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I am looking for some information on fiberglass, where to get it, how easy it is to work with... etc.
I would like to find a used fairing and fix it up with fiberglass if possible, but if not I was thinking about making my own. Nothing fancy, and I would have to start off with making some moldings first to get the hang of it.
A buddy of mine said I could buy a kit online, and use some chicken wire to make the shape of what I wanted. he has done it before on some stuff, and made it sound easy, which i doubt, but i might give it a shot.
so anyways, anybody got a good place to buy fiberglass stuff?
i was thinking home depot might have it. i searched the web the other day and all i could find was stuff for around the house, nothing automotive.
I'm not sure about bulk materials, but you can get fiberglass patch kits at most automotive stores. That might be enough to get you started, esp with a used fairing for practice.
If I were you I would go to Boaters World a buy System 3 epoxy resin and a SLOW hardner. I do a lot of fiber glass work on the custom bikes. The ABS plastic can very hard to fix because nothing really likes to stick to it. When you repair the ABS make you repair it from both sides; cross sand it with 80 grit and get it very course, it needs something to grap to like velcro. Prep is everything; use DENATURED ALCOHOL for cleaning and nothing else. For deep gouges I use PC-7 you can get at your local hardware store; you love this stuff it will stick to plate glass. If you send me some pictures of the plastic I can tell you the best way to fix it. steve@3dcustoms.com
I dont have a used fairing yet, so I am not repairing anything as of now. I would like to learn how to make my own fairings. I read up a little about making molds, seems pretty time consuming, but I would like to learn how to do it anyways.
Great people to work with. I ordered 8lbs of epoxy from them, they shipped me 7.5 on accident. I let them know about it and they sent me a 2lb. can without question.
All of the 'custom' stuff I've buit I used the 'Lost Foam' method. I purchase the builders foam from Home Depot or Lowe's, use their glue to turn the 2" thick panels into somethin useful, then start carving away using airtools/80 grit sand paper. Once I get it where I want it (but just a bit too low), I put 3 coats of fiberglass over it, let that set up for a few days, then take a D/A and carve the foam out from behind the panels...then do the bodywork to make the panels look GOOD....
it's not superfast, but it sure beats building it in chicken wire, then claying over the top of that, then building a female mold off of THAT, then building a plug in your mold.....if you were going to build multiple peices, I could see all that work, but for a 1-off, it's unnecessary.
IMO
Check THIS SITE. The guy builds a few custom carbon-fiber peices for a Suzuki (tank and tail...) using this method...and they came out pretty nice! Imagine building your own tanks!!
All of the 'custom' stuff I've buit I used the 'Lost Foam' method.
Check THIS SITE. The guy builds a few custom carbon-fiber peices for a Suzuki (tank and tail...) using this method...and they came out pretty nice! Imagine building your own tanks!!
Dang, that way seems awesome, never even thought of it. It would be 10x easier than chicken wire.
i build fiberglass yachts, for a living and have access to all diferent materials, glass weights and resins, as well as hardeners. i also recently had to repair the fairings on my own zx7r. i used "1808" glass, and "mvr" resin, it is more expensive than auto supply resin, but is much more water resistant, and will stick well to abs, but you do definately have to make it very coarse. use the glass to repair it from the back side, for strength. and there is a material called "fiber bond"(kinda like bondo, but much better) that is what i used to repair the front side. both of my side farings were repaired, ad well as my front fairng. you can't even tell that they were ever out of shape.
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to be old and wise, you must first be young and stupid
about the molds.... i am actually working on making molds now. the stuff i use at work is so great. i use a gun that sprays resin and glass together pre-mixed! I am shooting it on my body panels (that have been coated with a special wax so it doesn't stick for ever) too make a female mold, the only problem is that with the complex engine vents, you have to use a two piece mold, that can be unbolted to remove the freshly made part from the mold
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to be old and wise, you must first be young and stupid
Dont fiberglass that.. plastic weld it. Using fiberglass on that will only crack out down the road. There are many "how-to-plastic-weld" threads if you look around.
Dont fiberglass that.. plastic weld it. Using fiberglass on that will only crack out down the road. There are many "how-to-plastic-weld" threads if you look around.
Plastic welding, does it come with some plastic sheeting? You saw that huge gap didnt you?
Last edited by elektrikheadx : 01-30-2006 at 12:53 PM.
Working with Fiberglass?
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