anyone work with fiberglass

[thekid55]

i need some info/ help/ tips

[Wiskey]

On what?

Whiskey

[Rick O]

Originally Posted by Wiskey

On what?

Whiskey

I'm guessing he broke something or is modifying the car.

Fiberglass is easy. There's tons of websites out there that can give you a basic tutorial.

[Loverotties]

What's the question?

[Phishnoob]

Please tell us you are making speaker enclosures and not doing something unaerodynamic to your shiny new car.

Fiberglass is pretty easy with patience and gets better with practice. There is the mesh which is the fiberglass and acts as a substrate then a resin. You will form the substrate then mix the resin to pack it. The resin uses a base with the other part added to cause a chemical reaction that cures it.

To really do this right do the correct surface prep so your work does not slide off the side of your car or panel or aquarium which is pretty much crosshatching it and getting the shiny stuff off.

You can get a kit for 20 bucks or something and practice and get the hang of it. This is something that you cannot really form while it cures or really work easily when it is done so try and get it as close as you can up front to save a lot of sandpaper and grinding. When you do get it down go ahead and french your antenna and fill in those stupid side marker holes and make yourself a way cool dune buggie.

[thekid55]

Originally Posted by Phishnoob

Please tell us you are making speaker enclosures and not doing something unaerodynamic to your shiny new car.

.

yup just doing an enclosure i wouldnt touch my new car.


couple questions

can i use just fabric and layer it with the resin?
do i have to sand the shiny part of the enclosure before applying the body filler?
how do i get that nice shinny glossy finish when i paint it?

thanks

[Phishnoob]

If you are doing an enclosure you can layer the cloth then pour on the resin. You can use a staplegun to tack it down and the heads should be recessed under the bulk of the cloth. Practice the corners a bit to get them tidy and not all tufted up.

Painting is all really based on getting things prepped well.

If you have enclosures and bond the fiberglass to bare wood then you should not have to scuff it up to stick. If you are using melamine or coated wood then make sure it will bond.

Once you do get it all done it is a great material to work with.

[Tim224DT]

From my experience with fiberglass work i wont do it again. i had a 12 ft jon boat that the floor board braces broke so i needed to use fiberglass to fix. Well i thought i did it well and it broke while out and the boat started to fold in half because of no support and started to sink Although i had a blast fishing LOL

[Phishnoob]

Well I wouldn't use fiberglass to cross a span without bracing underneath. It is fine to create an enclosure with, but there won't be stresses like in a sailboat with people standing on it.

On a Corvette there is a subframe to mount all the pretty parts on.