Guest nezzie76 Posted June 3, 2003 Share Posted June 3, 2003 I was wondering what kind of materials you guys are using for making plugs? I was thinking about using foam so that it would be easy to sculpt, but I don't know what kinds are good to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 250z Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 Excuse my ignorance but what do you mean by plug? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 A "plug" is the original part that you use to pull a mold from. A urethane foam is usually the best to use as a plug as it will sculpt to a much finer detail than good ole styrofoam or EPS. There are different manufacturers but you usually see this as the pink foam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZROSSA Posted June 5, 2003 Share Posted June 5, 2003 I have been using styrofoam. It doesnt sand back that nicely but it will work. I then put on a thin coat of gib stoping (you might call it sheet rock plaster of something similar) and sand the final detail and shape into this. You then paint it and then take your mould of it. The materials are left overs that I had available at the time due to lots of house building going on so the didnt realy cost anything. I am getting close to poping moulds of them soon just need to make some final ajustments. I will be interesting to see how the parts come out. I have made a new nose cone, rear bumper with a small diffuser and a new spoiler. The digital camera has died so yall going to have to wait a while for pics. Douglas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToplessZ Posted June 6, 2003 Share Posted June 6, 2003 Man Zrossa the suspense is killing me!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest nezzie76 Posted June 7, 2003 Share Posted June 7, 2003 My next question is where do I look for this stuff? Is urethane foam something that's hard to find? I'm rather clueless in the ways of styrofoam too, where does one go to get a large quantity of it? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drax240z Posted June 7, 2003 Share Posted June 7, 2003 The Ethofoam (sp?) sold by home depot (the blue and pink stuff) works just fine for plugs, sands easily, etc. You do have to seal it before applying any bondo/polyester resin/etc however. Its fairly inexpensive and easy to work with in my experience. I'll add a picture... Raw foam, shaped and sanded prior to coating: Foam plug coated with epoxy, bondo'd, and primed prior to waxing/PVA: [/img] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted June 7, 2003 Share Posted June 7, 2003 Richard, Could you explain the process a little, like what you use to coat the foam to seal it prior to adding resin and 'glass. Thanks, Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drax240z Posted June 7, 2003 Share Posted June 7, 2003 Well to be honest, I was only involved with the body work of our car for a few hours, I was busy with the engine the rest of the time. As far as I remember, we used 3M spray adhesive to stick the foam together. Do a small test section first and make sure whatever you apply to the foam doesn't eat it! The next coat was some type of epoxy based paint or primer to seal the foam from melting when bondo/etc was applied. I believe the next step was to put down 1 layer of woven glass matting with an epoxy. Bondo was then applied to smooth any imperfections and ridges. (there weren't many, as we had our foam cut/shaped on a CNC router) From there, the plugs received a last coat of primer, then 6 layers of wax. Due to time constraints, we actually layed the parts up on these plugs, and pulled the body right from the plugs. Ideally you'd make a female mold from the plugs, and pull the body from that so that you had your best finished surface pointing out. We used 4 layers of woven (I can't recall what weight) e-glass with resin. We had an extremely flexible body (we made a 1'x1' sample, and could bend it back on itself without any cracking!) that weighed in total 14 lbs. Most teams that used carbon fiber/foam were around the 20lbs mark, so I'd say we were pretty sucessful. Anyway, I am far from an expert. I think the resident expert on this stuff would be Terry. (blueovalz) He's certainly played with this a lot more than I have. Final results of the body were rather good, even though the texture of the matting showed through a little. It added a neat effect actually, but its hard to see in pictures. [/img] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted June 7, 2003 Share Posted June 7, 2003 Richard, Do you know what the common use for that foam is? I looked at my local HD today and couldn't find it, but I had my 3 year old son in tow, so it wasn't easy. Which department would it be in? Thanks, Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drax240z Posted June 8, 2003 Share Posted June 8, 2003 I'm 99% sure its just standard foam insulation for houses, etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icice9 Posted June 8, 2003 Share Posted June 8, 2003 i work for a foam company and the stuff your looking for is called fomular.. its either pink or blue and yes it is mainly used for insulation.. only problem is that it comes in sheets.. theres another type of foam you can use its a ridget urathane.. its yellow in color and from what i know about it its a lot easier to work with.. just a lil more expensive and it comes in blocks not sheets.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
technicalninja Posted June 10, 2003 Share Posted June 10, 2003 Another possibility is the green foam that florists use for flower arrangements. It comes in fairly large blocks. I believe it is urethane based and accepts coatings better than most other foams. It's nicest feature is that it is easily carved with a knife (works better with warmed blade). I do not have a good source anymore for this foam but I would speak with your local florist who shouldn't mind revealing a wholesale source after you explain what your using it for. They might give you some for test purposes. This foam is dirt cheap! Plugs are also called bucks in the glass industry and destroying bucks (after mold has been taken) is one of the fun aspects of a glass project. Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icice9 Posted June 10, 2003 Share Posted June 10, 2003 the only problem with that foam is that its a low density foam and can be dented by just pressing on it too hard.. the ridged urathane is a high density foam and can is prolly better suited for mold applications.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZROSSA Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 I finally have a couple of photos of the bucks on the car. They still need final sanding. I have no idea how to put them on the site. I can e-mail them to someone if interested. Cheers Douglas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wagz Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 Douglas - I'd like to see them. You can upload them into the HybridZ gallery: Click on the Album link at the top of this page, click on HybridZ Picture Gallery. Once you're in the gallery, there is a button at the top left of the page labled 'upload pic.' Once, you are on the upload pic page, it is pretty self explanitory. -Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZROSSA Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 Wags, I had a go at it last night. My file sizes were to large so I have to figure out how to make them smaller. I think My wife knows how to do that so I will have a go a bit latter. My computer skills are very limited. The photos are not great. The sun was in the wrong place but it will give you a idea of what i am trying to do. Cheers Douglas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZROSSA Posted June 30, 2003 Share Posted June 30, 2003 Here we go http://www.hybridz.org/phpBB2/album_personal.php?user_id=966 Sorry its taken so long. I have been in bed for the last week. I have a new digital camera. If you would like to see some more/ better photos let me know. Cheers Douglas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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