I want to make something from glass fibre
Discussion
What sort of finish are you after for the outside surface?
If it is to be exposed and painted then you will need to work at it, perhaps in several stages. If it is only to be a one off and carpeted then it could be quite simple.
In very basic terms to make an item with a good external finish and the ability to make more of them then you need to make a mould.
You start by making your required shape (called a 'Buck') which you can do with bits of wood, polystyrene, plaster, body filler etc. but must end up with the shape and finish you require of the final piece. Coat that with a mould release agent or wax car polish. Paint on a thick coat of GF resin or gel coat and leave to set off but does not need to be hard. Lay up FG chopped mat and resin to make a thick coating. You may also need to add some frames (like the reverse of ships bulkheads) to give your finished mould rigidity. When removed from the buck you now have your mould. The finish of your final item will depend on the finish in this mould so quite a lot of work will be required again with body filler and paint to get a mirror finish. To make your finished item again apply release agent to the mould, coat of gel, lay up whatever thickness GF you think your finished console needs to be.
If it were me, I would be planning to cover it in carpet and only make one off.
In this case make your Buck and plan for the fact that the finished item will be 3-4mm larger all round. Apply release agent. Take the whole thing to your local FG company who make boats or FG garden planters etc. and get the guy to spray over your buck with 3-4mm of chopped mat which comes out of a gun and will take a couple of minutes. The finish outside will not be great but a couple of hours with a sander will take off the humps and bumps ready for carpet.
Steve
If it is to be exposed and painted then you will need to work at it, perhaps in several stages. If it is only to be a one off and carpeted then it could be quite simple.
In very basic terms to make an item with a good external finish and the ability to make more of them then you need to make a mould.
You start by making your required shape (called a 'Buck') which you can do with bits of wood, polystyrene, plaster, body filler etc. but must end up with the shape and finish you require of the final piece. Coat that with a mould release agent or wax car polish. Paint on a thick coat of GF resin or gel coat and leave to set off but does not need to be hard. Lay up FG chopped mat and resin to make a thick coating. You may also need to add some frames (like the reverse of ships bulkheads) to give your finished mould rigidity. When removed from the buck you now have your mould. The finish of your final item will depend on the finish in this mould so quite a lot of work will be required again with body filler and paint to get a mirror finish. To make your finished item again apply release agent to the mould, coat of gel, lay up whatever thickness GF you think your finished console needs to be.
If it were me, I would be planning to cover it in carpet and only make one off.
In this case make your Buck and plan for the fact that the finished item will be 3-4mm larger all round. Apply release agent. Take the whole thing to your local FG company who make boats or FG garden planters etc. and get the guy to spray over your buck with 3-4mm of chopped mat which comes out of a gun and will take a couple of minutes. The finish outside will not be great but a couple of hours with a sander will take off the humps and bumps ready for carpet.
Steve
ultimad said:
Thanks for that Steve. IF I do it, it will be covered in leather and probably be a one-off like you say.
Gaz you're too kind (or a bloody good p1ss taker
)
Andy,Gaz you're too kind (or a bloody good p1ss taker
)Knowning Gaz like we do then I'd say that he was a good........
If you are going to make a one off then why not get some alloy sheet and bend it to the shape you require making tabs etc for fixings then cover it with thin dense foam and then get it covered in leather, the only thing is not to make it too complex?
I'm not making a centre consol as such, but I need somewhere to house my (new air con) switches, so under the radio housing (underslung in the centre of the dashboard) I'm fixing an up turned two dial mount (to match my bullet air vents) with the face filled in and my switches will be mounted in this.
ultimad said:
I thought fibreglass just because there are a few curves in it and I'm not sure about whether I'm able to reproduce those in ali but no harm in having a go I suppose, certainly looks like it would be quicker if I could go that way.
