A at Advance Auto Parts

Then finish by using Maquires cleaner wax. It will buff final tiny scratches out and leave the finish super-smooth.

Walmart.com: Meguiar's Cleaner Wax Liquid: Automotive

Re: Metal Movie Cap Shield on a budget

This I have to see.

Re: Metal Movie Cap Shield on a budget

Is Duplicoat clear coat finish a lacquer or an enamel?

Re: Metal Movie Cap Shield on a budget

It's probably and acrylic laquer. There's lots of clear coats you can use. I just prefer this.

Re: Metal Movie Cap Shield on a budget

awesome build. is the shield flexible or sturdy?

Re: Metal Movie Cap Shield on a budget

I mean stiff due to the thickness of the shield

Re: Metal Movie Cap Shield on a budget

It's definitely got some flex to it. It's only 1/16" thick. But, it's also got a nice heft. It feels substantial. I hope attaching the braces and harness to the back will stiffen it up.

Re: Metal Movie Cap Shield on a budget

Hey, I was just thinking about the dissimilar metals, and I was curious how you plan to bond the star down. If you haven't done it already, I would highly recommend something like GOOP or E6000, a very strong flexible bond, instead of a rigid epoxy because of the metal differences.

Re: Metal Movie Cap Shield on a budget

Well, I stuck it down last night. I used JB Weld. I may have some flexibility issues, but unlike the brackets, if the JB Weld fails, at least the shield doesn't hit the ground.

Re: Metal Movie Cap Shield on a budget

Just curious, why not rivet it?

Re: Metal Movie Cap Shield on a budget

Why not rivet the star to the front?? Well .... um .... hey. that's a pretty good idea. If the glue fails, I just might do that.

In the mean time, I completed the back brackets (what are these things really called) by adding all the tiny rivets around the perimeter. Actually they are small metal brads I found at the hardware store that I cut down and super glued in place.

I also wanted to show the final clearcoated finish. Probably doesn't look too different from the previous un-clearcoated pics, but it FEELS different. Silky smooth, you can hardly feel the transition from stripe to stripe.

The leather is on order, so I'm on hold until it arrives.

Re: Metal Movie Cap Shield on a budget

Paint job looks freaking gorgeous!! Nice work.

Re: Metal Movie Cap Shield on a budget

That is **** HOT!, scuse the language, damn man, Im in awe. It looks great, cant wait to see you strap it up.