| Author | Topic |
|---|
Location:
Melbourne-Glen Waverley
Registered:
March 2005
|
|
Making a Body Kit Mould
|
Sun, 03 April 2005 03:37
|
 |
Hey i just wanted to know. I am purchasing a new front bar for my car, as some of you may know that when you take your car to drift practices and such that they get scratches, cracked and wateva else can happen. I want to make a replice front bar so i have one that i can use when i am on the track and one for when everyday use.
From what i have been told to make a replice kit you need to put a gel coat into the front bar, then apply fiber glass sheets till it is thick/strong enough, then take it out and sand it back. Is that how it works or am i way off? If anyone is willing to teach me how to do it i am willing to pay for their time.
|
|
|
Location:
Sydney
Registered:
February 2003
|
|
Re: Making a Body Kit Mould
|
Sun, 03 April 2005 04:16
|
|
you will want to wax and/or pva the bar first otherwise the mould will never come off. this is very important.
then you basically have it right, gel coat first, then plenty of mat (you will probably want just come chopped mat unless the bar is really simple and flat). start out with a light mat to fit the curves then build up to a heavier mat. you might wanna put some bracing in on the outside of the mould too.
then let it set an pull the mould, a good clean with warm water and detergent to get rid of the pva/wax and you are ready to build a new product. which is just the same process again.
for all the time and effort this will cost you, i really dont see it being worthwhile, unless the front bar is an original (and hence a genuine replacement will be expensive) or its a once off item.
in my opinion, it will be easier and cheaper to just live with it, and buy a new one when it gets too shonky.
|
|
|
Location:
Melbourne-Glen Waverley
Registered:
March 2005
|
|
Re: Making a Body Kit Mould
|
Sun, 03 April 2005 04:29
|
|
|
Its origional Cwest front bar. So its not going any where near the track.
|
|
|
Location:
Sydney
Registered:
February 2003
|
|
Re: Making a Body Kit Mould
|
Sun, 03 April 2005 09:24
|
|
|
well i suggest you find a second hand factory one from a wrecker to use for the track
|
|
|
Location:
Melbourne-Glen Waverley
Registered:
March 2005
|
|
Re: Making a Body Kit Mould
|
Sun, 03 April 2005 10:03
|
|
|
Ye i have looked around but its going to cost me $450 for a non genuine cwest front bar not painted. Plus say if i crack a front bar on the track or smash it up bad i want to be able to make another one.
|
|
|
Location:
Sydney
Registered:
February 2003
|
|
Re: Making a Body Kit Mould
|
Sun, 03 April 2005 10:22
|
|
oh well, sounds like you have your heart set on it.
if you dont mind working with fibreglass (  )
if you plan to make a number of them, then it will be cheaper, but remember that it wont be painted either. unless you colour match the gel coat. but that wont look as good as paint.
good luck with the project!
|
|
|
Location:
Bundaberg, Qld.
Registered:
May 2002
|
|
Re: Making a Body Kit Mould
|
Sun, 03 April 2005 10:24
|
|
like STR8 2.8 said, it is rather costly to make a proper mold of a product. unless you can sell them, but then copyright comes into play.
one way i have made copies of things i have made before in the past is to put wax release to the item to be copied and lay a couple layers of fibreglass over it, then pull it off once it has set and clean it. then build the rear of what i just made with more fibreglass to the desired strength.
the front can then have a light layer of bog on it and sanded smoothe ready to paint.
bare in mind the part you just made will be slightly bigger than the original item doing it this way, but much cheaper than making a mold and then another item.
|
|
|
Location:
Melbourne-Glen Waverley
Registered:
March 2005
|
|
Re: Making a Body Kit Mould
|
Sun, 03 April 2005 10:42
|
|
|
Can you guys give me a list of the materials, quantity and an estimate price? Im picking my front bar up on wednesday and i need it by round 1 of drift nationals
|
|
|
Location:
Liverpool, Sydney
Registered:
September 2004
|
|
Re: Making a Body Kit Mould
|
Sun, 03 April 2005 14:57
|
|
Have you ever worked with fibreglass before?
Making moulds can be quite tricky, and if you are making a mould of a front bar it will be at least a 3 peice mould, else your returns of the bar will get stuck and you will not be able to release it...
Also, for a mould, you need tooling gelcoat. Normal gelcoat may be used but it will not last very long and is not designed to be used ina mould... the heating resistant properties are weak... and it is not flexible as tooling gelcoat...
It also depends if you want a proper 100% perfect mould or somehting just temp enough to hold up to make a few rough copies...
Why not just repair your bar as you damage it... or use a stocker bumper or take off your front bar for drifting?
|
|
|
Location:
Adelaide
Registered:
May 2003
|
|
Re: Making a Body Kit Mould
|
Sun, 03 April 2005 15:01
|
|
While we are on this topic, making a bonnet mould i would guess would not be so hard?
Thinking about making a double top skin with a bottom reinforcement shell with closed cell foam inbetween.
