Author: Mark Elliott

Aluminium vehicle badges – Using the same techniques as Land Rover once did, we have been producing exterior vehicle badges from cast aluminium. We can manufacture these to any design (within reason) and replicate the same style and finish of the traditional badges, giving a period correct look.

We receive the initial casts in a rough state from our local foundry located just a couple of miles from our workshop, however it doesn’t take much work to transform them into a work of art.

The first step is to remove all the rough edges and blemishes (which naturally occur when casting) by hand. Once this has been complete, we flood the recessed areas of the design with enamel paint and leave the badges to cure and dry overnight. Once dry, we buff the remaining raised metal areas by slowly increasing the abrasion grade. This leaves us with a smooth finish to the surface, a beautiful contrast against the black enamel background.

The examples pictured are aluminium vehicle badges we have manufactured for Cool & Vintage. Based in Lisbon, Portugal, they painstakingly restore vintage Land Rovers with an obsession for detail and a commitment to the essentials. Each build is completely disassembled down to its chassis with 1000 hours of dedicated craftsmanship invested. Nothing is left untouched. The chassis is rebuilt to factory spec and coated. All parts are repaired to factory new condition. The engine, gearbox and all mechanical parts are also fully disassembled, overhauled and rebuilt.

We were really excited for CAtuned to get their hands on these copper plated custom metal roundels. With a thickness of 4mm and weighing in at just under 200 grams each, these are a real quality piece. The depth of the sandblasted recessed areas give a superb contrast against the polished upper areas.

To date, these CAtuned roundels are one of our favourite items we have manufactured and look fantastic on their BMW ‘Minte30’ in particular. The car itself was found by @catuned_igor sitting under a tree after a tip off. A proper ground up restoration and build commenced for SEMA 2016. Highlights include an S54 engine conversion, custom CAtuned coilovers, full rollcage, Rotiform wheels and carbon fibre bumpers. For anyone interested, the full ‘Minte30’ build can be found on the CAtuned blog. They also have the CAtuned roundels for sale on their online shop.

Every year Dodo Juice do a limited run of Christmas gift editions and this year was no different. Using pj’s highly detailed artwork, we produced these awesome Dodo Juice Decade coins to coincide with the companies 10th anniversary.

Featuring their furry mascot ‘Mr Skittles The Third’ on one side and the company logo on the other, each side has been produced on 7 different levels to fully accentuate the detailed design without the need to use enamel colouring. The coins have also been plated antique bronze, giving them an authentic look and even feature a reeded edge around the circumference, similar to the old £1 coins. Measuring 50mm in diameter with a thickness of 5mm and weighing in at a hefty 48grams, these are a real quality item and helped us achieve the overall look and feel we wanted.

This Dodo Juice decade coin isn’t the first Christmas gift we’ve manufactured for the company either, as we’ve also made their Porsche inspired leather keyrings and the (now infamous) Mr Skittles The Third cufflinks!

Having known pj and Dom from the early days of Dodo Juice, it must be said they have helped and supported us immensely and we owe a great deal of our success in the automotive industry to them. They’re an absolute pleasure to work with and we look forward to seeing what’s next in the pipeline!

If you would like to take a look at the different styles of coins, plaques and medals we have manufactured in the past, please visit this link to find out more. Alternatively if you have an idea of your own and would like to get in touch, please fill in our contact form, send an email or give us a call.