posted 09-28-2014 09:44 AM               

I know these are getting fairly rare to acquire and I have always wanted one in my collection so I decided to take the risk in making this purchase. I have $350 invested which I felt was reasonable. I'm sure others may not agree, but that's my problem.

My intention is to attempt to restore and modify this historic item to an acceptable display level. I realize this item will always be altered and never be original. But hey, I still have a piece of Apollo 13 inside that damaged lucite. It will stay in my collection till my end days, so resale value is not a concern to me. I will keep images of the original damage to document the providence.

So I am seeking your opinions, ideas and advice for the best way to repair this item. My initial thoughts are to cut or grind away the top 1/4 inch or so. I was thinking a straight line across the top front from left to right. The cut perhaps would be tapered towards the rear at say a 30 to 45 degree angle. This would leave a small block style area which I believe could again be polished almost to origin. Am I dreaming?

A Google search offers information on working on lucite regarding types of blades and stones to use. There was also the option of laser cutting suggested. Are there other methods I should consider? Should I attempt this myself or send it out to a professional? Is there anybody on this site you would recommend to help me out?

I do not intend to touch this until I have a firm plan in place. I appreciate and thank everyone for their advice in advance.

posted 09-28-2014 11:24 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by garymilgrom:
Hopefully the fix will be much less noticeable, but don't expect it to look like a new, undamaged piece. I don't think that's possible.

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posted 09-28-2014 01:37 PM               

Along with the difficulty of "plane-matching" new and old surfaces, adding material may risk color differences from aging effects and/or resin product.

Adhesion and interface melding may also be challenging without really good surface prep.

If I recall the placement of the swatch correctly, the fabric is close to the sloped surface so a uniform grind-back of the angled face beyond the break could be tricky. Something to consider though, if there is room.

In all cases resurfacing results likely will rise and fall with the quality of saws (if used), lapping equipment, pads, polishing compounds, and 'touch'.

I've never made a lucite quite like these but in parallel experiences, a hard lapping wheel surface pad is critical. Polishing pads with any compliance (i.e. foam-backed abrasive sheets) will tend to cause dishing/doming/edge-rounding and you'll lose a hard plane in any resurfacing. Finesse in applied polishing pressure can also play a big role - even, slow, and light is usually best.

Successively finer grits/slurries/polishes with appropriate changes to the (hard) lapping pad are used to achieve the final squared-edge, mirror-like surface.

I've generally found sanding blocks cause the 'touch' factor to become bigger than with a lapping wheel. Manually providing the grinding action while maintaining uniformity in pressure (for planarity) takes practice. Comments about a hard pad or polishing surface still apply if you go the manual block route.

Just my semi-related experience though so I may be missing some critical differences. Your decision to go slow and develop a solid plan is smart; perhaps time will allow posts from experts closer to lucite artifact fabrication and repair.

In any case, enjoy the new acquisition - chipped or not the object is the real deal as you say.

posted 09-28-2014 11:55 PM            

In my opinion, it doesn't look that bad, upon reading the subject and post I expected it to be a much larger missing area.

posted 09-29-2014 07:47 AM               

I have decided I will not attempt to repair this lucite on my own as I obviously do not have the experience necessary to do a professional job. David Carey demonstrated it is a bit more complicated than I was expecting it to be. I'll screw it up.

I have decided I am now less comfortable with trying to resurface and blend as suggested by garymilgrom. I am leaning towards a cut/grind and polish.

I have researched the Calgary area and there are a couple of plastic repair companies which seem promising. I am going to go visit them for a consultation and see how I feel about how they would approach this idea of a repair.

Before doing that I thought I would contact the Kansas Cosmosphere to see if they would help me track down the original company they used to manufacture these lucites. I feel this company would be an excellent source for advice. If the folks who made these tell me to leave it alone, confirming GASspace and drangon001's advice I will do just that.

Would anybody here have any leads or contacts on that front?

posted 10-08-2014 11:47 AM               

I contacted several local Plastics Repair shops in my local area. They all requested photos but none replied or showed any interest by following up or even replying back to me. I expect they were nervous because it was one of a kind item.

I contacted Jim Remar President/COO of the Kansas Cosmosphere and he graciously took time out his day to direct me to the company who originally produced the lucite displays. Thank you very much Mr. Remar. That was very appreciated and kind of you.

posted 11-05-2014 06:20 PM               

The display is approximately 1/4 of an inch shorter and the front face is now much closer to the couch fabric encased in the lucite. The front face was shaved down below the point of the original damage. They even removed the chip on the underside. It has been polished to new condition and looks amazing.

In my opinion if I was to show any accomplished Space Collector this piece, I expect they would not notice this piece was altered. Perhaps if you placed it beside another.

Many thanks to both Doug & Eddie at Century Manufacturing in Bel Aire Kansas. These are the folks who originally cast these Apollo 13 lucites. Not only were these folks first class to work with, they only charged me $20 for all of their time and efforts. I wish there was something more I could do for them. With shipping included, my total cost for this restoration was $65.00.

posted 11-05-2014 07:13 PM               

If it helps, I'd say your positive exposure of their company/services just did them a favor in return.