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DIY Fibreglassing 

 

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 Post subject: DIY Fibreglassing
Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2006 5:12 pm 
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Does anyone have or know where to get any decent techo docs or "how to" guides on DIY fibreglassing?? I'm looking to have a crack at doing some things myself and have a basic idea of what to do, but some information on it would be great - checked the net, but everyone wants to do a Tony Robbins and sell you a book...
Cheers
Dave-o

 

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Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2006 6:43 pm 
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what is it your trying to do, i do it (fibreglassing ) for a living and can help you out but need to know roughly what it is you are looking at doing.
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Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2006 11:40 pm 
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I assume you know the basics and how to use the correct mix and saturate the webbing totally so that there is no white left. If you are wanting to do a basic mould of something simple, use a polystyrene (spelling) block and carve out the shape you want, then use that as your fibreglass shape or mould. lay the fibreglass over the contours of the poly.....stuff :D and you have a basic layout to work with.

 

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Posted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 8:34 am 
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EDXRSW wrote:
what is it your trying to do, i do it (fibreglassing ) for a living and can help you out but need to know roughly what it is you are looking at doing.


Mate - basically looking to do a bit of custom work in the boot and cabin, MDF can become pretty heavy - and looking for a lighter and just a durable alternative - plus you can paint instead of carpeting everything - Basically I'm looking to do some speaker and sub mounts in the boot and to "box" the boot in of sorts... My brother on the other hand is looking to convert the back seat of his EF into 2 seats with a "centre console" to mount his DVD player and screen - bit of work there I know but should look good and work well if we can pull it off...

My experience with actually fibreglassing anything is pretty limited, but know the basic fuindamentals of it... I realise that alot of skills and knowledge come from on the job trial and error and learning from mistakes, but I'm pretty patient and willing to do some test pieces first... Also looking to broaden my skills and knowledge without actually having to do an apprenticeship...
Cheers
Dave-o

 

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Posted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 3:11 pm 
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there a basic vid on Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIM5_9Kx68I

it's worth a look
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Posted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 5:29 pm 
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firstly make sure you get the right equiptment. as in good brushes a good roller and a good wax from a fibreglass supplier.
If you want to make flat sheets and then join them together use laminate or glass to lay up the flat sheets.If you want to make more complex pieces then you''ll need to make either plugs or moulds to use to make your final parts.
If your pretty handy with MDF you can make your moulds out of it and take your glass parts straight off it but it must be shalacked and waxed a few times first. Mate i don't know what else to tell you, i've been running i fibreglass company for about 4 years and know f**k all, it takes years of practice to be a master of it, and as you said trial and error,if i can help you out more let me know.
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Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 9:02 am 
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EDXRSW wrote:
firstly make sure you get the right equiptment. as in good brushes a good roller and a good wax from a fibreglass supplier.
If you want to make flat sheets and then join them together use laminate or glass to lay up the flat sheets.If you want to make more complex pieces then you''ll need to make either plugs or moulds to use to make your final parts.
If your pretty handy with MDF you can make your moulds out of it and take your glass parts straight off it but it must be shalacked and waxed a few times first. Mate i don't know what else to tell you, i've been running i fibreglass company for about 4 years and know f**k all, it takes years of practice to be a master of it, and as you said trial and error,if i can help you out more let me know.


Mate - great information!! I'm pretty handy with MDF so I will be making the moulds out of that to begin with... I had heard I need to coat the MDF with laquer first, but also wax huh?? How many sheets of glass would you suggest for making a speaker/sub enclosure, needs to be strong enough to hold 12" & 10" subs... I was thinking 3 layers of glass should cover me pretty well. Thoughts?

 

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Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 3:17 pm 
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i have a spare bumper bar here i was thinking about modding. I wanted something custo9m that noone else had.

I need to fiber glass it.

I needed to make some moulds so that the things like light holes would look good.

People say polystyrene to make the moulds. I assume its the white s**t what makes a mess of s**t. How can that be moulded properly?

 

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Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 4:02 pm 
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Great question - but I think there's different grades of the polystyrene - the white really bubbly sh*t that you get when you buy something in a box is different to that they use for glass moulds - I think...

And the way I've seen people shape is using an air saw, sander, grinder, whatever is accessible I suppose, but then I'm askin questions too - so I wouldn't go off what I'm saying... :roll:

 

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Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 8:14 pm 
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the polystyrene you use is not that s**t that is used for packaging in boxes. its a thicker higher grade used for moulds. you can get it from specialist plastics suppliers

 

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Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 8:44 pm 
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Have a look thru these pics if it helps u mate:

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e202/ ... yout03.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e202/ ... yout02.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e202/ ... all003.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e202/ ... 09crop.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e202/ ... 08crop.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e202/ ... 07crop.jpg

I did mine all in my back yard/in the shed. If you have the time to make a mould of where u want to put the subs then I'd suggest doing that - my car STILL smells of fibreglass. I didn't know a great deal about fibreglass before I started doing this hey, but I know enough to do plenty more or learn from mistakes now. It's pretty much the best way to learn IMO. Anyway good luck with it!

 

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Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 8:51 pm 
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Just saw u were asking about layers - I put a layer of the glass on, then let it semi-cure and put 2 or 3 coats of plain resin on top of it, then another layer of chop-mat and repeated that 3 times just to get the mould. Once I'd actually made the boxes and stretched carpet over them I put about another 3 layers on the inside again. I'd guess that the actual thickness of the fibreglass would be somewhere around 4-5mm, maybe more... But it's as solid as if it were made from 1" MDF ;)

I also bitumen-sprayed the insides of my boxes to completely seal it all off too. If yours are going in the same place as where mine are (see pics above) then make sure there's DEFINITELY enough room for the boot arms to swing down without touching. I went to put mine in the other day and realised there's not so I had to cut holes in them which has delayed me again so I have to fill them now...

 

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Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 8:52 pm 
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you can also get the foam from foam manufaturas, it alot like surf board foam,can be sanded and painted.so the deal is if you have a small part to make you shape the foam into the desired shape paint it and take your mould off it.
three layers of 450gm glass should be more then enough!!
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Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 8:55 pm 
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hahaha I used 900gm and there's a lot more layers than that to it. I found that it had plenty of strength after a few layers, but not a great deal of rigidity. After a few more layers that certainly changed!!

 

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Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 9:35 pm 
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did the sub boxes still vibrate when they where thinner??
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