How to Fiberglass
- Thread starter dodgewade
- Start date
Mr. Fixit
Member
Wade,
I don't know of books in particular (although I am sure that there are many), but I was a mold maker and have years of experience with all types of glass work other than hands on carbon fiber work. Find your books if you like, but feel free to ask on the forum or pm me if you need guidence on any aspects of your project and I will be happy to help.. Like anything else, fiberglass work is easy if you know how to do it :hi:
EX JUNK
Moderator
putz
Member
You should put a article together with steps and pics in the tech department. That is one thing this site is lax on the tech forum is not really posted on that much.JMO
powdercoat_bill
New Member
I think that the book by Tex Smith called "How to build Fiberglass Hot Rods, Customs, and Kit Cars" is probably the best that I've seen on the subject. The ISBN is 1-884089-10-0. Hope this helps!
I have;
"Fiberglass & Composit Materials" by Forbes Aird available as an HP Book. Try Amazon.com or eBay.
I also have;
"Vacuum Bagging Techniques" published by Gougeon Brothers, Inc. They are boat builders and suppliers of West Systems Epoxys. They have other publications.
West Systems Epoxy is available from various distributors and Aircraftspruce.com along with about any other fiberglass and composite materials.
Rule One. Polyester resins melts styrofoam. Polyester resin can be used on urethane foam. Styrofoam requires a sealed surface in order to use polyester resins or you must use epoxy resins on styrofoam.
Ok, that could be more than one rule.
Two pals and I built a VariEze airplane a few decades back and I've built bodies for my drag bikes various other junk....oops, stuff.
I haven't vacuum bagged carbon fiber yet, but I'm working in a tool to give it a try in E-glass and epoxy.
"Fiberglass & Composit Materials" by Forbes Aird available as an HP Book. Try Amazon.com or eBay.
I also have;
"Vacuum Bagging Techniques" published by Gougeon Brothers, Inc. They are boat builders and suppliers of West Systems Epoxys. They have other publications.
West Systems Epoxy is available from various distributors and Aircraftspruce.com along with about any other fiberglass and composite materials.
Rule One. Polyester resins melts styrofoam. Polyester resin can be used on urethane foam. Styrofoam requires a sealed surface in order to use polyester resins or you must use epoxy resins on styrofoam.
Ok, that could be more than one rule.
Two pals and I built a VariEze airplane a few decades back and I've built bodies for my drag bikes various other junk....oops, stuff.
I haven't vacuum bagged carbon fiber yet, but I'm working in a tool to give it a try in E-glass and epoxy.
Mr. Fixit
Member
Good post, just one clarification, or better put, additional info. You can not intermingle Epoxy products with Polyester products cured or uncured. Although they are both catylized, they are completely different. Bottom line is that you cannot apply a coat of epoxy over styrofoam as an example and then continue to lay up your plug, mold or part with polyester. They will separate..
Mr. Fixit
Member
I would like to help by doing so, but there is so much material to include. If the article was about repairing fiberglass, that would be fairly straight forward, but if someone wants to build there own plug, mold and part, there is simply too much info to include in this venue. Again, if someone has a particular need, I am here to help work through it with you all.
Regards,
Wade,
I don't know of books in particular (although I am sure that there are many), but I was a mold maker and have years of experience with all types of glass work other than hands on carbon fiber work. Find your books if you like, but feel free to ask on the forum or pm me if you need guidence on any aspects of your project and I will be happy to help.. Like anything else, fiberglass work is easy if you know how to do it
Steve,
I was looking at boxing in the channel slots I had to cut in the back of my T body to lower it down on the frame at the kick up. They were cut on the contour of the body so it would require about a 2" wide slot and be about 3" tall at the tallest and maybe 6" long. It would be a channel opening from the bottom side. Hopefully I'm making sense. Also would like to know how to put the wood it the body and glass over it or what ever I supposed to do.
Thanks for the help.
This will teach you everything you're going to need to know about fiberglass in one simple blog. We probably should do a how-to for this site, but I like how this one is written.
http://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?TID=74519&PN=1
http://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?TID=74519&PN=1
Gerry
Well-Known Member
One thing thats always forgotten is moulder wax. It seems this excellent stuff is not that well know. You can buy it in sheets of various thickness which are about 2ft by 9'' in size. IT cuts very easily and can be moulded by hand into compound curves, in fact any shape you want. A little heat with a hairdryer and it softens up like putty. Be warned its not cheap but solves a lot of problems.
Just dropped over and cut to shape with a craft knife. A little work and it smooths out real nice
I put this on the underneath of the floor just for fun. remember it has to be a mirror image to be the right way around when you pull it off the glass
Gerry
From experience modeling clay will melt from the heat.
Mr. Fixit
Member
Wade,
To start with, can you take a photo or two of the area(s)? I do understand what you need to accomplish and can envision that the vertical or angled portion of kick ups of the steel chassis are poking into the area under the seat, correct? Is this car currently being built and the body can easily be removed? Is the chassis already painted? I need to know these things first and then I can walk you through a process with no problem.
