Fiberglass

[gSx_r1der]

THis is a question directed towards fiberglassing and the level of difficulty. I want to fab up fiberglass dash, door panels and basically all interior. My question would be is this going to be a hard progect. Is it going to be expensive and does anyone have pictures of a fiberglass dash kit or anything inside their hoopty???I want to do this so i can mount a lcd and move put some gauges in my dash and also to lighten up my ride a little. I also want to mount a sub in the back(with fiberglass obviously) What kind of project am i looking at and am i way in over my head with this fiberglass thing???

 

[endlessMyk]

If you've NEVER fiberglassed before.. don't start w/yr ride. I'm just starting to "practice" with stupid little pieces, but for my panels/dash/sub enclosure I'm probably gonna have someone else do it, unless the fiberglass gawds shower me with talent. I think Devlish has done some fiberglassing and a write-up on it.

 

[telly699]

Your not over your head yet, but you may be once you start ripping your dash out.

Fiberglass is IMO, one of the easier ways to cutom fab stuff for your car. But it takes practice, so buy some glass and start making molds from random parts. Practice first, then you will be in a way better position to gauge wether this is a project for you.

You will have to at the least, pull out all the panels you want to replicate and make molds of each. ( a lot of work by itself, especially if your going to be doing cutom stuff ) Then youll have to make your pieces from the molds, sand, finish, and paint them. ( also a crap load of work ) START OUT SMALL... in sections its not so bad... but the whole dash and everything at once I would figure at least a couple weeks working 5 hours per night.

Hope that helps a bit...

-Jerad

 

[blcknspo0ln]

telly - i agree with you. but I think it'd take a little longer to... get it right. cause lord knows how many times I fudged some of my FG projects up.

FG is easy, like telly said though, go small THEN go big. that's exactly what I did with FG and now starting with carbon fiber, although CF is a little hard to work with.

easiest thing to try and replicate? a-pillars, center dash trim, steering column, spark plug cover.. etc.. just try little things. goodluck and make sure you "push" the extra resin out of your FG

 

[gSx_r1der]

YOu guys have been wicked helpful, I appreciate it, I figured I'd have to go small first,and since fiberglassing is similar to a painting a car (meaning once your good at it you can make some bank) i guess i start trying to master this trade,do you guys recommend those expensive ass videos about how to fiberglass and shit, or do you guys think i should just read up on the forums and tech artichles on how to FG, but one question for blknspooln, do you have any molds left over, in other words you said you've done some FG work you think you could hook me up with some examples, like some of the small projects you did that you threw out or dont need any more to show me what a finished project looks like??? thanks .......

 

[92redman]

While I have no experience with fg, I have poked around the internet looking for how to do it. I can tell you, if you search for a while, there are a few good tutorials out there with good pictures and step-by-step instructions.
Are you looking to just replicate your current pieces and maybe just 'hide' your dash, or do you want to make something new from scratch that totally replaces everything?

 

[gSx_r1der]

Well basically im just looking to replace my dash with the exact replica just in fiberglass and im also trying to do the same with my door panels and all the other panels in my car cause i have gray leather interior and i hate that color, but yea now you know, im looking more toward dash center consule and door panels.

 

[blcknspo0ln]

I cringe in fear for thought of ripping the dash out.. and then replicating it with FG

 

[gSx_r1der]

Y do you cringe at that??Is it that difficult, or what ?????

 

[out there]

i think the way that you describe it... "ripping" out the dash would make it a lot harder to make a mold from
i did find this page a while back when i thought about putting together some fg things, but i never got around to it because i started school again
http://hotrodders.com/kb/body-exterior/articles/fiberglass_part_making.html
might want to stop by boat building/repair places to find out some more about what you'll be doing

 

[blcknspo0ln]

I guess the term "ripping out the dash" was a poor choice. i meant, take it apart and using it as a mold.

has any of you even attempted to? it's a big PITA

 

[92redman]

I have taken a dash out before(unless of course the 2g is a lot different than 1g), it's not that hard(much easier then a starquest). The hard part would be to make the plug or mold from it once it's out. The thing about fiberglass is, it needs a smooth surface or it will stick to the original part and the stock dash is far from smooth. Anybody have any ideas how to get around this obsticle?

edit: ahh, nevermind. You have a 2g and seem to be smother than 1gs.

 

[telly699]

I have taken a dash out before(unless of course the 2g is a lot different than 1g), it's not that hard(much easier then a starquest). The hard part would be to make the plug or mold from it once it's out. The thing about fiberglass is, it needs a smooth surface or it will stick to the original part and the stock dash is far from smooth. Anybody have any ideas how to get around this obsticle?

edit: ahh, nevermind. You have a 2g and seem to be smother than 1gs.

