Any advice on first fiberglass project?

[colton hicks]

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.

[DustyRusty]

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

[colton hicks]

Ok thanks for the advice. In your experience how easy is fiberglass to shape by sanding?

[colton hicks]

If it helps its going to have a strong sturdy permanent frame the fiber glass will be for shaping more rather than strength.

[DustyRusty]

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

[Captkaos]

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.

[colton hicks]

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.

[colton hicks]

Ok so heres the frame

[colton hicks]

And here's it with the fiberglass

[bake74]

      Did you just fiberglass the wood ?

[colton hicks]

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?

[1980c10]

It looks pretty good, but if you're going to upholster it why didn't you just upholster the wood frame?

[colton hicks]

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)

[bake74]

      I think it turned out good in the pic.  Were you able to shape any of the corners to where they were more rounded ?

[colton hicks]

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.