fiberglass

[krook]

anyone know how to work with fiberglass? i want to try and experiment with it to fabricate things for the interior and trunk.

[lilmike2069]

Fiberglass is pretty easy to work with... theres essentially two types of fiberglass. There is the cheaper kind... which you can't really use with styrofoam because the chemical reaction will melt it. Then there is a more expensive kind that wont melt styrofoam. The benefit of using styrofoam is that you can pretty much make any shape or design with it. Just remember to use wood supports if you make a fiberglass sub enclosure

[krook]

Fiberglass is pretty easy to work with... theres essentially two types of fiberglass. There is the cheaper kind... which you can't really use with styrofoam because the chemical reaction will melt it. Then there is a more expensive kind that wont melt styrofoam. The benefit of using styrofoam is that you can pretty much make any shape or design with it. Just remember to use wood supports if you make a fiberglass sub enclosure

do you happen to know the name of the better quality fiberglass? is this something that i can get at say, ...a Wal-mart? i've seen a couple of cans of Fiberglass resin there, can i use that?

[AznDragonV]

does fiberglass crack easily?

[lilmike2069]

krook... im not sure if the stuff at walmart is the good stuff. Just read the application directions and if it mentions anything about excessive heat from the chemical reaction then chances are it will not work with styrofoam. It my actually say something about whether it can or can not be used with styrofoam. Somewhere like a hobby store or even some auto stores will more than likely have what you need if wally-world doesnt

AznDragonV: The strength of the fiberglass depends on how many coats you put on. It usually states on the can how much pressure each layer of fiberglass can withstand. So if you want to make a subwoofer enclosure out of fiberglass, be sure to no about how many SPL you plan to get out of the system and then put the appropriate amount of layers of fiberglass, you should then have NO problems with cracking Also, when making say an enclosure (just using this as an example because this is the most common app for fiberglass in vehicles) be sure to use a circular wooden circle that you can fiberglass over and then screw the sub into. This is important because if you try to mount the sub to just the fiberglass alone, the screws will rip out an not hold

[lilmike2069]

krook: Just another tip,if you are planning to work with styrofoam, you may want to look into getting a "Hot Knife" or there is like a cheesegrater sort of thing that works extremely well in shaping your project.

[QuickSEV6]

I was thinking about doing the same, but in carbonfiber instead of fiberglass. If it worked out, I may do other projects in carbonfiber. Such as a new hood or fender flares a lot cheaper than a body shop. My problem is that I don't have a clue how to work with carbon fiber, then I found this. This may be what you are looking for:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Carbon-Fiber-How-To ... dZViewItem
Good luck with your project!

[krook]

krook: Just another tip,if you are planning to work with styrofoam, you may want to look into getting a "Hot Knife" or there is like a cheesegrater sort of thing that works extremely well in shaping your project.

actually, i want to make fiberglass replicas of my existing panels. how would i mold the fiberglass after my panels? like my center console for example?

thanks for all the advice by the way...

[lilmike2069]

were you wanting to keep the OEM console AND have a fiberglass duplicate? Otherwise you could just fiberglass on top of the original console and paint it if its ONLY the look you are wanting.

QuickSEV6: Carbon Fibre isnt really that hard to work with either. You just work with a carbon fibre mesh which is almost like working with a fabric. The mesh is what you actually see beneath the hard clear stuff whenever you purchase something thats carbon fibre... it is however hard to make your carbon fiber look good, if you purchase the mesh you will understand why.

[Adum-Bom]

http://www.cardomain.com/id/evilra

Check my solara, theres a lot of helpful information....

[Solarafreek]

Are the materials to do a C/F job more expensive than using fiberglass only?

[lilmike2069]

yea the carbon fibre mesh is kind of expensive... im not sure how much you have to buy but our university buys them by the rolls and they are thousands of dollars per roll

[krook]

thanks lilmike for the tips. i just picked up a video that teaches how to make 3 specific projects using fiberglass. i have a link if you guys are interested.

anyway, the video does NOT cover making OEM panel replicas. again, i'd like a center console but not an exact duplicate of it. i wanted to move the center bar a little so that i could house an in-dash screen that's bigger than the double DIN.

[SolaraGuy22]

Do you have that link still?

Are you looking to go extreme like this?

[krook]

you damn sho' right!

that's Moe's car for all of you who weren't here for his crazy project Solara...