fiberglass

[k20]

Can anyone give me an idea on how to work with fiberglass? My gf's truck (89 silverado) will be the guinnea pig here, it needs a center console, and if I can 'glass one of those, she is wanting a custom dash.....damn women cant be happy with stock, but anyway, what do I need to know? Never messed with the stuff, dont know the slightest thing about it. Theres mat, shredded, resins, epoxys, I dont friggin know what any of this is. I see stuff about molds, no molds, etc etc.

I figure a console should be easy enough, build it out of plywood or something and just build up to the shape desired. Question is though, how thick can you build it up? Say I built a rough shaped plywood and then wanted to give it some form, could I make the glass 2-3" thick?

 

[k20]

nobody ever fiberglassed a console?

 

[mr.smartass]

Send Ryoken a pm.

 

[ryoken]

I can answer any glass questions, work with it daily.... sure glass can be made 3" thick.. but it will get heavy and it will take multiple layups to get that thick...

you'd be better off putting some 2-part foam on the wood, let it expand, then shave to shape and glass over that... or you can go with stretchy fabric and glass over that... fleece is most common, but cotton and others have been used...

any particular questions on materials, procedures, etc, just ask... cloth vs mat, when and where, polyester vs epoxy vs vinylester, etc...

 

[k20]

excellent, I have a source for info now. Where is the best place to buy the materials? What type of shop should I be looking for?

 

[ryoken]

eh, materials is gonna be hard for me... obviously a local marine supply place is good if your near water.. you can try looking up "fiberglass" in your local phonebook... maybe online.. I used to have a few links...

I've never bought online, I get all my stuff thru work...

you'll want to go with polyester, way more economical than epoxy or vinyl... tho vinyls not bad dollar-wise...

rule of thumb for ya... many people use lots of mat... it has it's place but generally you want a layer of mat, then cloth, mat, etc, etc....