Fiberglass Interior Parts Question

[zwickyj]

I've read through post about molds and such, but do you have to actually make a whole new part or can you just glass over the existing part?

 

[silvawolfe]

you may glass over your existing part and most people do. To make a mold you have to have some thing to work off of so you would have to build what you wanted to make the mold off of in the first place. Out of curiosity what are you doing?

 

[Purevil]

Either one will work. Are you just trying to smoothe the interior pieces or are you pimpin it with a bunch of tv's and aquariums and whatnot?

 

[zwickyj]

Just smooth it out and paint it to match the exterior. I am wanting to do the door panals and the rear hatch area, possibly dash and console. Just want to know how to do it over the existing pieces.

 

[Auto RS T]

Dash- The dash can be scuffed up with a red scotch brite pad (400grit) and painted if matching the exterior is the idea. Don't burn through the black layer, just sand lightly getting in every crevise. Clean with prep sol solvent before the next step. Make sure you are using it properly, one rag to apply, the other to wipe off and remove the dirt.

Next apply a coat of plastic adhesion promotor (according to the directions) to the surface, then prime and paint. The adhesion promotor will help the paint bond better to the surface and should prevent cracking. When painting/clearing the top off the dash I always do a few extra coats because the sun tends to fade this area. Adhesion promotor can be found at auto paint supply stores, I have never really looked at auto parts stores for this product but they may carry it also. I figure that is a lot less work than glass and still gives you a very smooth look.

 

[tight_tsi]

I did a similar procedure to the dash of an Integra. The process was to clean up the plastic pieces using wax and grease remover and a gray scotchbrite pad. Then I applied a coat of adhesion promoter first to the plastic after cleaning it, then 2-3 coats of flexible primer. Then wet sand the primer using 600 grit paper until all the texture is gone and you have a nice flat, smooth surface. Then paint base coat/clear coat with the flex additive in the clearcoat as well. It turned out really well. Was a lot of work and time consuming but it turned out really nice.

 

[zwickyj]

With the fiberglass work, to add different speakers and gauges will the fiberglass just stick to the plastic? Should I glass right over the existing interior? Thanks for the help

 

[tight_tsi]

I would prep the interior parts first. You will want a clean, scuffed surface for the glass to adhere too. I would take a red scotchbrite and some wax & grease remover and scuff it real good with the pad and cleaner. Use an adhesion promoter before the glass would also help it. Then it should be just fine. Good luck!

 

[zwickyj]

Cool, Thanks for the help, off to a long road project