fiberglassin
floydamus
11-14-2004, 12:36 AM
aight my gf just wrecked her 98 mustang show car. she is plannin on gettin anotehr so i was goign to start to do alot of work to the interior. for example make soem kick panels, center console, seat track covers, and a bunch more odds and ends. a few things i was wondering is what is the best stuff to use for forms so that i can shape it easy and make it to the desired shape. 2 can anyone point me int he direction of soem websites that show some good pictures of soem of the steps it tkaes to get it to the finished product. 3 whats the best stuff to use and wheres the best places to get it. i know at the advance auto parts store i work out we sale gallons of fiberglass resin and the fiberglass sheets you gotta add the resin to. i just need to be point in the right direction. thanks for all the help i receive
TheSilentChamber
11-14-2004, 01:26 AM
Forms- You can use several things, usually the most common are styrofoam, wire mesh, and fleece.
Styrofoam- This too can be broken down into two sections, sheets (there blue Styrofoam brand, not the white closed cell stuff like styrofoam cups are made of, it wont work very god) and expanding. Styrofoam sheets can be baught at home improvment stores and come in 4'x8' pieces, and is generally 1/2" - 3/4" thick. This is what I use for most all of the free standing forms that I make. It can be layered up and glued together with a WATER BASED glue, most wood glues work great for this because there strong, sandable, and water based. You can use 80 grit sand paper (or Sure-Form if you have one) to roughly shape the part your wanting to make, then go back and finish up the surface with 220 grit sand paper leaving a smooth surface. Then you will want to completely cover the form in masking tape, as resin will eat up the foam. If you dont want to layer up the sheets you can use expanding foam, but this stuff is messy. Use the same technique as foam sheets.
Wire Mesh- Can be baught in differnt variaties at differnt places. Hardware stores will cary mesh that is designed to cover rain gutters that is 6" wide by 50' rolls, and is good for small things. Craft stores will cary mesh that is designed to be a base paper mache and such to be layered on and comes in a variaty of lengths and widths, but is a little more expensive than the gutter mesh. You take the mesh and shape out the part you want to make, then layer the fiberglass on it.
Fleece- This is the stuff that fleece jackets and shirts are made of. It is most used for fiberglass speaker boxes as you can build the box of MDF, cut MDF rings, posistion them in place using dowel rods then stretch the fleece over it and staple it to the box. Fleece is used because it stetches in all directions unlike most materials. Coat in a layer of resin, let harden then layer up the fiberglass.
You can use these techniques alone or a combination of them.
To be honest with you I havnt found any good websites that show the whole process with good pictures. The best thing I can do is tell you to buy a book on composites.
The best materials usually depend on what your wanting to do. As most of the items you mentioned will be cosmetic, I would recomend 4oz woven cloth, and polyester resin. You can buy this at many places, like Advance Auto that you mentioned. The 4oz cloth is highly drapeable and is fairly strong and light weight.
If you need any more help, like the acual procedure of laying the fiberglass and such I'll be more than glad to help you.
Styrofoam- This too can be broken down into two sections, sheets (there blue Styrofoam brand, not the white closed cell stuff like styrofoam cups are made of, it wont work very god) and expanding. Styrofoam sheets can be baught at home improvment stores and come in 4'x8' pieces, and is generally 1/2" - 3/4" thick. This is what I use for most all of the free standing forms that I make. It can be layered up and glued together with a WATER BASED glue, most wood glues work great for this because there strong, sandable, and water based. You can use 80 grit sand paper (or Sure-Form if you have one) to roughly shape the part your wanting to make, then go back and finish up the surface with 220 grit sand paper leaving a smooth surface. Then you will want to completely cover the form in masking tape, as resin will eat up the foam. If you dont want to layer up the sheets you can use expanding foam, but this stuff is messy. Use the same technique as foam sheets.
Wire Mesh- Can be baught in differnt variaties at differnt places. Hardware stores will cary mesh that is designed to cover rain gutters that is 6" wide by 50' rolls, and is good for small things. Craft stores will cary mesh that is designed to be a base paper mache and such to be layered on and comes in a variaty of lengths and widths, but is a little more expensive than the gutter mesh. You take the mesh and shape out the part you want to make, then layer the fiberglass on it.
Fleece- This is the stuff that fleece jackets and shirts are made of. It is most used for fiberglass speaker boxes as you can build the box of MDF, cut MDF rings, posistion them in place using dowel rods then stretch the fleece over it and staple it to the box. Fleece is used because it stetches in all directions unlike most materials. Coat in a layer of resin, let harden then layer up the fiberglass.
You can use these techniques alone or a combination of them.
To be honest with you I havnt found any good websites that show the whole process with good pictures. The best thing I can do is tell you to buy a book on composites.
The best materials usually depend on what your wanting to do. As most of the items you mentioned will be cosmetic, I would recomend 4oz woven cloth, and polyester resin. You can buy this at many places, like Advance Auto that you mentioned. The 4oz cloth is highly drapeable and is fairly strong and light weight.
If you need any more help, like the acual procedure of laying the fiberglass and such I'll be more than glad to help you.
floydamus
11-14-2004, 11:43 AM
thank you much. im going to try to get started in a few weeks. goign to start with the kick pannels and then remove the speaker grill on the doors and try and make a form to flow from the kick panels to that some what. then im gonna do soem peices to covere up the visibale peices of the seat sliders ill post up more when i get started. and im probably goign to need a little help with gettin it started lol
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