Smoothness isnt the big problem, but the 2g is very smooth. Just get a gold mold release agent... and for god sakes, make sure you use one. Dont just epoxy the fiberglass to the top of your dash on accident!

 

[gSx_r1der]

Smoothness isnt the big problem, but the 2g is very smooth. Just get a gold mold release agent... and for god sakes, make sure you use one. Dont just epoxy the fiberglass to the top of your dash on accident!

What do you mean, gold mold release agent, would this enable me to just use my dash as the mold and apply the fb to the dash, or would i be able to just use the dash a mold without destroying it in case i fu<k up the fg job????

 

[LeeRichmond]

why cant you just apply 3 or 4 layers of plastic wrap to the dash? it shoudl form to the dash perfect and will seperate the two leaving no mess.

 

[blcknspo0ln]

doesnt work.. not a lot of household "sticky" stuff will adhere to a conditioned dash.

lay the FG on saran wrap.. then lay it on the dash

 

[LeeRichmond]

well you dont want to ruin your dash so just tape the saran wrap around the back Im talking larger wrap like shrink wrap to wrap parts etc 3 feet wide?

 

[sjwelna]

If you want a bunch of information on fiberglassing, look at my webpage: www.sounddomain.com/id/welnas I think the writeup I did is on page 4 (or one of the pages just around there).

That should give you a good idea of the process and materials, and where to get them.

The bottom line is that fiberglass is messy, smelly, and takes a long time to do things properly, but can look awesome if done right. I think a full on dash would be very challenging, but have seen pictures of one done. I'd plan on several (read like 4-5) months of working time if you worked on it full time 5 days a week to do both a dash, door panels, and some kind of sub enclosure. Just to give you an idea of timeframe, my kickpanels and sub enclosure took me probably 2 months of working on it for about 4 hours a day give or take every day.

Good luck, and post pictures when you're done!

-Steve

 

[LeeRichmond]

im sorry but 4-5 months 5 days a week thats unrealistic. one weeks full work 40 hours or so and you could have a full fiberglass dash ready to paint. Planning is the key and taking your time not to screw up.

 

[super97gst]

Pam is about the best release agent i have found for creating mods from glass.

 

[sjwelna]

im sorry but 4-5 months 5 days a week thats unrealistic. one weeks full work 40 hours or so and you could have a full fiberglass dash ready to paint. Planning is the key and taking your time not to screw up.

It all depends on what you want as the final result, something that looks like crap, or something that is worth putting time into. The competition cars done by alpine and other major companies usually spend months building their cars easily. It all depends on what he means by a fiberglass dash. A complete replacement? Are there going to be any speakers in it? What about aiming the speakers for imaging? The list goes on and on. If I were going to do a whole dash, I would certainly plan on spending several months on it. I'm a pretty damn speedy fiberglasser too.

-Steve

 

[blcknspo0ln]

Pam is about the best release agent i have found for creating mods from glass.

seconded. freaky, but true.

 

[gSx_r1der]

Wow i see that there is a lot of preping that has to go into this, i wasnt really wanting this kit to be "wicked" with angled speakers and such, i just wanted a replica dash with some options for mounting my radio casue right now i dont like where it is because of the sun during the day and visibility is usally an issue along with putting a cd in and out while drive or the car being in 3rd gear,and i dont really like the dash kit its a little tacky and i wouldnt mind getting rid of that med gray interior that was great and smart for putting in our dsm,( when they could have very easily used black) but maybe someone in here wouldnt mind giving me some ideas of where i can get this project done for cheap or maybe someone in here could hook me up with a skill that they have and I pay them who knows.......

 

[Bostedquest]

I have worked with both FG and CF...
PAY ATTENTION TO THE FABRIC WEIGHT. That is the suggested amount of weight of the resin that "should" be in the fabric once cast. Also remember that that number is per square yard. so smaller than a (2)yard, better get out the calculator...
I found it easier to go over by 10% and use a hair drier on hi heat, med fan to warm and "wet out" the resin. www.uscomposites.com is a wonderful source for materials, supplies and info books.

Iso resin I have found is alot easier to work with in small amounts. Just have to keep an eye on the experation date of the activator...

I actually use a real iso resin release wax, and I must say even after 20 casts, the wax is still good with -0- hang ups. And cost me $3 bucks for the 1lb tub... of course you do have to follow the directions... I use a green spray stuff for single cast parts that is also great.