Doing some fiberglass work, sorta...

[Sublimewind]

Hi all,EDIT: more pics added..Started building a new rear deck for my Subie today, thought I might share a little.. Got my FG supplies from US Composites... They sell a wide range of resins and substrates... I'm not going to get too deep here... If anyone has questions, feel free, of course.. Started by grinding off a few things I didn't want with a side grinder and a flapper wheel.. The bottom edge stuck up a wase, didn't want it, ground it off.. and some of the mounting "brackets" on the underside, gone, so it would lay flat.. Then I mounted the flimsy deck to some MDF with a few screws... Took a trashcan liner (the cheap thin ones) cut it up, draped it over the part and sprayed it well with rattle can spray glue... by spraying one side only, you get it to stick, but it's not permanent... Once the can liner was formed over the deck, I then sprayed the carpet padding... Yes, carpet padding... I wanted a quick build (high build) substrate, and this worked great.. not as strong as glass, but I may put a few layers over the top to finish anyway.. This also gives me a hard shell, with a soft underside (as long as it doesn't soak all the way through)So I sprayed the padding, just like the plastic, one side only and formed it into shape.. Now, when doing FG resin, you need a few basic things.. Resin/hardener, tubs (margarine containers work), brushes, masking plastic, acetone for clean-up.. The specifics should be learned about further than this, especially mixing.. This was a 1% mix or 10 drops of hardener, per 1oz of resin, which equates better to 5ml hardener to 10oz resin... and so on.. Once mixed, I just poured it on and brushed it in... That there was 20oz of resin... all in all, I used 88oz of resin on this part so far... almost a gallon.. Here is a vid of some of it going down... I mixed the first 2 batches a bit "hot" or I got a little too much hardener in the mix... It uses an exothermic reaction (creates heat) to cure the resin, this got a little hot and when it does, it can shrink... So, I used some weights to keep it flat in specific areas... And last coat... I'm not finished, so I can continue to update, as long as everyone's cool with it.. lol.. Enjoy.. Aaron

[Sublimewind]

Almost forgot to mention, wear a respirator, or have a WELL ventilated area to work in... If you've ever smelled Bondo, you know what FG resin smells like and IT WILL BURN YOUR BRAIN...

[damronjr]

Quote, originally posted by Sublimewind »Almost forgot to mention, wear a respirator, or have a WELL ventilated area to work in... If you've ever smelled Bondo, you know what FG resin smells like and IT WILL BURN YOUR BRAIN... Oh I know, I have to smell that crap at work! On the ships we are building, in the giant freezers they put down a fiberglass floor, fill the seams with this yellow foam, then cover that with fiberglass sheets, then cover the whole seam with paint. They wear respirators, most of the time I don't even have mine with me and don't feel like going all the way to our box to get it.

[Kincaid]

That is very cool!You'd get a bunch of orders if you started making such a thing for cargo covers in first and second generation Vibes - heck, probably a lot of Matrix buyers too!

[Sublimewind]

Quote, originally posted by Kincaid »That is very cool!You'd get a bunch of orders if you started making such a thing for cargo covers in first and second generation Vibes - heck, probably a lot of Matrix buyers too!Thanks..!!! I don't know if I could handle production work.. lol.. a gallon of resin is about 40$ or so.. I know I could make up in volume, but it's more work than it's worth... That's why glassed parts are so expensive to have made.. one off.. I guess If I built a mold..