Fiberglass stuff

[rubbersidedown]

is it possible to make a durable pillar gauge pod out of fiberglass? the ones i see are always built from plastic but i was considering trying to make one out of fiberglass. anyone know or have any experience in this?

 

[ECTurboDSM]

You'll want to buy a plastic one and create mold from it. Then, you can use the mold to make fiberglass ones. I would think that they will be very brittle, but I haven't gotten to free standing fiberglass yet. I used fiber glass to mold a bolt on gauge pod to the plastic stock piece.

 

[rubbersidedown]

i know i'll have to make a mold. i was just wondering how durable they'd be and how hard it would be since they are rather small pieces.

 

[rubbersidedown]

TTT

 

[Layton141]

Go to a junk yard and get yourself a stock pillar, so you don't mess your own up just in case. Okay, this might sound fairly ghetto but if done properly it can be very clean. FOr instance. if your are making a two guage pod estimate where you want to place the gauges and cut a large whole roughyl 1" in diameter. Then in one hole take a shot glass or preferably one of those plastic bathroom cups and tape it at the approximate angle in which you want the gauges to set. Once you have your angle correct. Take panty hose and stretch it over the top of the shot glass and tape the edges down firmly. Paint some resin on the panty hose. Once it dries you have a well - rounded pod in which a hole needs to be cut for a gauge. But be sure to actually layer up some glass to improve its structural integrity. repeat the same process with the other hole. Sand then wet sand. Prime then paint. And then you have your own homemade gauge pod. It took me a little while, but when I was done it looked just like one you went out and bought. I wanted to make my own so that I had matching Gauge pods on the driver and passenger side. You can even use this principle to make your own gauge pod that rests on either side of your gauge cluster. Hope this helps Have fun....

 

[rubbersidedown]

that's cool. but how strong is it? is it weak? flexible? will it crack if bumped into? how many layers did you use?

 

[Airpoppoff]

Talk to mitsureaper

 

[dave99gst]

the plastic ones are plenty strong enough. fiberglass will be more rigid- so if your creation ends up a little off- it will be harder to make it fit. if your laminating right over another pod 2 layers would be plenty.. if your creating your own pod totaly from fiberglass .. at least 4 light layers ( it would still be bendable a little )

 

[rubbersidedown]

i have another question. what's the best type of resin to use for this project? From what i've read epoxy resins are the most commonly used but i also see that there is a polyester resin which is cheaper and the descrition says its slightly more brittle... i'd rather hear from someone who's actually done this before and not the person who's trying to sell me their product. Thanks.

 

[rubbersidedown]

agh.. and i noticed all this talk of gelcoats and now there are "normal" polyester resins and layup resins or something. i'm getting all of this from http://www.shopmaninc.com/ So if anyone can give me any info or just point towards a site or something that has some usefull info i can read then please do. it would be much appreciated. i'm so confused.

 

[rubbersidedown]

TTT

 

[Airpoppoff]

dude, talk to mitsureaper, he is a genious, and made a write up on his webpage