Glorified Grocery Getter Build- WARN Premiums and Dual Battery Mock Up and Boxes

[mini_mull]

What did Rene do? Pics? Link?

 

[NEK5]

What did Rene do? Pics? Link?

He put his batts under the rear floor, IIRC.

 

[mini_mull]

Hmm, too trick for me.

 

[cbbr]

That's what he did. Super cool.

 

[imiceman44]

He put his batts under the rear floor, IIRC.

I put mine next to me in between the seats for a centered position, but I ran a custom wiring harness to take advantage of that too.
I replaced the console with 2 optima batteries (don't put any open batteries inside the vehicle) and switches and relays all next to me.

 

[mini_mull]

Taped off the box

Wax (don't use turtle wax- bad, part-all paste- good)

Wax on (3 coats)

PVA (3 coats)

One layer glass/resin

Addin glass

all glassed up for tonight

Not perfect, but not bad for a first time glasser

 

[mini_mull]

Tomorrow I'm planning to wet down the cardboard and pull out the mold to see how thick and strong the box turned out. If it seems flimsy or thin I'll add a couple more layers of glass.

 

[ryoken]

Welcome to my world.... Looking good Kristie...

fun stuff eh? If it didn't smell, get you sticky, etc, it would actually be fun to do...

Be patient with removal, especially if the glass is thin, wet it, wait awhile, wet it again, yada, yada.... if you do need to recoat, talk to me about between coat prep...

 

[mini_mull]

I'm sure I'll at least need to add in a couple spots (I got a couple bubbles that might get knocked off). I know I need to sand a little, but I used good quality resin, so I shouldn't have too much wax on top. What grain should I sand with and what should I wipe it off with after sanding? Anything else before laying more glass on top? I'm going to test fit back in the burb before more glassing too, JIC I need to add to the inside instead of the outside. If I do need to add on the inside, is there anthing special I need to do to make sure there is no wax or PVA residue? THis is good practice for my soon to come lower door panels, middle console, and sub box. I like it, but I'm definitely wearing long sleeves tomorrow. Itchy! It's fun to make something come together into something so different than the raw materials you start with. I love this whole project. (we'll see if I still say that when I'm done, hope so)

 

[mini_mull]

Worked on the box some more tonight.

Had to do some trimming to get the slack off, then more to get it down to the right height.

then it was time to pull the mold, so I filled the box with water

and started separating it

fiberglass is awesome!!

fits perfect, nice and snug

I think the thickness is good.

Once I evened out the edge I did some of my own strength testing. I pushed and pulled, and then the toughest test, I turned it upside down and stood on it. No problem!! I love this stuff. Strong, can be made into any shape, and translucent. If I was a little better at it, I'd probably leave it without a finish so you could see the stuff inside, but the outside surface is pretty rough, so I'll probably smooth a little filler on the outside and paint it. I'm convinced using this method I can make battery boxes that are more than strong enough, so I'll be taking that on next. BTW, from now on I'll be laying the glass in the driveway. This stuff is a mess. I'll probably still be finding fibers in the garage months from now.

 

[cbbr]

That looks great.

 

[ryoken]

looks great Kristie... check your pm's....

Have you figured out how your going to secure it?

 

[mini_mull]

There are already several holes in the sheetmetal underneath it where factory stuff like the overflow bottle where secured, so I could put a bolt or two through those. Plus I'll probably put a bolt or two through the sheetmetal on the side. Any better ideas? It's not going anywhere since it's such a snug fit, so it shouldn't take much just to keep it from shaking.

 

[ryoken]

Nope sounds like you've got a good handle on it...

I hope you don't mind Kristie, but in response to Jek commenting that my pm tech get out in the forum to help all, I'm gonna post up that pm I sent you being that it may answer some of these earlier questions, for anyone elses benefit..

What grain should I sand with and what should I wipe it off with after sanding? Anything else before laying more glass on top? I'm going to test fit back in the burb before more glassing too, JIC I need to add to the inside instead of the outside. If I do need to add on the inside, is there anthing special I need to do to make sure there is no wax or PVA residue?

i'll start at the beginning... first scrub the piece down with hot soapy water.. a nylon bristled brush or scuff pad works good for this... this will remove the wax and pva residue...

then what you really want to do on a fill coat is eliminate as much as possible any shiny areas, which will be the low spots...

as you take a sander/grinder to it for a minute or so, you will see the upper areas get dull as they get cut, but the low areas will remain shiney.. well, those shiney areas are the potential probs, due to poor adhesion...

you should at least hit it decently with a sander/grinder to knock down the top stuff and have say at least 50% of the surface get cut... at least...

at that point, you can get away with just wet or dry scuffing the area with a course scuff pad.. this will cut that shiney low stuff to give it an etch...

80 grit or lower is the approach... you want some heavy scratches for the mud to stick to... you can just rewash it with soapy water, let dry, then fill... you can also use denatured in the damp towel/dry towel method in lieu of washing it..

