z-ya Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 Here is what myself, Roostmonkey, and Gnosez (Baddog) have been up to. Wax on.... Wax off.... Making a separating line for the two piece fender mold: Separating barrier complete: Parts ready for gelcoat: Getting suited up: Spraying gelcoat: Gelcoat complete: Laying first layer of glass after gelcoat tacked up: First layer complete on fender: Adding additional layers of glass and resin: What epoxy resin and hardener will do to you: Additional layers complete: Air dam popped from mold: Trimmed air dam mold: Fender mold after popping fender out: Wet sanding mold: More to come..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 Great thread! Fantastic, detailed pictures too--thanks a bundle! Like the "this is what resin...can do to you." That was too cool! Nice looking shop too. Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cygnusx1 Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 And I thought all you New Englanders did was drink beer. Really interesting stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1 Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 That is really cool. I've wondered what it looked like making a mold. What style flare and fender are they? John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rudypoochris Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 Awesome! What is the red gel coat exactly? It looks like it has some meat to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustinOlson Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 Could you explain the seperation barrier on the fender? Is that to allow you to pop the partial fender out of the mold? How are you going to get a complete fender? Join two parts? Regards, Justin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z-ya Posted March 30, 2008 Author Share Posted March 30, 2008 Awesome! What is the red gel coat exactly? It looks like it has some meat to it. The gel coat is a special resin that has a lot of pigment (red), and filler in it. It is what gives you the smooth finish. The gelcoat is allowed to just get tacky, then the first layer of glass and epoxy is applied. If the gelcoat was left to dry, it would shrink and pop off the part you are trying to make a mold of. The first layer of cloth and resin keep this from happening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z-ya Posted March 30, 2008 Author Share Posted March 30, 2008 Could you explain the seperation barrier on the fender? Is that to allow you to pop the partial fender out of the mold? How are you going to get a complete fender? Join two parts? Regards, Justin Basically it is there to create a dividing line between the two pieces of the mold. The photo shows just one half of the final mold. We will put the mold back on the fender, and then create the second half next. When the second half of the mold is done, we will drill holes for bolts before popping the part out of the two halves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z-ya Posted March 30, 2008 Author Share Posted March 30, 2008 That is really cool. I've wondered what it looked like making a mold. What style flare and fender are they? John We had an opportunity to make molds of these "special" parts, and learn how to make molds and parts from someone that has made three complete Cobra bodies. It's his shop. Except for the fumes, it's kind of fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedEvilrps13 Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 ah so thats the stuff john at baddog was talking about! thats awesome that you guys got to do that, i'm sure it was fun! and i didn't even realize you were from NH till now Z-Ya.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 tuff z Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 cool stuff john & pete-keep us posted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shift Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 I was going to suggest on using a silicone layer and lay a fiberglass backing, but the gel coat process looks alot more cleaner for the size (Always have issues using the silicone method with items over 2 1/2 feet). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roostmonkey Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 It was fun learning this proccess but burping MEK fumes two hours later kinda freaked me out. Now my right eye twitches uncontrolabely. The things we do for the good of our Z community... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rudypoochris Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 You guys wouldn't happen to know if that gel coat is rattle-can-able? As in can it be sprayed using aerosol cans - does it come in a can? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roostmonkey Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 My GUESS is , no , its a two part epoxy like material. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evan Purple240zt Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 You cannot get gelcoat into a spraycan. Its pretty thick. http://www.fibreglast.com has alot of that fun stuff! Evan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fhptom Posted March 30, 2008 Share Posted March 30, 2008 Is that the taller rear spoiler (4" or 5") you were talking about making for sale? That would look alot nicer than the run I made out of AL. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z-ya Posted March 31, 2008 Author Share Posted March 31, 2008 Yes it is taller than the BRE or the 3 piece ones I've seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Here comes trouble Posted March 31, 2008 Share Posted March 31, 2008 For a one man operation and one part mold, I only work on one piece or buck at a time and brush the gel coat on. The stuff brushes on terribly but I mix the the fiberglass resin in the same container the gel coat was mixed in giving color to the fiberglass mat for the next two or three resin mixtures. This mixing of resin and gel gives a fairly uniform coat to the gelcoat plus adds color to the resin for awhile giving a little more color mixed in with the fiberglass mat. The mat is ripped up in small pieces where I dab the resin into the mat with a cheap paint brush of 2 inch which works best. Sometime the bristles can be shortened for better straight up and down dabbing with the bristle end of the cheap brush.(Harbour Freight cheapest brush works best as does used garage sale brushes. My hand laid coats with the brush dabbing are tight with no bubbles or dry areas of no resin on the mat or cloth. You can easily eyeball the high and low spots in the mat while applying. The fiberglass resin because of it's drying/curing process and wax rising to the surface requires to be finished in un-interupted layers of application.You can stagger the layers 30 minutes to 1 hour between applications. Do not finish half the lay- up and expect to come back hours later to apply more layers because you will have wax on the surface and the layers will easily split apart. I also use less and less hardner as the layers increase leaving a good long cure. White is the cheapest gel coat but coloring agents can be added. I buy the cheaper white and add the separately acquired coloring agent. Red is a great mold color to repair problems in the mold. Black gel coat makes the best part color to see flaws. I build the mat up to about 1/4 inch for the mold. Cloth can be added for additional strength so can metal strips or plastic pipe for stiffness or as a method to move or turn the mold on a rack I work fiberglass outside ..............period........ and at short intervals. Too much fumes.......You are high as a kite for a 30 minutes and the headache last for hours. I go to Home Depot for the angled metal parting strips. If a parting line is needed.........I use tin snips to form one side of the parting line screwed down with round large head phillips metal self tapping screws also found at Home Depot. I drill pilot holes through metal strip parting line and buck before using the screws. Wet plumbers putty to seal the other side of the parting line. When the first part of the mold lay up has cured on the buck to the parting line metal lip flange................ I "crack" and remove that first part of the mold, repair the screw holes, wax the the other part of the buck and newly created parting lip and lay the gel coat and resin to the second part and parting line lip or flange to completely finish the two part mold A two part mold in a one man operation should be done in two separate steps or separate days allowing the parting line flange to cure. The wax rising to the surface aids in waxing the new parting lip flange Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z-ya Posted March 31, 2008 Author Share Posted March 31, 2008 Thanks for the write up, sounds like you have done this before. Spraying the gelcoat is way easier than brushing it. The gelcoat is red, because this is what we had. You want it a different color than the part (typically white), so that you can see when you have enough gelcoat when making the mold, and also when you are making the part. We finished one half of the mold completely before starting the second. After popping the 1st half, and removing the cardboard barrier, I then wet sanded the 1st half. We will then reattach the 1st half to the fender (after lots of wax), and then lay up the 2nd half of the mold. When that is complete, you 1/4-20 bolt holes in the mating flange ever 6 inches. This will insure that the two mold halves will mate properly when making fenders. We are using steel conduit for making stands for the molds. Some stands we will make from wood (the smaller parts). You can probably do the first gelcoat layer with 3 people. We had 5, and stood around a lot when the gelcaot when going on, and curing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.