I need to take an original plastic part and make a mold and make a copy?

Question

I need to take an original plastic part and make a mold and then use something either plastic or something like it that can be sanded and painted and make a replica. Anyone have any ideas of what to use and where to go to get it?

Answer 1

Your local craft store will have mold making material. You could cast both sides of it and then make replicas out of polymer clay. But if this plastic piece is not something you made yourself, you may not be allowed to copy it.

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Answer 2

It will really depend on the SHAPE and Complexity of the part you're trying to replicate:

If it's just a simple shape (say a gear, cog or cam), you can do as Kacky suggests and make a clay or rubber mold and use resin.  I use this often to mold spare tire / wheel sets for model trucks / tanks.

I get my materials from my local hobby-shop.

Molding something complex, like a figure or cam-shaft often requires rigid molds carved from stainless steel and injection-molded with hot-liquid plastic.

If STRENGTH isn't required, you can look into vacu-forming... a single sided form is carved, plastic sheet is overlaid, and vacuum pressure molds the plastic to the form.

GOOD LUCK and let me know if you can be more specific

Answer 3

In seattle the place is called  Tap Plastics.

Try there and look aroud your area