(Re)finishing a Vader Saber (Finished!)

[Sym-Cha]

Re: (Re)finishing a Vader Saber

Hi Clutch,

It does seem that the bubbles lay on top of the real MPP clamp or perhaps just stuck in one side of the clamp not both, also if you look to the first lightsaber MPP picture then there are no bubbles present at all!!!
So someone must have realised this and then they were added to the MPP for the second photograph? :confused
In the pictures of the real ROTJ MPP you can clearly see them stuck underneath the clamps with an additional part of the calculator board.

Also the endcap on a real MPP is straight with the rest of the body, and this is also a perfect 'tell' to distinguish a replica form a real MPP, so the T-track grips lay totally flat

-Chaim

 

[Clutch]

Re: (Re)finishing a Vader Saber

I don't put too much credence in those photos because the saber has been cut out and placed on a different background. I'm guessing they chopped the bubbles in the pic like they chopped other bits such as the clamp lever.

 

[scarf man]

Re: (Re)finishing a Vader Saber

Also the endcap on a real MPP is straight with the rest of the body, and this is also a perfect 'tell' to distinguish a replica form a real MPP, so the T-track grips lay totally flat

-Chaim

This is untrue. There is a ridge where the cap meets the main tube on all known MPP variants.
Unmodified T-track will not lay flush on a vintage or replica MPP.
Take it from someone who has owned a Larbel, Parks, and real MPP.

 

[Sym-Cha]

Re: (Re)finishing a Vader Saber

Well, my learned friend, as it happens I have a real MPP in front of me and my T-track lays flat enough!!! Eventhough there's indeed a tiny ridge but the glue channel on the T-track evens it out nicely without modification. My Larbel is more like the Parks as seen in above pictures.

-Chaim

 

[Clutch]

Re: (Re)finishing a Vader Saber

Time to see some pics! As a matter of fact, the only Vader ANH saber I remember seeing finished is the one Gino did.

 

[xingshen]

Re: (Re)finishing a Vader Saber

Hey Clutch,

Saber looks great!

Did you use any type of primer or clear coat for the VHT? I'm thinking of using the VHT on a Kolbold Droid Caller and wondering how good it will stick.

 

[Clutch]

Re: (Re)finishing a Vader Saber

Thanks! I stripped the original finish with paint stripper down to the bare metal. Gave it a good wash and dry and painted directly onto the metal with no primer. I was concerned at first about durability, but it is very durable. I know this because I had to scrape very hard to get the paint off in the corners to simulate wear. :thumbsup

 

[scarf man]

Re: (Re)finishing a Vader Saber

Time to see some pics! As a matter of fact, the only Vader ANH saber I remember seeing finished is the one Gino did.

I too would like to see pics of this flush to the tube endcap.

 

[Leigh]

Re: (Re)finishing a Vader Saber

Finished. The clamp is fragile. The U-shaped sections that hold the bubble strip are not very deep, so prying them up was not easy.
I tried a flat piece of metal, but it kept slipping. I had to use a screwdriver and it did a job on the finish! No way to get the bends uniform and the paint cracked.

If I had noticed this before, I probably wouldn't have mucked the clamp up. Getting the nail through it was pain enough.
Any movement would scar the soft aluminum sidebars.

So I think I am done for now. Maybe one of these days I will own a real one. Although I don't know if I could bring myself to do the kind of damage I did to this one.

If thats the extent of the damage thats not too difficult to sort out.

I'd find a strip of steel thick enough to fill the space your circuit board & bubble strip take up (or a a few thinner peices together) to use as a dolly, then with a good lightweight hammer (with a clean face) gently tap the high spots down against your steel strip(s). This may squash the lip slightly being soft ally & it'll flair slightly at the edges. Remove your steel strip & finnish it with a file wrapped tightly in abrasive paper (no coarser than 180 grit down to very fine) then repaint.
It should then look as good as new HTH

The wrinkle paint looks great, I've used it many times myself over the years. There are different makes of the stuff & they all seem to have a different application process??

Lovely looking saber btw I'll have to get a Vader to add to my collection someday.

 

[clancampbell]

Re: (Re)finishing a Vader Saber

Amazing looking saber! That wrinkly paint stuff is excellent looking!
Do you remember years ago, there were dozens of threads and pics on ASAP regarding grip placements etc>?
Rich

 

[Sym-Cha]

Re: (Re)finishing a Vader Saber

Hm, I might have used a bit to much epoxy under my first T-track, so that evens out the tiny ridge ... and makes it look like the T-track lies totally flat. By the way it's not the ANH clamp but the ROTJ on this MPP.

-Chaim

 

[Thibault]

Re: (Re)finishing a Vader Saber

Clutch, Sym... Can you give me a good tip to make the T tracks flat with the end cap ?
(I have a Parks too)

I tried to sand them, to melt them, etc... but it's impossible !!!!

 

[deadbolt]

Re: (Re)finishing a Vader Saber

Great looking saber, clutch! VHT makes some pretty decent stuff, I'm surprised how close it is to an original MPP's finish.

Your grip sizing looks near spot on with the original too, I couldn't imagine them being much shorter.

-Carson

 

[Clutch]

Re: (Re)finishing a Vader Saber

Thanks Carson! Word of advice to anyone attempting one - get your clamp finished first before you glue the grips on!

 

[Clutch]

Re: (Re)finishing a Vader Saber

If thats the extent of the damage thats not too difficult to sort out.

Took your wonderful advice and it looks 100% better. I couldn't get the bubblestrip out without breaking the clamp off, so I just gently hammered and sanded with it still in there.

Result: :thumbsup

 

[Leigh]

OH WOW! that looks great, a vast improvement thumbsup

 

[thd9791]

Hey, necro-posting a little. Clutch - I just used the same can of wrinkle paint tonight. I cured it under a rather obnoxiously hot desk lamp and got the exact pattern the can describes, but it's a bunch of tiny squiggly lines! Like one massive fingerprint pattern all over the shroud! Does this extra ridged pattern calm down the more it cures? (It's only been 4 hours)

 

[Jedi Reali]

I'm just seeing this thread for the first time, but for future reference there's no need to bend open your clamp rails if you wanna put a piece of circuit board beneath your bubble strips. On the ESB/ROTJ prop the circuit board is cut narrower than the bubble strip and glued to the bottom of the bubbles. It doesn't make contact with the inside of the clamp. I've seen it with my own eyes and this is the best photo I could get to illustrate it.

 

[Crimsonnaire]

Clutch,

You really turned that MPP into great shape! Can you tell me what type of nail is appropriate for the MPP clamp? Would there happen to be any threaded nail which can replace the original lever screw that's been a part of a fan-made run?

 

[Clutch]

Thanks. I remember just trying to match the size of the nail head to the photos. I went to ACE Hardware and bought a box of maybe roofing nails? I'll check to see if I still have them but it has been a while.