Fiberglass 101

[BGizzlePatrick]

Hi,
This is for everbody who has read either one of my articles on how to do fiberglass molding:
http://www.dsmtuner.com/forums/showthread.php?t=183089 or http://www.dsmtuner.com/forums/showthread.php?t=183162

I by no means think that I am a master at this or that my way is THE best and THE only way to do this and i do get alot of questions from people here and I hope we can use this here to ASK/ANSWERE questions and for everybody (including ME) to learn from this.

So please feel free to drop a note if you know anything that I dont, that could be done a differend (maybe a better/easier way) or if you have any questions. So please enjoy

 

[xBOOSTx]

Good Work... Looks clean... minus the blue... j/k

Is this your first time glassing???

 

[LaN-]

Very impressive i didn't know fiberglass was that easy

Good job man

 

[BGizzlePatrick]

Yeah that was my first time trying it. I found a few websites online that kinda talk about the idea of how fiberglass resin gets mixed and hardens and I was too cheap to try it on real fiberglass cloth and just got some old fleece and it worked nice so i tried it on the tweeters and the radio before i started my trunk.
Lol the blue is way darker than it appears on the pictures i guess its the flash from the camera making it look bright blue.
Just a add on for everyone that haas read the how to guide, I have started on my trunk and found that the primer that I used on the tweeters really really sucks. Well what i mean by that is: If you put the bodyfiller on over a big area (such as your trunk mold) you will most likely get some airbubles in it that will give you a hard time later on (they are small but still you need to get them filled and even). I tried putting a big coat of primer on a big area and let it dry to sand it down so that all holes and minor scratches and suff would be covered.... well, dont use this! Its very very hard to sand this krylon primer!!!!! I had it dry for about a week and still! It just ruins your sandpaper in no time. I found that when you go to wallmart and go to the automotive section, there is a bodyfiller primer. This primer dries alot faster so you can put a big coat on it and let it dry for a day or so and it sand of really nice. Plus, when totally dried this primer is harder to scratch then the Krylon so i might go back and redo my interior paintjob and use the new primer since my old pieces seem to scratch a litle too easily.

 

[sk8shorty01]

Here are a few suggestions. Use a brush to put on the resin as it will save you a lot of time later because resin is very hard to sand and it will be much more smooth this way. Also there is primer called filler primer, it is like a brick red in color. It fills much better and is also pretty easy to sand down. Another thing, if you are installing subs in your trunk you may want to use fiberglass matting on top of the fleece once you get that laid out and the resin has dried. Because there will be so much vibration you have a good chance of cracking or breaking the fleece because it is not nearly as strong as the matting. Just a few suggestions, hope they make your fiberglassing projects much easier.

 

[TheDecon]

You guys rock. I can't wait to get started on my own Fiberglass projects.

 

[Nikobom]

When mixing bondo, you have to be careful not to trap air bubbles in it. What you do is take your ammount of bondo, put it on a big flat surface, then add the hardener on the top of it. Now, instead of going crazy, scoop from the bottom of your bondo with the scraper, and smash it down against the flat surface, occasionally switching the angle in which you smash down to mix it up better. When you don't see any more streaks in the mixture, you can go ahead and apply it to the working surface. The surface should be free of debris, you should really clean it with some GON or another multi-solvent cleaner, and it helps if there are a few scratches for the bondo to grip. It's usually a bad idea to have a layer of bondo more than an eighth of an inch thick, sometimes it will cake off like a paint chip.

Sorry if you knew all this already, but it helps alot to mix the stuff right.

 

[sk8shorty01]

Yeah that is definately the correct way to do the mixing. You kind of want to scoop it, like the scraper was a spatula, flip it and smash is down a few times (smear it), then repeat. This is the best way to mix as said above, you will get all the air bubbles out, and the hardner properly mixed throughout the bondo. Duraglass and Featherlite are other good bondo like materials that can be applied to the car to get the look you want. Just take your time, and make sure you scuff everything with sandpaper before your next coat. Also, resin and matting breathe for a while after they have cured. If you go and put the bondo over the top too soon, the matting and resin with release air, and it will bubble up the bondo. Just another quick tip. Take your time.

 

[Attack Eagle]

Rage gold is also a great filler to use for smoothing with fiberglass/vinyl projects.

 

[swade]

I know this is revising an old thread. But does anyone have the pics saved or anything?

swade

 

[4g63turbo84]

ya can't see any pics, i would like to see....

 

[Beemer92]

not sure whats going on, but the pics aren't showing themselves. I would also like to get some more info on this subject. Looking into tweeters, and a hidden 10 inch sub. Has anyone sucessfully done this in a 2g AWD??