greengoblin's AWD Project

[KHRacing]

want to see this car done soon ###

 

[Atuca]

With everything I've been doing, I've liked the mat much better then woven. Maybe because my plugs have used the cheap stuff, but the mat has been stronger, formed shapes better, and been easier to work with. I dunno

The work you are doing here, this all has to do with the fact you cut the bumper up higher (and sheet metal behind it) and you sealing off the underside right?

I love every update you do here, cannot wait to finish my diffuser project and move on to other projects for my car

 

[greengoblin]

With everything I've been doing, I've liked the mat much better then woven. Maybe because my plugs have used the cheap stuff, but the mat has been stronger, formed shapes better, and been easier to work with. I dunno

With the tight space I was working in the mat strands would grab on to my roller, gloves and such. Even when laying down the next piece of glass it was unruly. There is more so it will be used in other places.

The work you are doing here, this all has to do with the fact you cut the bumper up higher (and sheet metal behind it) and you sealing off the underside right?

The only thing I do not like about the kits is the look of the back end. I'm going to attempt to make it look better and have it still work well. To date all that has been done is either cut a big ass hole or ignore it. Neither look bad, just not great IMO.

So yes it is to seal up the back and to help reduces drag. I just hope it look good too. In the end mine may have a hole too.

 

[greengoblin]

Wheel well liner now in progress.

I used a bit of the OEM fender liner as a mold. This will work on items that have loose tolerances.
I trimmed it to length.
Used painters tape to block off the mounting holes.
Applied a good does of paste wax
Acetone for cleaning up tool and resin off your skin
stir stick
china cheap brush (you can clean it and reuse it if you have acetone)
spreader (not shown)

The OEM unit only cover some of the hole but is a good start. So I only used a single sheet of fabric so it would be some what flexible, easy to trim and light when I'm done since more glass will be added.

Cut fabric to size remember to cut it larger than needed. You trim it up later or in my case it will be left and help to form a better second bond.

Apply a thin coat of resin to the mold.
Lay down the fabric
then add more resin to make sure the fabric is completely wetted out making sure all air bubbles are pushed out and fabric is pressed firmly onto mold.

Let it dry and remove from the mold. Look at that you have a part. In my case half a part.

Getting closer to having one side done. Well, done-ish.

Oh and Carbon fiber speed glass goodness.

 

[arrowhead]

Very nice, wear the blue gloves that Harbor Freight sells, everytime you get ready to work, also I would use the 3/4 oz. stranded mat instead of the cloth, it is cheaper and does not get as heavy as the cloth, so it stays more where ever you put it.
H B brushes loose their shape fast, I use the ones from Home D, they can be reused a lot more.

 

[Atuca]

Man you are all a bunch of cheap asses!

Chip Brushes - Pack of 36 2" Industrial Grade Chip Brushes

36 brushes for 11 bucks. For 11 bucks, that cheaper then the acetone you'd waste cleaning 36 different brushes Natural bristles, 2 inches wide, seems to work perfect for me.

Not sure how many you'd need though for the project you are doing here though (well.. the whole aero kit project I mean). Thought I throw it out there anyways.

 

[greengoblin]

Very nice, wear the blue gloves that Harbor Freight sells, everytime you get ready to work, also I would use the 3/4 oz. stranded mat instead of the cloth, it is cheaper and does not get as heavy as the cloth, so it stays more where ever you put it.
H B brushes loose their shape fast, I use the ones from Home D, they can be reused a lot more.

I have been using the blue gloves. They are a must and you can never have to many!

I'll play around with the stranded mat. I did not like it when I did my large flat sections.

The home depot china brush are the only one I have used and they do work and clean up very well.


Thanks for all the advice.

 

[greengoblin]

Man you are all a bunch of cheap asses!

Chip Brushes - Pack of 36 2" Industrial Grade Chip Brushes

36 brushes for 11 bucks. For 11 bucks, that cheaper then the acetone you'd waste cleaning 36 different brushes Natural bristles, 2 inches wide, seems to work perfect for me.

Not sure how many you'd need though for the project you are doing here though (well.. the whole aero kit project I mean). Thought I throw it out there anyways.

I hate throwing away things.
My acetone is in a plastic dish with a lid and it can be used several time before it goes bad. So I really don'tuse that much.

Kevin

 

[Atuca]

I know what you mean, hate throwing things away. But after 3 80 cent brushed failed to go soft after the "home depot special" resin hardens in just 10 effing mins, there ai t no saving it. Figure 10 brushes is about 8-9 bucks one at a time, so I said eff it, I'm buying a whole box

Look forward to more updates.

 

[arrowhead]

Reverse your procedure, add a little more resin to that first coat before you apply your material, then just tap your material on it to suck up the heavier coat of resin, it will make it easier to shape and not as messy, then only apply enough resin to cover your whites, it will also give you a better finish.

I dont like to use spreaders, I use a roller which is specially made for glass it has grooves and it comes in aluminum or plastic, if you dont know what it is, I can post a pic., the spreader grab an pull, the roller lets you use less resin,
By your pics it looks like you are using too much resin.

I know what you mean, hate throwing things away. But after 3 80 cent brushed failed to go soft after the "home depot special" resin hardens in just 10 effing mins, there ai t no saving it. Figure 10 brushes is about 8-9 bucks one at a time, so I said eff it, I'm buying a whole box

Look forward to more updates.