 

[mini_mull]

That's cool. I like to get as much tech out there as possible, too. Afterall, that gives you more to look at when your researching and that's how I've learned a ton from you and others.

 

[imiceman44]

Nope sounds like you've got a good handle on it...

I hope you don't mind Kristie, but in response to Jek commenting that my pm tech get out in the forum to help all, I'm gonna post up that pm I sent you being that it may answer some of these earlier questions, for anyone elses benefit..



i'll start at the beginning... first scrub the piece down with hot soapy water.. a nylon bristled brush or scuff pad works good for this... this will remove the wax and pva residue...

then what you really want to do on a fill coat is eliminate as much as possible any shiny areas, which will be the low spots...

as you take a sander/grinder to it for a minute or so, you will see the upper areas get dull as they get cut, but the low areas will remain shiney.. well, those shiney areas are the potential probs, due to poor adhesion...

you should at least hit it decently with a sander/grinder to knock down the top stuff and have say at least 50% of the surface get cut... at least...

at that point, you can get away with just wet or dry scuffing the area with a course scuff pad.. this will cut that shiney low stuff to give it an etch...

80 grit or lower is the approach... you want some heavy scratches for the mud to stick to... you can just rewash it with soapy water, let dry, then fill... you can also use denatured in the damp towel/dry towel method in lieu of washing it..

Thanks guys
I have been wanting to start glassing and never attempted yet, it's good to see someone do it and ask the questions as they go, gives it the feel of experiencing it before doing it
Now MINI, how many layers did that take you to get that thikness, or was that one only?
I need to do some work on my Chalet and I need to make sure I am getting the thikness.
RYOKEN:
If I want to repair an old shell, how much sanding do you recomend?
Do you sand the edges in a wedge so the transistion is not a breaking point?
Do you use silk reinfocement sheets to mend a crack or to add to an edge?

 

[mini_mull]

That was about 3 layers, some of the thinner spots only got two I think. I wanted three for strength. It's hard to keep straight where you've done layers while you're doing it though. I heard bondo brand stuff stinks so avoid it. If you need a source for materials I used US Composites website. These are the products
Glass:
1 1/2oz chopped strand mat
B-440 Premium Polyester Lay-up resin (incl MEPK)
Mold:
Partall #2 Paste Wax
Partall #10 moldrelease

I'll be using Evercoat Rage Extreme Lightweight Body Filler from Autobodytoolmart.com

I still have to find a good buildup primer and some decent paint.

 

[ryoken]

If your willing to go with a catalyzed primer, Duponts Nason Urethane primer is a very economical product.. about $80 a gallon including hardener... You don't have to spray it, but obviously thats recommended..

Evercoat makes good fillers...

Iceman - sanding varies on whats going on with the old surface... it varies greatly... generally you want to prep for primer with something in the 150 to 180 range grit-wise.. But how much needs to be removed, well that depends.. Condition of gelcoat, whether its got paint on it, porosity, etc, etc.. pictures certainly would help...

Not 100% sure what you mean with the edges wedge gig, but I think I know what your talking about.. And yes, you generally want to chamfer them slightly or at least drag some sandpaper over them... Main reason being it will help prevent burning thru on future procedures, whether sanding the primer or sanding and buffing...

damage repairs can be tackled MANY ways... really depends on the area and what kinda strength your gonna need.. anything from V-ing cracks, to a channel grind.. repairs can be anything from polyestered cloth or mat to a reinforced filler.. once again, pics would help...

feel free to contact me on any particulars...

 

[mini_mull]

Iceman, be sure to start a thread when you start your repairs. I'm sure there's more guys out there who need to make those kind of repairs, too. Aren't some if not all the k5 hardtops fiberglass?

 

[imiceman44]

If your willing to go with a catalyzed primer, Duponts Nason Urethane primer is a very economical product.. about $80 a gallon including hardener... You don't have to spray it, but obviously thats recommended..

Evercoat makes good fillers...

Iceman - sanding varies on whats going on with the old surface... it varies greatly... generally you want to prep for primer with something in the 150 to 180 range grit-wise.. But how much needs to be removed, well that depends.. Condition of gelcoat, whether its got paint on it, porosity, etc, etc.. pictures certainly would help...

Not 100% sure what you mean with the edges wedge gig, but I think I know what your talking about.. And yes, you generally want to chamfer them slightly or at least drag some sandpaper over them... Main reason being it will help prevent burning thru on future procedures, whether sanding the primer or sanding and buffing...

damage repairs can be tackled MANY ways... really depends on the area and what kinda strength your gonna need.. anything from V-ing cracks, to a channel grind.. repairs can be anything from polyestered cloth or mat to a reinforced filler.. once again, pics would help...

feel free to contact me on any particulars...

You know I will be contacting you when I start this.
I have a few months of hard work then when things slow down in the winter I will tackle this.
And yes I will be starting a post and leaving it for reference.