Working with Fiberglass

[krummel45]

I've seen dashes that have been fiberglassed and they look awsome and I was wondering how hard this really was to do and about how long it would take to do the dash. I haven't ever worked with the stuff abd I didn't know if I should practice on something else before the dash. And once that stuff's on, is there anyway of getting it off?

 

[20psi]

Fiberglass some small stuff then move to the big stuff.

 

[FiReBReTHa]

and Search.


always search.




because youll find out that theres already posts not even a couple days old discussing.

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=131690

 

[RipperXX]

Fiberglass some small stuff then move to the big stuff.

What he said.


Also DO NOT use the fiberglass matting for small things. I learned the hard way, it's a pita to work with and gets real messy quickly. They make a fiberglass cloth like stuff, thats what I would recomend for anything small. SHOULD be much easier to work with, but I have never actualy had the chance to work with it.

 

[krummel45]

thats the thread that got me to post this. The 2 questions that I was wondering about it doesn't answer so if you guys have any answers to my questions please post. Thanks

 

['96_Talon_TSi]

Yea, fiberglass interiors are sweet, but tough work. It'll take a good portion of the day to gut your interior and pull out the dash. Took me 9 hours to gut my whole interior.

You should definetly practice on other stuff before you move to the dash. Practive making gauge pods, holders for electronics, kick panels, little stuff like that. Your first few peices will turn out pretty sketchy, but you'll learn tricks as you progress.

check out the forums on www.fiberglast.com there is a myriad of information and different discussion on everything from overlays to mold making, working with carbon, and different tecniques.

 

[FiReBReTHa]

yea, i speed read,

yours is a bit more detailed.


http://www.sounddomain.com/memberpage/452691/5


some info.

 

[HighPsi92GST]

like said, start small, learn your way with fiberglass, then move to the big stuff.

i started out doing overlays and making gauge pods and stuff like that, now i am making a completely custom dash for my 1g show car. its alot of work and fiberglass can be a pain to work with, but if you get it done and do good, it can really turn out awesome

 

[krummel45]

Thanks a lot for all the help, I'm going to do what you guys said and just kick with the kick panels and work my way up. Oh and one more question Do I really need to fiberglass the plastic stuff like whats in the rear. I didn't know if you could just sand that and paint it and it would look just like fiberglass when I was done? Again, thanks for the help.

 

[yoshimitsuspeed]

Gellcoat is the pigmented resin used to paint composites, fiberglass carbon fiber ect.
It usually has a little different look than paint and goes on a lot thicker. One advantage of this is it will easily fill in small imperfections or textures you would have to fill with bondo if you were to paint. The dissadvantage is you really need to spray it with a real gun, and the oarngepeel is much greater than paint, It's actually a pretty nice texture in itself for something like a dash, or you can sand from like 300 grit up to 1000 grit, making sure all larger scratches are gon. before moving to the next. Then buff. nice shiney gellcoat. The only problem with gelcoating plastic is that gellcoat doesen't bend like plastic does, however the flexing properties of fiber glass are much closer. if you bump the plastic the gellcoat could crack. With a coulple layers of glass it would be far less likeley. Let me know if you have any questions

 

[evanspears1]

http://web.njit.edu/~cas1383/proj/main/

Theres prolly the best fiberglass tutorial ive found, its what i used to learn fiberglass, it explains everything step by step, how to make molds, kick panels, the rings so you can flush mount speakers, everything... hopefully it helps

 

[jrivard]

I've seen dashes that have been fiberglassed and they look awsome and I was wondering how hard this really was to do and about how long it would take to do the dash. I haven't ever worked with the stuff abd I didn't know if I should practice on something else before the dash. And once that stuff's on, is there anyway of getting it off?

It take quite a while. I am glassing my interior right now. The best advice I can give you and make sure you prep the surfaces really well, especially when you glass over the vinyl. You must get rid of all the oils in the vinyl to get fiberglass to stick or else you'll have some lifting and cracking. Lay about two layers of fiberglass with a brush over all your surfaces. Let it cure and start using your elbow grease and go to down smoothing everything with 80 grit sand paper. If you stll have some imperfections use a light skim coat of body filler and sand flush. Prime with a primer/filler and sand afterwards with 320 grit paper (repeat as necessary). Paint with an automotive paint and clear coat. Let cure for 5 days or so and then lightly sand with 1000-1500 grit paper to get rid of orange peel. Lay down two more coats of clear. Let dry and sand with 2000 grit paper and buff lightly after with a rubbing compond. It will look as smooth as glass and reflect like a mirror. Good luck!

 

[devlish]

Thanks a lot for all the help, I'm going to do what you guys said and just kick with the kick panels and work my way up. Oh and one more question Do I really need to fiberglass the plastic stuff like whats in the rear. I didn't know if you could just sand that and paint it and it would look just like fiberglass when I was done? Again, thanks for the help.

if you use a good fill/primer with some flex added to it, you should be just fine. spray a few light coats, sand & repeat until smooth

then paint away and you'll have a nice smoothed finish. i highly recommend using a spray-gun and real autobody products, you'll get a better finished product