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FOR SALE GROUP BUY: Mercedes 500E Badge
- Thread starter Ntrepid
- Start date
I reached out to get a status on the CNC and they have completed 55 units and remain on track to deliver on time and possibly early.
The other resources for subsequent steps (chroming, painting) are queued up and ready when these parts become available.
Robert
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The order has shipped! Interesting as @Melville asked me yesterday what the latest was and I said I was waiting for it to go into the Inspection stage but then this ^^^ happened.
It does not show tracking information yet but I am expecting it will be middle of next week depending on where the shipment originates. Can't wait to see them. Will start coordinating with the next handler in this endeavor.
I believe the longest wait is behind us. More frequent updates too.
Robert
This is what you have been waiting for! The CNC aluminum badges are in and they look phenomenal. They have a really nice weight to them and I am super excited with how they turned out.
I've already reached out to the chromer to set a time to deliver the badges. In the meantime, I picked up some 3M plater's masking tape which is a polyurethane tape used to cover areas where you do not want chrome. The tape is resistant to the harsh chemicals in chroming baths. The intent there is to keep the machined aluminum for the black textured stripe which will painted on after chroming and will ensure maximum adhesion.
BTW, the people who opted for a badge to not be chromed I think are really going to like the result. In fact, if you look at the second picture, the aluminum badge makes the chrome one look black (Note: my ceilings are white so this is not something being picked up from in the room).
Robert
Let me look into this option. I remember you asking this and at the time I thought anodizing black was a viable solution. I’ll let you know.
Robert
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Looks like they turned out very nicely. I think there is going to be a lot of folks on the forum, in the future, who will rue the day when they didn't order a repro badge or two. And some folks who ordered extra badges now, who will be selling their extras for high prices in the future. Nice work !!
No reason as long as the volumes can get to the level of the first purchase to ensure the pricing is commensurate. Obviously, fewer units will mean a higher per badge price.
Robert
I’ll know better when I meet with the chromed this week. Remember that the next steps are:
- Chroming the badge
- Painting the textured pinstripe
- Package and ship
Robert
67 badges prepped with plating tape and will be taken 1.5 hours south to Fredericksburg, VA, where they will be chromed. The chromer offered to pick them up sometime next week but I wanted to get them in his hands sooner.
@sheward will be the first to get his badge since he decided to get a bare aluminum badge with no black pinstripe. Anxious to hear his feedback. His package leaves tomorrow!
BTW, if someone would like to change their badge to be bare, now is the time to let me know! The table reflects everyone who has requested a bare aluminum badge.
Robert
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Here you go! I found a video of a rim being CNC-machined. Same concept as the badge except a robotic arm probably suspended the blank which became the badge since it required cutting on all sides.
Robert
That request will be granted. In fact, my plan is to layout 9 reproductions abe 1 OEM to see if people can spot the OEM in the picture. Maybe we’ll vote on it.
Robert
I'm not one that delights in being first in things but since I am a "FIRST!" is in order. I just opened up the package an hour ago. The badge looks excellent. An exact reproduction as far as I can tell. The bare aluminum has a matted sheen that I knew would look nice. Microscopic machining marks are visible in places under very close scrutiny which does nothing to detract from the piece for me. Not sure if the chroming process will make this imperceptible. I think it will. The back edges of the badge are actually MORE accurate than the OEM plastic which is flawed because it is molded. This should enhance the look overall when set against paint. The adhesive tape is an exact match to the outline. I forgot to ask for two more of these strips to remount my OEM badges although I may be able to get them from kwontomspeed since He is local to me. I am VERY pleased with the results.!
drew
drew
There may be a sub-market for custom-outlined, pre-cut adhesive tape that could be used to re-mount old badges that were removed for paint jobs... hmmm.....
One would have to validate that it was a genuine respray and not for purposes of cloaking. Otherwise could become a helpful tool to flag the culprits.
So happy to hear you are happy with the product, Drew.
I drove 2 hours down on I95 on Friday night to the shop in Fredericksburg (VA) which will do the hexavalent chroming (Note: this is the environmentally-unfriendly, proper “old school” chroming versus trivalent which is newer) and the shop owner looked at the badges, noticed the same thing, and said, “Our prep work will take care of this before it hits the chrome bath.”
@kwontumspeed may have a new revenue stream on his hands!
Robert
There may be a sub-market for custom-outlined, pre-cut adhesive tape that could be used to re-mount old badges that were removed for paint jobs... hmmm.....
Robert - you will be stone rich now! What shall you do with all that money?
Attachments
bonjour Robert, je reviens vers vous, s'il y a un surcoût, faites le moi savoir pour payer les surcoûts! Avez-vous une idée du délai de livraison? Merci pour cette information! franck
Google Translate
hello Robert, I will get back to you, if there is an additional cost, let me know to pay the additional costs! Do you have any idea of the delivery time? Thank you for this information! franck
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Any update on when these will be shipped? IT would be great to have for Spring.
I wanted to update everyone on the latest with this project. It has been a just over 4 weeks since I went to Fredericksburg to deliver the badges to the shop which will do the hexavalent chroming. I had hoped to have picked them up by now and taken them to the painter. Unfortunately in that time, the shop had to close due to a COVID exposure which explained why I could not get in touch with them for over 1.5 weeks since no one was at work.
