Challenger Posted December 27, 2007 Share Posted December 27, 2007 Anyone know where they can be bought or has anyone made them? I started working on a foam piece to make one from fiberglass but it didnt work. This is for the Xenon urethane airdam. I had used insulation styrafoam but it was to hard to shape, Ill probably try some pottery foam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueovalz Posted December 27, 2007 Share Posted December 27, 2007 I've made some pretty complicated brake ducts (as well as cold-air induction scoops) using the foam/fiberglass method. The foam I used was floral foam (wet type). It is a very brittle, yet soft, foam that can be damaged easily simply by squeezing it between your fingers. This foam will not react to the resin, which means the resin can be applied directly onto the foam. It can be sanded extremely easily (too easily, so be careful), and will not ball up, or tear when sanded. The brake scoops are on either side of the radiator opening. The scoops are split top and bottom (top for cold air induction, and bottom for brake air). In the "finished" photo, they are painted red. In this image, I used the foam/fiberglass to create a ram-air system on the 240SX. The scoop and the canister (which houses the K&N filter and AFM) are all made out of fiberglass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Challenger Posted December 27, 2007 Author Share Posted December 27, 2007 Those all look great! I really admire the quality of your work. Im going to a hobby store to get some floral foam today. Ill probably stick to just the brake ducts, Ill have a sort of ram air affect (for the air filter) with my radiator area modifications. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Challenger Posted December 27, 2007 Author Share Posted December 27, 2007 I made a mold out of the floral foam, now I need to get some fiberglass. This is what I have so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueovalz Posted December 27, 2007 Share Posted December 27, 2007 Looking good! Keep the pictures coming. This stuff will require a small amount of effort to remove and clean up from the inside after the glass has kicked, but nothing you can't handle. If you need larger pieces, I always used a hot-glue gun to joint pieces. As you've probably already determined, this stuff is very fragile, and can be damaged easily prior to the glass if you handle it too roughly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted December 27, 2007 Share Posted December 27, 2007 What about using aluminum foil to cover the part? Wouldn't that prevent you from having to remove all the foam from the inside? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Challenger Posted December 27, 2007 Author Share Posted December 27, 2007 Props to anyone that can do fiberglass, this stuff is tricky. Terry- I figured out how fragile it is pretty quickly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
280Zone Posted December 28, 2007 Share Posted December 28, 2007 Good job, just keep at it, with more practice it gets easier and itchy'er! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueovalz Posted December 28, 2007 Share Posted December 28, 2007 Jon, I've considered such (foil and such), but found it easier to simply remove the foam, and lightly sand the inner surface than deal with the complex or compound curves that the foil, or tape, or anything else rarely covers smoothly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Challenger Posted December 28, 2007 Author Share Posted December 28, 2007 I thought about once I remove the foam, fill the piece back up with a expandable foam. Youll have yourself a new mold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragonfly Posted December 28, 2007 Share Posted December 28, 2007 Here are some pics I took of the brake ducting on a vintage race car. Not a Z but it should still give you some ideas about how to do the "other end" of your brake ducting. Dragonfly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nizm0Zed Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 dont forget with your ducting to check for clearance at ALL points of your suspension travel. last thing you'd want is to hit a heavy bump or ripple strip during a corner, and have your duct smash apart into your suspension, brakes or wheel. could cause some serious damage, and maybe even a crash. as for moulding with foam, i use polyurethane foam, and mould straight onto it. you can paint it and then wax it to help it release away form your item. If your careful doing it, you can even reuse it again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Six_Shooter Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 as for moulding with foam, i use polyurethane foam, and mould straight onto it. you can paint it and then wax it to help it release away form your item.If your careful doing it, you can even reuse it again. I was going to suggest something similar. There are a few products on the market that will make this easier, though you usually have to go to an industrial supply house for that stuff. the only one I know of is in Mississauga Ontario. Anyway. You can also coat the foam in body filler (as long as it's not made from a material that reactes to solvents, like styrofoam), smooth the part out completly, wax it and going the extra step, using a liquid called PVA (Poly Vinyl Alcohol) to release the mold from the part. The PVA is water soluable, and can release the part using water forced into the seperation to disolve the PVA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boodlefoof Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 And for those who don't want to tackle fabbing their own, you can find everything you need at these fine establishments: www.colemanracing.com www.lefthanderchassis.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Challenger Posted January 10, 2008 Author Share Posted January 10, 2008 Well I only put on one layer and it seems that the resin isnt hardening the fg cloth. The extra resin that was on the newspaper hardened but the fg isnt. Its been out in the cold, I dont think that would make a difference. Im going to go ahead and put on a few more layers to see if it works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrumpetRhapsody Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 Pics please! I like where this is going, cool stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueovalz Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 Well I only put on one layer and it seems that the resin isnt hardening the fg cloth. The extra resin that was on the newspaper hardened but the fg isnt. Its been out in the cold, I dont think that would make a difference. Im going to go ahead and put on a few more layers to see if it works. Sorry to contradict the "cold" statement, but resin is VERY sensitive to temperature. This is a chemical process, and as such, is accelerated with temperature. A piece layed up in the summer with 90º temps will harden in just a few minutes, with 1/2 the amount of catalyst in it compared to a piece layed up during the winter which may take an hour to set. This is stuff that you'll get a feel for when you do more parts. Temperature is very important. During winter lay-ups, I try to heat the garage if possible, but if not, at the very minimum, I warm the resin and catalyst before mixing and lay-up. This will help a lot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Challenger Posted January 10, 2008 Author Share Posted January 10, 2008 I brought it in last night so Ill look to see if It made any progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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