Nothing to stop you doing most of it in ali then forming some compound curves with steel/ali mesh covered in body filler.Steve
Hi Andy
I liked the centre console that Gary Shipstone had done in his GTR (Complete Kit Car article with yours). He told me that he had made it out of bent ali sheet and covered it with leather. I've just started work on a Hardtop for my Can-Am, lots of smelly fibreglassing to do! I've done lots of fibreglass work before on cars and a Hovercraft. There is a PDF guide at www.cfsnet.co.uk , they sell all the gear as do glassplies in Southport. I'll do some measurements on the Procharger mountings and clearance for you tomorrow. You can always give me a call.
Regards Dave
I liked the centre console that Gary Shipstone had done in his GTR (Complete Kit Car article with yours). He told me that he had made it out of bent ali sheet and covered it with leather. I've just started work on a Hardtop for my Can-Am, lots of smelly fibreglassing to do!
I've done lots of fibreglass work before on cars and a Hovercraft. There is a PDF guide at www.cfsnet.co.uk , they sell all the gear as do glassplies in Southport. I'll do some measurements on the Procharger mountings and clearance for you tomorrow. You can always give me a call.Regards Dave
Steve_D said:
ultimad said:
I thought fibreglass just because there are a few curves in it and I'm not sure about whether I'm able to reproduce those in ali but no harm in having a go I suppose, certainly looks like it would be quicker if I could go that way.
Nothing to stop you doing most of it in ali then forming some compound curves with steel/ali mesh covered in body filler.Steve
CanAm Dave said:
Hi Andy
I liked the centre console that Gary Shipstone had done in his GTR (Complete Kit Car article with yours). He told me that he had made it out of bent ali sheet and covered it with leather. I've just started work on a Hardtop for my Can-Am, lots of smelly fibreglassing to do! I've done lots of fibreglass work before on cars and a Hovercraft. There is a PDF guide at www.cfsnet.co.uk , they sell all the gear as do glassplies in Southport. I'll do some measurements on the Procharger mountings and clearance for you tomorrow. You can always give me a call.
Regards Dave
Hardtop sounds interesting. We'll have to start calling you 'Pioneer Dave' at this rate I liked the centre console that Gary Shipstone had done in his GTR (Complete Kit Car article with yours). He told me that he had made it out of bent ali sheet and covered it with leather. I've just started work on a Hardtop for my Can-Am, lots of smelly fibreglassing to do!
I've done lots of fibreglass work before on cars and a Hovercraft. There is a PDF guide at www.cfsnet.co.uk , they sell all the gear as do glassplies in Southport. I'll do some measurements on the Procharger mountings and clearance for you tomorrow. You can always give me a call.Regards Dave
What sort of shape will the hard top be ? Are you replacing the rear clip too ?
That Procharger info would be great when you have a mo, along with your input on what you think about the likelihood of being able to avoid cutting the bulkhead and bulkhead top/rear clip.
ultimad said:
CanAm Dave said:
Hi Andy
I liked the centre console that Gary Shipstone had done in his GTR (Complete Kit Car article with yours). He told me that he had made it out of bent ali sheet and covered it with leather. I've just started work on a Hardtop for my Can-Am, lots of smelly fibreglassing to do! I've done lots of fibreglass work before on cars and a Hovercraft. There is a PDF guide at www.cfsnet.co.uk , they sell all the gear as do glassplies in Southport. I'll do some measurements on the Procharger mountings and clearance for you tomorrow. You can always give me a call.
Regards Dave
Hardtop sounds interesting. We'll have to start calling you 'Pioneer Dave' at this rate I liked the centre console that Gary Shipstone had done in his GTR (Complete Kit Car article with yours). He told me that he had made it out of bent ali sheet and covered it with leather. I've just started work on a Hardtop for my Can-Am, lots of smelly fibreglassing to do!
I've done lots of fibreglass work before on cars and a Hovercraft. There is a PDF guide at www.cfsnet.co.uk , they sell all the gear as do glassplies in Southport. I'll do some measurements on the Procharger mountings and clearance for you tomorrow. You can always give me a call.Regards Dave
What sort of shape will the hard top be ? Are you replacing the rear clip too ?
That Procharger info would be great when you have a mo, along with your input on what you think about the likelihood of being able to avoid cutting the bulkhead and bulkhead top/rear clip.
Regards Dave
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