Fiberglass? Anyone use it?

[dabears]

I did some searching on here as well as google. Google gave answers as to how to use fiberglass i kinda get it but my question is has anyone here used it to remake their parts? The fenders i am making are too think being make from a 4"pvc pipe.. i could thin them out by hand but then i got to thinking why not just make them in fiberglass? For bigger applications i can see it being easy, but for casting fenders has anyone done it? How hard was it to do? From googleing around i saw its easier to do from a mold or reversed copy of what you want to make.. So would i just use the fenders i made to make a "mold"? I like the idea of using fiberglass 1 for strength but 2 for the thickness being smaller. I was at lowes today and fiberglass meterials are not all that expensive, but i dont want to ruin my originals in the trail and error process?? Anyone have any ideas, tricks, hints??

[dabears]

Anyone??

[modelman]

dabears-using fibre-glass is not that difficult but there are a few guidelines that you MUST follow. I would suggest that you use epoxy resin rather than polyester. It is a bit more expensive but it is a better product for making thin, lighweight parts. Resin and catalyst MUST be mixed at the proper ratios and stirred really well. If you are working from plastic parts that is really tricky but it can be done. You will have to use a release wax and I (personally) would use PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) as a spray release. It is tricky to spray and must be applied in several thin coats but it releases very easily. You probably won't have to make molds. If careful you can make fenders off of your original parts. They will be a bit larger but shouldn't be enough to matter. I have made molds for 25+ years from just about everything there is so if you have questions, just ask.

[dabears]

Originally Posted by modelman

dabears-using fibre-glass is not that difficult but there are a few guidelines that you MUST follow. I would suggest that you use epoxy resin rather than polyester. It is a bit more expensive but it is a better product for making thin, lighweight parts. Resin and catalyst MUST be mixed at the proper ratios and stirred really well. If you are working from plastic parts that is really tricky but it can be done. You will have to use a release wax and I (personally) would use PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) as a spray release. It is tricky to spray and must be applied in several thin coats but it releases very easily. You probably won't have to make molds. If careful you can make fenders off of your original parts. They will be a bit larger but shouldn't be enough to matter. I have made molds for 25+ years from just about everything there is so if you have questions, just ask.

Thank you! I think I'm going to try some tests this weekend