The real question is how do you mould in the hinge mounts?
|
|
|
Location:
Perth, WA
Registered:
December 2004
|
|
Re: Making a Body Kit Mould
|
Sun, 03 April 2005 15:21
|
|
Neko, i seriously doubt hes worked with that fibreglass bullshit.
if he had, hed be shooting himself for even thinking about it.
dude, fibreglass is NASTY stuff, i personally would just take the bumper off, rather than having to put up with your pores being clogged with very minute glass fibres.
this results in everything you do for the next couple of hours, or in some cases days being extremely uncomfortable and really not-healthy.
if you have to, i suggest doing what feral4mr2 said, just lay a layers over the top, take it off the bumper VERY carefully, build it up from behind, then sand it down, obviously you dont need it to look too flash, because if you need flash youve got the good bar.
have fun mate, and remember, its itchy, but scratching it makes it four thousand times worse!
Eldar.O.
|
|
|
Location:
Liverpool, Sydney
Registered:
September 2004
|
|
Re: Making a Body Kit Mould
|
Sun, 03 April 2005 15:32
|
|
Hey! Fibreglass isnt so bad.. i work with the stuff every day... =^.^=
Not many people enjoy working with it though.. ecspecially people who arent used to it..
But i would suggest however, if you havent worked with fibreglass before, to go out and get a kit and start mucking around with it before you even attempt to make a mould...
|
|
|
Location:
Canberra
Registered:
January 2004
|
|
Re: Making a Body Kit Mould
|
Sun, 03 April 2005 23:49
|
|
|
slightly off topic but where can you get large quantities of fibreglass material to do stuff like making a bumper?
|
|
|
Location:
Sydney
Registered:
February 2003
|
|
Re: Making a Body Kit Mould
|
Mon, 04 April 2005 00:13
|
|
look it up in the yellowpages.
i get all mine from a boat repair shop
|
|
|
Location:
BRAY PARK BRISBANE
Registered:
March 2005
|
|
Re: Making a Body Kit Mould
|
Mon, 04 April 2005 00:38
|
|
|
just a hint when working with fibreglass put lots of talkum powder on your skin and that helps stop the itching.
|
|
|
Registered:
March 2005
|
|
Re: Making a Body Kit Mould
|
Mon, 04 April 2005 09:13
|
|
I have had a bit of luck making moulds out of hard setting expanding foam. Plus this works for original items not just copies.
|
|
|
Location:
Melbourne-Glen Waverley
Registered:
March 2005
|
|
Re: Making a Body Kit Mould
|
Mon, 04 April 2005 11:10
|
|
| 81LOWLUX wrote on Mon, 04 April 2005 10:38 |
just a hint when working with fibreglass put lots of talkum powder on your skin and that helps stop the itching.
|
Would you like to share your experience?
|
|
|
Location:
Sydney
Registered:
February 2003
|
|
Re: Making a Body Kit Mould
|
Mon, 04 April 2005 11:39
|
|
| ABTO wrote on Mon, 04 April 2005 21:10 |
| 81LOWLUX wrote on Mon, 04 April 2005 10:38 |
just a hint when working with fibreglass put lots of talkum powder on your skin and that helps stop the itching.
|
Would you like to share your experience?
|
haha you havn't worked with fibreglass before have you?
|
|
|
Location:
Melbourne-Glen Waverley
Registered:
March 2005
|
|
Re: Making a Body Kit Mould
|
Mon, 04 April 2005 12:02
|
|
|
i have... just nothing special. I helped fix a mates surfboard thats about it.
|
|
|
Location:
Melbourne-Glen Waverley
Registered:
March 2005
|
|
Re: Making a Body Kit Mould
|
Mon, 04 April 2005 12:03
|
|
|
how would you make a mould out of expanding foam? Sounds kind of interesting
|
|
|
Location:
Bundaberg, Qld.
Registered:
May 2002
|
|
Re: Making a Body Kit Mould
|
Mon, 04 April 2005 12:04
|
|
fibreglass is awesome stuff, you can do anything with the stuff. 
the talcum powder works, so do them thin white coveralls. 
|
|
|
Location:
The Hills District
Registered:
November 2003
|
|
Re: Making a Body Kit Mould
|
Mon, 04 April 2005 15:38
|
|
a friend of mine used to make bodykits and he said the best think to stop the itching is to have a cold shower as it doesnt open up your skins pores as a hot one does.
anyways back to bodykits. i remember him showing me sorta how to do it you guys are right with wax then gelcoat, followed by the fibreglassing bit. heres where the actual final quality of the bar comes from. what you need to do then applying the glass is to use strips say 15cm by 15-30cm and lay them on a piece of glass or perspex or something similar as long as its smooth. then coat both sides with resin using a paintbrush so you dont get any air bubbles in the matting itself. now using the brush and your free hand(with a glove on i hope) lay the fibreglass in place and push it into grooves, nooks, and crannies with the brush. once youve done a reasonable amount you need a metal roller thingy like for painting but they dont have the wool thing to hold the paint theyre just metal. use this to roll the fibreglass around and to get out any air bubbles trapped. this also works to get off any excess resin. then just use the brush to get off any resin left over.
