This may be of interest to those that restore pumps and need new metal stamped embossed signs, here is the procedure I followed to make new MobilGas signs for a National Simplex pump. The orginal I had was toast as you can see in the pics below.
You need to be able to use a 3D modeling program and have access to a 3D printer. I drew up the embossed plate/tooling on the computer and my brother printed out the tooling on his 3d printer (in plastic). Once I had it, I cut .020" aluminum sheet to size for the stamp and just used a hammer to pound the aluminum sheet within the stamp. I then cut the aluminum sign down a little, scoring it with a razor blade and snapping off the extra material on the edges, adding the corners too. Then put the sign back into my stamp and used it to bend the sign to the needed angles as the sign isnt flat on the pump. I did a little hammer and dolly work and from there it was normal paint prep stuff.
You wouldnt think you could use a 3D printed plastic stamp, but it works for aluminum and brass for sure. Maybe thin steel, not sure.
Worked pretty slick but took a while to do. Thought some of you may find this process useful for your restos, only hard part is needing a little computer skills, rest wasn't too bad once you have the stamps.
Last edited by Paul Bell; Tue Apr 02 202410:56 PM.
Thank you Paul for sharing your expertise. That turned out extremely well. Looks like you did some pinstriping. That is a talent that I will never have. I don't have 3D printing capabilities either. I would probably just resorted to a decal. Can't wait to see the completed pump.
Thank you Paul for sharing your expertise. That turned out extremely well. Looks like you did some pinstriping. That is a talent that I will never have. I don't have 3D printing capabilities either. I would probably just resorted to a decal. Can't wait to see the completed pump.
Thanks! I actually suck at pinstriping, that’s just thin line tape used as a stencil and sprayed on red and black paint. Black first, then red after putting the tape down.
