I want to lay a fiberglass "pan" in back that will house some subs, amps, and stuff, but i wanted to see if anybody knows, or knows of a place, that might have directions to lay a fiberglass mold. i want to remove the stock plastics from the back for a custom look, can anybody help, im gonna try to do a console too.

 

What you will have to do is become very creative with Wood, or foam, or something for shape you make a template with the stuff, a little bono and fit it exactly to your car. then Paint the wood part, to give it a nice finish.

Once you have the part EXactly the way you want it out of wood, then you take some fiberglass and take a mold from it. You will need a some sort of release agent so it does not stick to the wood. Use wood to reinforce the mold so it will hold up to the fiberglass that you are going to lay for your part.

Now that you have some sort of mold. make a part.

to finish the part you can cover it with Vynal, or paint it, whatever...

In short, thats how you do it.


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87 Formula TPI (5 Speed) Yellow/Gray STOCK

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Just remember a couple of things when working with fiberglass. First it does not like to wrap around sharp corners. If you have an edge then you need to cut the cloth at the edge, then dig out a little bit of material from the mold along the edge and reinforce with flox (a mixture of flocked cotton and epoxy that is hard as a rock when dried) Then lay the other side of the edge and cut so both cuts line up.
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_______ ________ ______
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1st drawing is the edge. 2nd is the edge with a ply of fiberglass on top. 3rd drawing a little is taken out from the mold, filled in with flox then then ply covering the side can be applied.
For this reason try to make your mold with as few as sharp edges as possible.

The second thing is to make it right, whatever shape. Done right you can have a piece that is unbelievably strong and very light. What makes the part too heavy is too much epoxy. The fiberglass cloth doesn't way much at all, ounces to the square yard. The secret is to use just enough epoxy to wet out the fiberglass and no more. To achieve this lots of homebuilders (people building thier own airplane) use a vacumn to suck out all the excess epoxy. You can do almost as good just being real careful with the epoxy, and using a squeegy(sp?) to strip the excess epoxy off.

 

disregard the pics they got jumbled up.

 

When working with fiberglass, do a little by little, and like 91'firebrd stated, smothe everything out. once you have a mold take your resin and put a layer on your mock part (after the release agent). Then, before the resin dries, put a layer of cloth, or mat, whatever you want to use. Mat would probably work better because it is more condusive for organic shapes. take more resin and cover the other side to soak through. You will see airbubbles, so you will have to work them out.

Keep in mind that you can do it in little pieces, for the tight areas, because it all sticks well together.

WEAR goggles & gloves, cause this stuff is messy. ALSO in your garage or wherever you decide to do this, take an old Refridgerator box, split it open to flat, and put it on the floor all around & under your work area. Once this stuff sets up, you will have lots of fun trying to get it loose from concrete, or whatever you do not want it on.

I would not recommend doing your project in your basement, 'cause the odor is strong, and whoever is living with you will have a cow.

John

 

If you, for example, just wanted to make a fiberglass sub box to fit in the well area, then use the car itself as the mold for the box. Line everything with tinfoil real nice, tape up the seams, spread a dropcloth over the rear bumper, and start laying in the glass. After you get two layers you can pull out the "shell", pick off the tinfoil, and continue working on it on the comfort of a workbench. This is how I did mine.

 

Hey 91 firebird not bad. Need a job!! If you never worked with fiberglass before I would go get a book or tape first. I could be here all night telling you how to make a mold right. If doing this for just one part I use gypsum a type of cement to make a mold. This will take about 1 hour to make insted of days. Much cheeper and less of a mess. Look up mold making and see what you find. If working with fiberglass get a lot of accetone you will need it.

 

Cool topic...

What would be a good release agent?

 

Release Agent PVA (Poly Vinyl Alcohol) works great. If you have a smooth surface you can spray it on.

That is why I am talking about painting the surface of your template.

John

------------------
G O D BLESS AMERICA
87 Formula Yellow/Black

5.1 TPI Automatic
Baer 12" brakes 4 wheels, KYB AGX Adjustable Shocks & struts, Custom Leather interior, WAAAY TOO MANY MODS TO LIST

87 Formula TPI (5 Speed) Yellow/Gray STOCK

1967 Buick Riviera 430hp Turns high 14's (Not bad for 4300 lbs)

83 Camaro
83 T/A

http://www.3rdgenformula.com

 

So far no one has mentioned spraying in a gel coat. The glass parts I've bought have a gel coat that was sprayed in first to take the shape of the mold and fill in any voids. What is used (equipment & materials) for the gel coat layer?

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