I was wondering if anyone here has made split domes. I'm thinking that if you wanted to split colors with colored domes you could cut two different colored domes in half and reassemble them so a different color is showing in the back than from the front. I know the thought of cutting a dome is blasphemy, but think of it as maybe a blemished bar and the color mixing are the only way they could be put into service. But the big question is, what would you use to cut the domes?
Making split domes...?
- Thread starter Wolfie
- Start date
ryan
Member
ryan
Member
UnityUSA
New Member
Back when we made split domes we would take an existing dome and paint half of it with our SpitFire paint. I started a little after that program ended so I don't know a ton about it, but special paint was needed to stand up to UV and heat from the lamps and be able to be clear enough for light to go through. The dome used would be the lighter of the two colors with the darker color painted on. Believe paint was applied on inside of dome and could pool if not watched carefully. I believe bamh5 on here is making SpitFire style domes and may have some better advice on what paint he uses.
The paint you will need is a translucent paint which will let light shine through. I was told it would need to be a candy paint, because candy paints let the under layer shine through. Candy paints are basically a dyed clear, which is why youll see old spitfire domes that are faded out. The paint will fade in a few years outside if the outside of the dome has no uv protection or wax. The paint im using also has a heat rating of 500 degress, so im not worried about paint bubbling.
I was also told that unity sprayed the outside of the domes with clear to prevent the fading issue. Technology has improved now, that if you kept up on cleaning, they make uv protection wax for plastic. (Made for headlights)
Doyle257
Member
I did a front/back split on a Force 4LP. used painters tape to attach a straight edge to the dome, and used a dremel with a cutting wheel.
I put the domes together with nitto optically cleartape, with a bit of epoxy between them. only had about a 1/32 gap. not as tight as I wanted, but impressive nonetheless for using a dremel.
My only mistake was not replacing the magnets immediately, and having it sail off on the NYS thruway after being on the truck for 18 hours, and smash into about 6,000 tiny blue and red pieces.. -_-
I put the domes together with nitto optically cleartape, with a bit of epoxy between them. only had about a 1/32 gap. not as tight as I wanted, but impressive nonetheless for using a dremel.
My only mistake was not replacing the magnets immediately, and having it sail off on the NYS thruway after being on the truck for 18 hours, and smash into about 6,000 tiny blue and red pieces.. -_-
