attempt at making a seat cowl

[snypez]

So I attempted to make a seat cowl out of fiberglass. I for the most part followed the how to on here.

I used the expanding foam in a can calleed "Great Stuff" to form the mold. It had to dry over night because I put it on pretty thick.

Carved the mold with a very dull serrated knife.

It is drying in the garage right now.

This is my first attempt at fiberglass. And I used a "Bondo Fiberglass Repair Kit". It comes with everything you need(I think).

It started pretty good. Then when i was pushing airbubbles out for the second layer it started to "shed" on me and stick to my fingers.( is there a specific reason for this or am i pushing on it too hard?.)

here are a few pictures

[Kfreak]

I have only used fiberglass to repair a rear hugger. I would guess that you kept trying to form the glass a little too much.

[BigFish]

Fiberglass is a sticky substance at certain intervals of the curing process. Nearly anything you touch to it will get a little of the resin on it. Wear vinyl gloves to keep your hands clean. You'll still get a little resin, but it won't stick to it quite as much imo. Also I use the dull edge of a disposable plastic butter knife to work bubbles out or chopsticks for smaller areas.

Joe

[DodgeRider]

Also, you are using the shredded cloth style fiberglass. They also make fiberglass weave mats which you buy. They do a great job and rarely have this issue.

[snypez]

it seems to be drying alright. Minus the "fuzz". Ill just sand that off. It looks pretty damn good for a first attempt(to me at least) Still need to go get the filler to make it smooth. Letting it cure overnight, I didn't use enough hardener. I used the instructed amount on the first layer... but the bottle fell and leaked on the floor after so i only had a few drops left for the second coat.

[smokintalon]

looks good so far! Like Dodge said, they make pre woven fiberglass sheets that work well. I rarely use those because the frayed fiberglass is a little easier to work sometimes and I've been told that it is stronger when finished too. Keep up updated on the progress with pictures(half of us can't read!)

[BigFish]

Also, you are using the shredded cloth style fiberglass. They also make fiberglass weave mats which you buy. They do a great job and rarely have this issue.

They're fairly cheap too. I think my last purchase was 4' x 4' and cost $5 from Walmart (in the auto body section).

[snypez]

I looked in the auto section at my walmart. They don't have ANY body repair supplies.... They dont even have paint.

[teddy]

Get your fiberglass supplies from NAPA, much cheaper than most anywhere else....

For your first layer of body filler I would suggest using a heavy filler such as Duraglass, shape it, then a lightweight filler for the final application before priming and painting.

[loudnlow7484]

Also, you are using the shredded cloth style fiberglass. They also make fiberglass weave mats which you buy. They do a great job and rarely have this issue.

I almost never use woven mat, as you say. Chopped mat works much better in corners, and odd shaped items. If I have a big, flatish mold to make, then I might use woven mat. Otherwise, I used chopped mat all the time.

The problems you are getting....... You have to get the air bubbles out before the starch in the chopped mat breaks down. Once the resin has been soaking into the mat for a bit, the strands don't stick together, and anytime you touch them, you'll get stuff like that. There is a really cool tool out there that looks like a spiky cylinder on a very small paint-roller handle that is made just for getting air bubbles out. Use something like that, or in a pinch, get one of the hair brushes that look like a spiky cylinder, and cut/pull all of the little plastic caps off the spikes. roll that along where you want the bubbles out of.

Mostly, though, you just have to get some time working with the stuff under your belt. You'll develop a touch for it over time.

BTW- if you have a marina near you, that's a great place to source fiberglass supplies. They will usually have 55 gallon drums of resin (and usually a couple of different kinds), and rolls of mat.

[snypez]

Thanks for the advice. I think this attempt is a failure. 24 hours and it is still not dry. Like I said earlier half the bottle of hardener spilled so I attempted it without it.

[loudnlow7484]

Thanks for the advice. I think this attempt is a failure. 24 hours and it is still not dry. Like I said earlier half the bottle of hardener spilled so I attempted it without it.

Eh, if it's been a whole day it might be done for. If you know right away that it's not getting warm enough, not curing fast enough, you can hit it with a heatgun and sometimes that will do enough.

It's a delicate balance, you know. One time, I was in a rush, and mixed up some resin WAY too hot, in an effort to get the sub box done and out as quick as I could. I thought the box was going to catch on fire. It was literally smoking!

[mrwhipper]

Thanks for the advice. I think this attempt is a failure. 24 hours and it is still not dry. Like I said earlier half the bottle of hardener spilled so I attempted it without it.

Re do it. If there is not any hardner in the resin, no cross linking will take place. You will not have a cured substrate. Please do not confuse dry and cured.

[ct3]

looks like a huge rotten big toe....good luck though!

[HemiKat]

Ive done more fiberglass jobs than I can count. The best thing in the world to use it a small disposable paint brush. It is easy to apply the resin with and you can "dab" out the air bubbles.

Heres a few tips:
-Dont use one gaint sheet of cloth, cut the cloth into 2 inch by 6 inch strips and lay them down indivdually. Much easier to work with and you arent struggling to get it totally saturated becuase your resin hardens.

-Read the directions and mix the resin accordingly! If you dont have a lot of experience then you wont know how long the resin will take to react, so go by the book. Temperature and humidity has a lot to do with how it cures. If yous hasnt set up over night then it probaly never will,

-I like to use chopped mat because it is usually stronger because there are no seams. I do my last layer with a woven mat because its easy to get a better finish. Since it not structural you wont need too many layers. I believe I did three layers on my cowl. (Look in my garage.)

-I recommend making a form out of cardboard as a guide so eash side is even. As you do your body work you can place the cardbaord template around it, so you dont have a lopsided piece. (I dont like to use foam for this reason because its hard to get even. I normally create a buck out of MDF and fleece cloth.)

-Mix small batch of resin! This way if you mix it wrong you dont waste all your materials. Smaller areas will be easier to work with so you get a better saturation. Remember: Air bubbles are weak and will often crack through after you paint it.

If you need any help PM me and Ill try to help. I used to make custom sub enclosures for show cars when I worked at Dynamat, so Ive had a good bit of experience and Ive worked around some fiberglass genius's.