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Old 09-20-2009, 07:57 AM   #1
Black Plague
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Customizing a Zippo - solder, weld, epoxy?

I have a plain Zippo that I want to customize.

What I want to do is take a US Army Signal Corps regimental pin and somehow attach it to this Zippo.

I tried emailing Zippo to ask them how they attach metal pieces to their lighters, but they wouldn't tell me. Someone suggested I get it soldered on, but after calling a local jeweller, they said they don't solder on chrome or stainless steel.

Anyone done anything like this before? Any advice is appreciated.
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Old 09-20-2009, 08:17 AM   #2
AnejoMofo
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You'll want to sand a little spot of chrome off of the Zippo. Prepare the back of the pin in a similar fashion. Get yourself some 3M 5200 and glue that motherfucker on there. It will never come off.

Just remember, if you ever want to free the pin from the Zippo; it will never come off.

Good luck,

-Mike
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Old 09-20-2009, 10:11 AM   #3
Briandg
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He's right, stainless and chrome resist solder, and it is possible that you would damage your pin with the heat. I'm going to rule out any metal to metasl bonding. like that. Epoxy, cyanoacrylate, plenty of glues would work, along with that marine glue. Sanding and prepping the surfaces would be paramount, however.

I don't think that it will be the kiss of death for the emblem. The MSDS for it shows that it is a polymerized urethane with cyanate components. I think heat may destroy it. 300, 400? Brief contact on the back of the zippo metal with a torch? this is probably the case with any adhesive strong enough to hold it, solvents won't work, heat and force would be the only real options.

If nothing else, you can just cut the lighter apart and retrieve it by grinding the base metal off.
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Old 09-20-2009, 11:25 AM   #4
Black Plague
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If I affix it, it's staying there.

The pin isn't rare or anything, it's the Signal regimental pin I can pick up in any PX or online military clothing store.

For the pin, I'll have to snip off and file down the two actual pins (that would go through fabric to hold the thing in place) so it will lay flat against the front of the Zippo.

Now about sanding the pin and Zippo...

I don't have a belt sander or anything mechanical for doing this. My brother might have one in his workshop. But unless I really need it, I guess I'll just do by hand.

So what kind of sandpaper would be best, as in the abrading material (emery? aluminum oxide?) and the grit size?
And how much should I sand it? Just enough to take the polish off the metal and give the glue a good surface to stick to?


Thanks for your help so far, Brian and mofo.
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Old 09-20-2009, 11:39 AM   #5
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This is the kind of thing you'll want to do by hand anyway. A belt sander will go through the thin case of a zippo before ya know it.

You want emery paper for metal applications (it's usually black). 220 grit would be appropriate. It's aggressive enough to remove the plating and rough up the back of the pin without gouging too much. The area that's sanded will be covered up by the pin anyway. If you feel like you can't sand only in the spot that will be covered by the pin, you can mask off the entire face of the lighter in a few layers of blue painters' tape, use the pin as a stencil, mark it, and remove the area to be sanded with an exacto knife.

Of course, we'll need to see pics of this thing when you're done.

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Old 09-21-2009, 12:17 PM   #6
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BP, buy a brush/satin finish chrome Zippo. You don't have to do any sanding to those and just regular old super glue will adhere.

As for the Regt insignia, clip the pins as close as possible and sand the back of the pin as flat as possible. Any sandpaper will do because you're looking for a rough finish anyway.
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