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73-87 Chevy _ GMC Trucks => Projects Posts (NOT VEHICLES) => Topic started by: colton hicks on January 18, 2012, 07:49:35 pm
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I've decided to make a console to sit in the middle of my bench seat out of fiber glass. Its going to be my first fiberglass project and I just had some questions like is bondo fiberglass resin a good brand to use and should I use mat or cloth? And what is the difference between the two? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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Colton -
I don't know if that brand is good or not. And I'm not sure whether mat or cloth is best. But make sure whatever brand of resin you get does not slump on vertical surfaces. There are several brands that are made that resist slumping but I can't remember names (they are very thick and gel like). They make a white powder-like substance you can mix into regular resin that has the same affect. I always went to a boat supply place for my materials.
Rusty
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Ok thanks for the advice. In your experience how easy is fiberglass to shape by sanding?
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If it helps its going to have a strong sturdy permanent frame the fiber glass will be for shaping more rather than strength.
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You just need to get the shape as close as you can with the first application. I usually only added one more coat of resin, then sanded to roughen up the surface. Then it was all bondo after that. Bondo adheres well to fiberglass. Bondo is easy to shape and sand.
BTW, get the fiberglass resin that is not the 'finishing coat' type of resin. It has a waxy substance on top when it dries and is difficult to sand and clogs the sandpaper. Get the other kind but I can't remember what it's called. My CRS is flaring up. LOL
Well, it's time for me to head for home. I'll look at this again tomorrow.
Rusty
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You need to come up with the shape first and then fiberglass it, in my opinion.
Look at this article, it is pretty well documented:
http://project33.com/Categoryarticle.cfm?ID=578&Category=Interior
If you aren't planning on sitting on it a couple layers of mat will work, 5 or more and you could use it as a floor ramp, you can also use some squares of florist foam for a base instead of the foam in the above link and sand it to shape and apply the fiberglass.
This is how I made the pillar pods.
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Yea ill try that next after i've got some more fiberglass experience. Ive about got the shape I want with the wooden frame im using now. The fiberglass will be for rounding the edges and a little shapework then putting the vinyl or fabric over it after sanding. I know its probably a little hazy on what I'm doing but ill post some pics later and it will be clearer.
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Ok so heres the frame
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And here's it with the fiberglass
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Did you just fiberglass the wood ?
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yes I did I thought of just makin a mold like most do but ive never worked with it before and I wanted to get some experience before I tried it. This turned out pretty good though, I could shape it well and I'm going to sand it and upholster it. In hindsight I know some things that would've helped fiberglass wise but it turned out pretty good for my first time thought. What do you think?
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It looks pretty good, but if you're going to upholster it why didn't you just upholster the wood frame?
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One I wanted to shape it better than what the wood would let me (it was just plywood) and two I wanted some experience working with fiberglass. (which was the main reason)
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I think it turned out good in the pic. Were you able to shape any of the corners to where they were more rounded ?
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yea it helped a lot im rounding the edges and corners there was an air bubble or two but hopefully with more experience that won't happen.
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if the ply wood you used was more than 3/8 of a inch thick then you probly could have done those edges out of wood. But i can see why you would use this for practice.At my last job I did alot of work with carbon fiber. Its like the same epoxy for both. The biggest thing for a mirror finish is having no contaminants like saw dust get into the epoxy. you can do alot with any kind of cloth and epoxy. Its actually very forging.Because its not hard to fix mistakes. Try experiments with for radical curves and shapes.
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There is epoxy based resins, and polyester based resins.
Epoxy resin although a little harder to work with as far mixing, you have to be a little more precise on the amounts. It does give you a little longer work time. It is more stable when dry, it is also more waterproof, and bonds to itself both cured, and uncured better than polyester based resin. Epoxy resin is a fair amount more expensive too.
Only some of the epoxy resins leave a wax type emulsion after they dry. If you happen to use one that does it washes right off with vinegar, and wipe clean with water. Then you can sand it without clogging sand paper.
Another popular misconception is the more resin you use the stronger. The strength is in the glass. All the resin for is to make it hold together, hold a shape, and give it a structure. When fiber glassing if you are going to cover a form be it a permanent form such as wood, or foam which is a great way to make a shape, then remove it later leaving the glass in that shape. You should brush a thin to medium coat depending on the weight of mat, or cloth you are using onto the forms surface. Then lay the glass on to the wet form dry. Use a short bristled paint brush, or a fiber glass roller to force the resin up through the glass. Working any air bubbles out in doing so. You should only be able to saturate the glass with the resin no more. Sometimes you need to add a little here or there. or mop some up with the brush.
Once your first layer has dried, if its not completely cured with epoxy resins you can do one, two, or more layers over it in the same fashion.
When using polyester based resin you will need to let it dry enough to give it a half way decent sanding to create a mechanical bond for the next layers.
You shouldn't brush on polyester based resins as top coats. They can shrink later on as cause blemishes. or have air bubbles that lead to pin holes when you sand them.
As far as epoxy based resins they make fillers you can mix with them to make them more like a body filler. Fine sawdust works for this as well. Like the type you would get from a belt, or palm sander dust bag.
Once the glass is done you should only need filler to hide the rough surface of the glass. Or to blend it in with old glass if its a repair.
As far as working with wood. You should be able to shape the edges and corners or the wood any way you want. If its plywood, and leaves craters because of the layers use body filler to fill in holes, etc.
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I've read about using builder's foam insulation board as a buck for fiberglass. Anyone done it? The article I read (many years ago) was based on building a gas tank for a motorcycle, but the process seemed like it would work for just about anything.
They laminated pieces of the pink foam board together using a low VOC adhesive that wouldn't melt it. Then they carved what they wanted, coated it with fiberglass, and when done, melted the foam with acetone and poured it out as a liquid.
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Floral foam (green stuff) is better to shape with, as it doesn't get eaten by polyester resin.
What the OP could have also done is make a frame for that console out of wood and then stretch fabric over it for the shape. That's an easy way to get curves and non-flat shapes. This is done very commonly in the car audio world. Using a material like fleece allows for a lot of resin to get soaked into the fleece which makes it stronger once cured. After that, apply fiberglas mat to the BACK side of the fleece. Lots of guys put it on the front and you make a heck of lot more sanding for yourself.