i cant stress enough about getting bubbles out of the first layer as this is the layer in which the final bodykits come out of and the better you can make the mould the better the kits will be.
im not too sure how he made the joins for the moulds to make them 3 piece etc.
btw you might want to think about bracing the c west bumper you got with timber so it doesnt flex etc while your mould is drying.
im pretty sure hardware house or your local similar store has fibreglass kits, but i think theyre pretty small. try a fibreglass retailer, theyll have anything.
good luck with it all
|
|
|
Location:
Northwestern Sydney
Registered:
August 2002
|
|
Re: Making a Body Kit Mould
|
Mon, 04 April 2005 22:04
|
|
|
I was speaking to someone about this on the weekend. He mentioned that he (after multiple waxings) uses plasticene (sp) to mark where the edges of the moulds are (for 3 or 4 piece moulds) by rolling a piece of plastcene into a stick an laying it on the desired location then using a flat edge ruler he flatens the side that is to be fibreglassed to give a clean break for the next part to join to.
|
|
|
Location:
BRAY PARK BRISBANE
Registered:
March 2005
|
|
Re: Making a Body Kit Mould
|
Mon, 04 April 2005 22:26
|
|
ABTO wrote on Mon, 04 April 2005 21:10
81LOWLUX wrote on Mon, 04 April 2005 10:38
just a hint when working with fibreglass put lots of talkum powder on your skin and that helps stop the itching.
Would you like to share your experience?
my experience is with boats and the 3 glass boats that ive done up, new floors, transom, barers, putting on pods and one body kit that i had to modify to fit a car that it was not ment to that i only finished sun night.
ive found that the old fibreglass is itchy but the new stuff is not as bad
|
|
|
Location:
Liverpool, Sydney
Registered:
September 2004
|
|
Re: Making a Body Kit Mould
|
Tue, 05 April 2005 14:29
|
|
Theres also barrier cream you can use to stop the glass getting into your pores.... also the cold water showers.. may work but you really need ot have a hot water shower.... best way is to have a really hot shower and stand under it for ages ( to make sure your pores are open ) then use some sort of ?something? to wash yourself.. also even if you just have the glass dust on your skin, best way to get rid of it is to brush downwards to get it out.. brushing it upwards just rubs it into your skin...
Plasticine is often used to for partitioning, however, make sure you remove all residue because the waxy residue reacts badly with gelcoat, make sure you use somehitng like prepsol...
sxr01r - the wet out method is a good one but mainly for curves i think... well, it can get very very messy as the glass goes very strecthy and flexible as soon as the resin starts to soak through it... id reccomend wetting out the mould first then laying up the glass then rewetting the glass...
the skin layer of the mould is absoloutley vital.. after you gelcoat.. if you really want you can do the rest of the glass reinforcing bulk.. but the first layer really should be done by itself and it has to be thoroughly soaked and rolled and PERFECT...
2 things i cannot stress enough how much/important these are..
the first layer is has to be perfect
once you have done your partitioning, the peice does not MOVE until you are finished or at least finished that particular section to full thickness.. if somebody bumps it or knocks it it could pre-release and that changes the whole peice... even if its just by a few mil your product is out of whack and you will have to spend alot of time repairing.. also pre release can cause problems with your moulds as there is now steps in it...
=^.^= Neko =^.^=
|
|
|
Location:
Liverpool, Sydney
Registered:
September 2004
|
|
Re: Making a Body Kit Mould
|
Wed, 06 April 2005 12:26
|
|
|
and also out of curiosity.. how many of you guys here are glassers/have glassed b4 and what sort of areas/experience do you have?
|
|
|
Location:
Sydney
Registered:
February 2003
|
|
Re: Making a Body Kit Mould
|
Wed, 06 April 2005 12:57
|
|
|
im only amatuer. i built a new custom front bar for my old supra. havnt really made much else. dont intend to. i dont know how anyone would want to work with the shit for a living, its a nightmare
|
|
|
Location:
Adelaide
Registered:
May 2003
|
|
Re: Making a Body Kit Mould
|
Wed, 06 April 2005 13:03
|
|
Ive glassed up a few sub boxes and custom parts for various cars, but i would like to do some more stuff, including a bonnet one day. I would like to build a light bonnet with only one or two top layers and a reinforced bottom frame for the sprinter.
Then again, ill probably get a nudge and it will kill the bonnet, and ill be cut, ohwell.
|
|
|
Location:
Liverpool, Sydney
Registered:
September 2004
|
|
Re: Making a Body Kit Mould
|
Thu, 07 April 2005 15:02
|
|
Ahh ok ^-^
... ive worked with glass for a few years now... mainly and always automotive but have also had other jobs making parts such as bus and train fronts and parts.. campervan parts etc (youd be surprised how many parts of a campervan are actually made out of fibreglass) ...
| Quote: |
i dont know how anyone would want to work with the shit for a living, its a nightmare
|
why would you not want to?! its a wicked trade to have under your belt... if you really know how to fibreglass you can make almost anything!
|
|
|
