This is my first post and I'm fairly new to fiberglass although, i've read through quite a few posts and tutorials to get a clue before I ask for help. I tried some of the hot rod forums with little luck. I think the knowledge base here is better for what I'm trying to do. I purchased a universal fiberglass dash for the street rod I'm building because I didn't want to try building one from scratch.
The ends and top of the dash will have to have material removed and added to fit correctly. What would be the best method and material to add to the current dash. I have room on the backside for mat but what about the front where the new piece butts to the old? How do you blend that area so it doesn't crack and is strong and also flat? Would it be better to remove the ends and make new ones from molds or add to what's there?
Also, I'm not sure of the best mounting method. How many mounting points and thier locations would be acceptable, I live in the phoenix area and was wondering how much fiberglass would expand and contract with temperature or, is this a non issue?
Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
You will need to bond the old with the new ( if I read your post properly ) & what I would do is fiberglass a peice of MDF to the side of the custom dash and also fiberglass a peice to the old dash and have these two peices screwed together. THis will allow the two different materials to bond together properly. As far as the front, you will need to blend the old with the new with matting and resin.
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Jeff
Velocity Custom Home Theater
Mobile Audio/Video Specialist
Morden, Manitoba CANADA
i use a twin tube mix. its called (fusion T21) you can get it at any auto paint store. it works great for bonding fiberglass together. and its strong but with flex so its not to crack as ez as bondo. and you can sand it smooth.
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give a man a fish he will eat for a day. teach a man to fish he will eat for a lifetime.
Thanks for the tips guys. Went to the fusor website, interesting stuff. I tried to post some pictures of what I'm working on but, I cant seem to get the size down to where it will upload. I have about the same skill level with computers that I do with fiberglass. Any suggestions? Thanks again.
try
www.imageshack.us
Your file will need to be less than 1.5MB (1500KB) to upload it there.
To shrink the file size, not sure what software you have for altering photos, but opening it up in
Start Menu > Programs > Accessories > Imaging
should be good enough. You will want to save it as JPG, and that should shrink it down.
Then you would go to the website I typed above and follow instructions to upload. You will want to copy the Direct Link to image code and use the tool on here to post it, or type it by hand, but do not forget to
enable forum codes
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I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.
When you do not know what you are doing and what you are doing is the best -- that is inspiration.