Since then they have gotten back to work and have prepped the pieces for copper plating (FYI - proper chroming starts with a copper plate followed by a nickel plate which is then capped with a chrome plating). Prepping the pieces for copper plating includes removing any marks left by the CNC machine so that they will not be magnified through each step in the plating process. Note that the decision was made to remove the plater’s tape which I had applied and plate the entire badge for better resiliency/weathering. The plating where the painted stripe will go now will be etched. I have purchased an etching pen and an etching chemical to properly prep the surface to take paint. I’m very confident this will give the right amount of adhesion for the paint.
The issue that the shop has run into is hanging the pieces in the bath. on larger pieces like a bumper, there is usually a hole where it can be hung. That is an area which typically is hidden so any markings left by the hanger are hidden from sight. The challenge with the badges is the badge does not have a place to hang it which will be hidden. Of course, the frustrating thing is I offered to have a tab feature added as part of the CNC machining which could be bent and broken off post chroming but the shop said that was unnecessary (hindsight is 20/15). The solution they hjave come up with is to add a small piece of tape to the recessed rear of the badge to attach to a jig for submersion in the bath. Where the tape attaches will be covered by the double sided adhesive in the final product.
I’m due for a check in call with them tomorrow but I wanted to keep everyone up to date as to the latest progress. I hope to have a date set tomorrow which I will be able to pick them up to take the the painter.
Robert
That’s a great skit! She was a funny lady
Thanks for the update Robert. I have a badge but it's not correct for my model year, 1992. Interestingly, my car was specified with a CODE 260 "Type Designation on Trunk Lid - Elimination" Guess the original owner wanted to remain in stealth mode!
I wanted to update everyone on the latest with this project. It has been a just over 4 weeks since I went to Fredericksburg to deliver the badges to the shop which will do the hexavalent chroming. I had hoped to have picked them up by now and taken them to the painter. Unfortunately in that time, the shop had to close due to a COVID exposure which explained why I could not get in touch with them for over 1.5 weeks since no one was at work.
Since then they have gotten back to work and have prepped the pieces for copper plating (FYI - proper chroming starts with a copper plate followed by a nickel plate which is then capped with a chrome plating). Prepping the pieces for copper plating includes removing any marks left by the CNC machine so that they will not be magnified through each step in the plating process. Note that the decision was made to remove the plater’s tape which I had applied and plate the entire badge for better resiliency/weathering. The plating where the painted stripe will go now will be etched. I have purchased an etching pen and an etching chemical to properly prep the surface to take paint. I’m very confident this will give the right amount of adhesion for the paint.
The issue that the shop has run into is hanging the pieces in the bath. on larger pieces like a bumper, there is usually a hole where it can be hung. That is an area which typically is hidden so any markings left by the hanger are hidden from sight. The challenge with the badges is the badge does not have a place to hang it which will be hidden. Of course, the frustrating thing is I offered to have a tab feature added as part of the CNC machining which could be bent and broken off post chroming but the shop said that was unnecessary (hindsight is 20/15). The solution they hjave come up with is to add a small piece of tape to the recessed rear of the badge to attach to a jig for submersion in the bath. Where the tape attaches will be covered by the double sided adhesive in the final product.
I’m due for a check in call with them tomorrow but I wanted to keep everyone up to date as to the latest progress. I hope to have a date set tomorrow which I will be able to pick them up to take the the painter.
Robert
All the best,
Joe
I spoke with the shop and they are close to completing the chrome plating. Their current projection is end of this week or early next. They indicated that the work effort to complete the job they underestimated.
The next step will be to etch and send for painting which leve the final step - FULFILLMEN!!! I know his has been a long journey and I appreciate your sticking with me through this.
Robert
follow the link and look at the attachment in post #2
E500 Trunk Badge Location | Appearance and Detailing
I cant really figure where to position E500 badge! Are there any measurements from various points of the trunk? I would really appreciate if anyone can help out. Thanks.
www.500eboard.co
Yes - I have a list of 15+ changes to it and receiving it this Saturday. But, I have parts being shipped from all over (UK, Latvia, Ukraine, etc.) and I am at the mercy of my friend who would be doing all the work to it. He's always really busy, so it might be a few weeks before everything arrives and I can take it to get it transformed into my vision for it. I also hooked up yesterday at a car show with one of Renntech's people who are located 45 mins. away in Stuart.
The chroming of the badges is complete!!! I am trying to find time this week to make the 1.5 hour drive down to Fredericksburg (VA) to inspect and pick them up. It may end up that it will be this weekend before I can get there but I will keep you posted with pictures of the badges in this 2nd to last stage before fulfillment.
This, by far has been the longest step in the process. The challenges the badge presented with (1) having no area to handle it without marring the finish as well as the (2) hand finishing prior to copper, nickel, and chrome baths were time consuming. Layer in the COVID protocol too to make for one long wait for this milestone.
Next up is I will be etching the chrome to ensure adhesion of the painted and textured black strip below the 500E. The plan is to drop this off NLT this weekend. This means that fulfillment is the only thing standing between you and getting this machined aluminum badge.
BTW, there are a few who people who have fallen out of the process so there are a few badges to be had. if there is interest, please PM me.
Robert
For the current investors of this Group Buy, here is a sample the chromed piece sent by the shop. To channel a commercial “Is it live or is it Memorex”
Hooefully this quells any concerns on the quality of the product. This should be considered OEM+ since it is made of better core materials (aluminum vs. plastic)
Robert