Sorry, I meant play dough. Something that can be chipped out after the fiberglass hardens.
Mr. Fixit
Member
It can be used but certainly not my first choice. If multiple layers of matt, cloth or woven roving are used to create structural thickness, you are correct, the clay will melt and can also be a mess. A really great way to do small parts such as the tranny tunnel is to use urathane foam. It is sold in various shapes and sizes and can easily be cut and shaped. A surform file or rasp will assist with contours, etc. It can be coated with polyester resin and then your various layers of glass. Here are couple of photos that some of you may have seen on my T-Boy posting where I employed expandable foam (great stuff in a can) to make the buck for my fenders which was used for my metal shaping.
Mr. Fixit
Member
Have you figured out where you want or need the stretch? Are you building your car now and have the option of stretching the chassis too? I have seen guys cut the body at the cowl and add length there. As for the process, there are like a number of ways to go about it like most things. I will assume that you are not looking to build a mold of the body by using your current body as a plug, correct? This being the case, you will be working with the finished product throughout the process. All of this work should take place on a sturdy surface that permits full access to the areas of the work. When you start cutting, things can move, so you need to keep this in mind.
Once you decide where to cut, cover the areas that you will layout with masking tape. This permits a easy surface to mark on and if you make a mistake, use an eraser or replace the tape and layout again. When you are satisfied with the layout, PUT ON PROTECTIVE CLOTHING, PROPER MASK & SAFETY GLASSES. This means cover all of your exposed skin, wear gloves (I typically tape my gloves to a long sleeve shirt at the cuffs), dust mask, glasses, etc.
Using a pneumatic cut off wheel, or a small electric grinder with a slim cut off wheel carefully cut along the marks that you had made separating the two areas completely. Now the fun, you will need to carefully align the two pieces leaving the 6" gap that you are seeking. Once you have accomplished this, use some furring strips (1" x 2") wood and brace the parts as you see fit to hold everything aligned. You can simply drill small holes through the body wherever you need a brace and then put a temporary screw through the glass body into the wood. The bottom line here is that you need to keep anything from moving at all. Any flex now could spell disaster as the new glass layers heat up during curing and pull things where you don't want them.
Okay, now that everything is braced exactly where you want it, use an angle grinder with 24 or 36 grit paper and go around the entire cut back several inches from the cut line and grind the existing surfaces through most of the thickness leaving between 1/16" and 1/8". Once this is completed, you will need to be a bit of an artist by covering the opening from the inside with various materials to create a temp backing and depending the shape needed will determing what you use to back it. If the surface is a simple curve, mica (the counter top version) works well. You can tape it well to the inside of the glass surface. Also, if you can use a smooth backing like mica, apply a couple of coats of mold release wax prior to putting the pieces in place. This will make them very easy to remove from the inside when you are done. If the surface is parabolic (curving in two directions) you can use pre shaped urathane foam arrached to the inside. You can also use aluminum duct tape, thin wood, plastic, or most anything else that will give you a suitable backing. Remember here that the backing is only temporary and does not need to look pretty, just be the correct shape.
Okay now the fun part. Depending upon the total thickness that you need to make up, use a combination of matt and cloth (mat is muntidirectional strands of glass and cloth looks like fabric). Pre cut the matt and cloth to fit the opening including the area that laps over onto the existing glass so that you dont have to fiddle with this during the process of applying resin. In a well ventilated area with freah air, mix up your polyester resin with the MEK (hardner) as per the instructions provided withthe resin, which can be adjusted depending upon your air temp. Colder air makes for a slower cure, etc.
With a throw away paint brush, apply the resin directly onto the backing surface and onto the previously ground body, with your gloves on, place your first piece of mat over the wet resin and then begin to apply resin on top of the mat. This is called the wetting process and if done correctly is pretty easy. When you brush the resin, the goal is not to drag the brush, but rather to apply as much resin as the brish will hold and wet the mat dipping the brish frequently. Since the resin will set up in the bucket within about 10 -15 minutes depending upon temperature, only mix and apply as mucj as you believe that you can get done, but always enough to wet out the mat that you are working on. Once the mat is wet which you can tell by it turning from white to almost translucent, begin to use your resin roller to gently remove all of the trapped air bubbles. Use a light to see this properly since theis will be structural and bubbles are the enemy. Now continue this same process over and over until you have reached the desired thickness. There is no need to wait for the first or intermediate layers to set up and feel free to build it out to full thickness. Since you will be sanding the finished glass work add styrene (surfacing wax) to the very last mix of resin when you apply the last layer of mat/cloth. This will eliminate the sticky finished product and will permit sanding without gulling up.
Well, this is the basic info needed and I do suggest that if you have never done this type of thing that you mix up some resin and try a small project first.
Good luck..
Mr. Fixit
Member
I neglected to mention that once you are finished with the outside work and remove whatever you used for the backing that you should put a couple of good layers across the inside that bridge the joints by 4" - 6" or more if you can.
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