First project

Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Fiberglass, Fabrication, and Interiors
Forum Discription: Fiberglass Kick Panels, Subwoofer Enclosures, Plexiglas, Fabrics, Materials, Finishes, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=59082
Printed Date: May 10, 2025 at 11:07 AM

Topic: First project

Posted By: Iceorbz
Subject: First project
Date Posted: July 08, 2005 at 5:22 PM

Ok well first time ever touching fiberglass and already writing down a little what not to do list lol. Just as a note , all of this is for nothing more then practice really. Im not expecting this to turn out well at all lol. Just want to get a little wet behind the ears with this stuff before I try to do anything that I consider serious.

First stepp I took, was taping off the area with masking tape, took about 1 roll of 2" to cover most of the area I thought I would need. Here went my first mistake, I mixed the resin in my room ( I live in a barracks and ran it out to my car, forgot that I hadnt already adheared the fiber mat to the masking tape. So quickly I grabbed 3m Spray Glue to help get the fiber matt to stick to the the masking tape and help with the resin process. This put me about 2 -3 minutes into hardning I would say. I had mixed just under a quart of poly resin with about 9cc of hardner.

Started to glass !
posted_image

So its going well, having fun. Man does this stuff stink. good thing I am wearing a resperator.

So now my problem came, I had let the resin start curing to long. It was thikening up on me and turning a purple color. But I didnt really relize this to late so it was laying down a few clumps when I started to coat the bottem. Once I noticed this I stopped said a few words to the car and walked off lol.

posted_image

Great out of resin ! :(

Well the only smart thing I could think of doing was mixing more resin ! So I only did 17 oz with 4 cc of hardner. And went back out the vehicles, started to cover some of it. Problem was that some of thardner previously was already set and didnt go all the way through the fiber mat. So when I take this out im going to have some loose junk on the back. I figure I can just sand that down and reinforce it a bit with some bodyfiller if needed. So these are the pictures im ending with for my first step.

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Chunks of resin.

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Finished with 2nd 17 oz of Resin.

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2004 2.4l SRT-4

Replies:

Posted By: Iceorbz
Date Posted: July 08, 2005 at 5:28 PM

Ugh Pictures messed up ! Sorry I cant edit :( or I would.

Started to glass ! https://iceorbz.nrgservers.net/fiber1.jpg

Great out of Resin- https://iceorbz.nrgservers.net/Fiber7.jpg

Chunks of Resin - https://iceorbz.nrgservers.net/Fiber3.jpg

Finished whith 2nd 17 oz of resin - https://iceorbz.nrgservers.net/Fiber6.jpg

Posted By: Poormanq45
Date Posted: July 08, 2005 at 6:36 PM

not too bad.

Except you don't have to stick the matt to the tape. You're supposed to put some resin/hardner down and lay the matt on that. That'll hold it in place. Then I've found then dipping the brush and then "Stabbing" it into the matt works the best.

ALso, I don't recommend mixing the resin inside

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Posted By: 05honda
Date Posted: July 08, 2005 at 8:12 PM

looks great for a first fab.....yeah mixing resin any distance form the car is a bad idea.....and the glu wasnt completely necessary........but nice job man

Posted By: j68rh
Date Posted: July 09, 2005 at 6:54 AM

What I learned was to use aluminum foil and mask that the car and then take some cooking spray and spray it on the aluminum so the fiberglass after it cures doesn't stick to the aluminum. Also paint the resin on the foil and then place the class on top then pain the resin on the fiberglass mat. also do little sections at a time and build from the center out. Other then those few little hints the project is looking good. Oh yeah if you are going to do car work in your BKS. room becarefull accidents do happen trust me I lived in the bks once and accidents happend and I had to pay to get it fixed. Its looking good though keep up the good work.

Posted By: Poormanq45
Date Posted: July 09, 2005 at 4:40 PM

J68rh: What you were saying about aluminum and spraying it only applies if you're making a mold.

I don't think he's making a mold. he's only making this one

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Posted By: j68rh
Date Posted: July 10, 2005 at 10:44 AM

if you look at the pictures he is makeing a mold

Posted By: Poormanq45
Date Posted: July 10, 2005 at 12:25 PM

Yeah, except he's not making a mold that's going to be reproduced.

What you said about the aluminum and spray applies when you're reproducing it.

He started of right by taping off the area with masking tape. I do the same thing. Where he went wrong was glueing the matte to the tape. You're supposed to put resin/hardner down then lay the matte over that. That'll hold it in place while you work with it.

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Posted By: oonikfraleyoo
Date Posted: July 10, 2005 at 12:37 PM

I really don't see why it would matter if he had foil stuck to the dark side of a project. Most of mine have at least a little bit.

I don't think the glue is a problem either. I do exactly what he did all the time. On vertical areas like that resin, won't always hold your mat still. It needs some help sometimes.

I think the main problem here is just a noobish lack of planning. posted_image

Don't feel bad, it's your first time and you didn't really know what to plan for. Next time you'll know a little more about what your doing and the next time you'll know even more. Your project looks 1000 times better than the mustang, so your off to a good start.

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Nik
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