If your resin is kicking out in only 10 min. you are using too much MEK you should get at least 30 min working time, read the ratios and adjust to ambient temp.

 

[greengoblin]

Reverse your procedure, add a little more resin to that first coat before you apply your material, then just tap your material on it to suck up the heavier coat of resin, it will make it easier to shape and not as messy, then only apply enough resin to cover your whites, it will also give you a better finish.

I dont like to use spreaders, I use a roller which is specially made for glass it has grooves and it comes in aluminum or plastic, if you dont know what it is, I can post a pic., the spreader grab an pull, the roller lets you use less resin,
By your pics it looks like you are using too much resin..

I do have a nice aluminum roller I picked up from UScomposite. It is awesome to use!

I generally do try to use the layup method you recommended. I certainly did use way to much resin on the flat parts I did. It was so damn hard to see what I was doing and I decided more resin was better than not enough. It sure was fun sanding off all the excess. Yeah for DA sanders!

Do you apply a gel coat to your glass work once your done? Any tips on that?

 

[arrowhead]

Gelcoat is very brittle if it does not have good backing, in this case I would not since it is hard to sand and you will need to get it polish, just do a regular putty if you want a better finish.
There is a product call PVA or Poly Vinyl Alcohol, this you can apply with a brush or sprayer, 1st coat lite , wait till it dries, then 2nd heavier coat, I like the wax first to cover some imperfections then the PVA.
Also another thing very handy is play dough, not the ones kids play with, this you can use to fill holes and larger sections or imperfections.

Gel coat is used as the 1st material when you make a mold, let it get almost hard then apply your 3/4 then proceed with rest of lay up, you have to wait until gelcoat almost dries , if not the pattern of other materials will show.

I wrote this yesterday, but lost it when I hit reply I was more detailed but if you have any questions let me know

Bumping but was afraid to loose it again.
Expanding: Yes you can cover your work with GC, but if it is a light piece it will crack, and also will add a lot of weight, that is one of the reasons I like overlays, they are also more flexible.
Remember stranded mat will mostly give you bulk, and the woven will give you strength, you can do 2-3/4+1-4 oz. woven+ 1-3/4, and use this last one as sacrificial to do your sanding and finish, so you dont loose the strength.

If you want to shape or scissor cut only use 2-3/4 or also 1 1/2, dont like to use this very much since it takes more resin. then you can reinforce as needed.

You wont be able to use the strands left over you should wet out about an inch from the edges so you dont have any whites, you would have to do a lot of sanding to try to use those joints.

 

[greengoblin]

This damn little part sure took a lot to build! Still have a few areas to fix but it's 95% done. Man was that a learning process!

Round 2! How I made the basic shape for the flat section. It's a bit tricky as there is several different angles. I'm not saying I'm doing this the right way. It's just easy and makes sense to me to do it this way. Plexi glass, wax and tape.

 

[arrowhead]

Use formica instead of plexiglass, it is a lot cheaper and easier for shapes.

 

[zachakagoat]

Use formica instead of plexiglass, it is a lot cheaper and easier for shapes.

Or a cheap cutting board from Walmart always worked for me.

 

[greengoblin]

Use formica instead of plexiglass, it is a lot cheaper and easier for shapes.

That is a really good idea. Nothing is cheaper than what is laying in the corner of your shop which was the case with this. Thanks for the input!

Kevin

 

[Atuca]

Or a cheap cutting board from Walmart always worked for me.

Here I thought that was my little secret!

 

[greengoblin]

More of the same. Passenger side rear fender liner 95% done. Now moving on to the rear center section. Doing some mock up to get a fell for how it will be layed up. The lower flat will be made first. Then the rear center bumper section will be built and bonded to it.

 

[Atuca]

Are you (and do you have to, assuming so) making new fender liners for the front wheel wells? The stock plastic wouldn't mate up with the wider front fenders correct?

 

[greengoblin]

Are you (and do you have to, assuming so) making new fender liners for the front wheel wells? The stock plastic wouldn't mate up with the wider front fenders correct?

These where only built to keep air from traveling behind the rear bumper so there will not need to be a large vent hole cut out.

The fronts have all the vents directing the air to the correct places. Some work may be done up front once I'm back up there but I don't think they will be needed.

 

[greengoblin]

Custom 7075 endlinks for my splined rear sway bar.

More fiberglass work. The center section needed to have a bit of a bend on both outside edges to match the angle the rear over fender have. After playing around a bit I found that gluing some short braces to the under side of my mold board(plug) allowed the edges to flex while keeping the center nice and flat. Very happy with how it turned out. The flat section has been left long and will be trimmed to shape after the bumper area is built along with more detailed finish work to the rest.

 

[greengoblin]

Test fit of endlinks.

 

[Sam@RRE]

Extremely beautiful build.

Shoot me a text when you decide to start on the VC baffles again. I sent you a text yesterday axing about them. I got monies in hand and wanna be first on the list .

 

[genegoesfast]

I second that^. Both on the build and the baffles.

 

[greengoblin]

Thanks guys!

I should know more about baffles today. I'm just waitng for the new bid and eta from the laser table operator.