moulding fibreglass

[Tinbasherdan]

now then, ive got a truck cab for my defender project, but would like to make a fibreglass headlining with a built in din slot for a cd player, and some speakers at the back, much the same as the la salle head lining. i have the original headliner, whats the best option to mould fibreglass round it?

 

[Barking Mat]

Cover it in wax, Polish it, repeat 3 times, apply gel coat, let dry, attack with resin and glass fibre, be careful of release angles. If this doesn't make sense YouTube is undoubtedly your friend. Any advice needed contact me.

 

[Tinbasherdan]

sounds like im going to make a balls up

 

[W.olly]

All i use is 2=3 coats of blue PVA, always have done, its not a precise mould.

And i have used tinfoil in the past for a release agent.

all depends on what you want from the end of it a sin finish.

If you want exactly the same then you need to make a mould first from what you have.

 

[Tinbasherdan]

ill have to make a mould of it i think, although ive jsut discovered la salle do them quite a bit cheaper than i had first thought, so need to work out if its actually worth my time and effort

 

[Barking Mat]

If you've got resin and glass matting to hand, wax costs nothing, you could probably use a candle and a tea towel.
Gel coat is the proper way to do it. A pot of that is probably ten or fifteen squid. And then you're looking at professional results. A litre of acetone and some disposable gloves.

 

[Barking Mat]

Great way to learn fibre glassing. Having said that how much does a pre made one cost?

 

[Tinbasherdan]

290 quid for one that just goes straight in and has the speaker and radio moudlings

 

[Barking Mat]

Do you have the time or the money? I generally have neither......

 

[Tinbasherdan]

ill probably stand more of a chance of having the money than the time, given that i have to assemble the entire vehicle

 

[Barking Mat]

Also you'd have to form a mould of the radio box and then attatch it to the produced roof trim. Which isn't complicated. Fibre glassing is a damn site easier than most forms of welding IMO. having said all of that if you can weld you can fibreglass, its just a question of prep and removing the air bubbles. A roof trim doesn't have to be structural.

Have you ever done any fibre glassing?

 

[Barking Mat]

Can't you take the original head lining and reinforce it with glass fibre from behind and then butcher it? Or is it aesthetic?

 

[Tinbasherdan]

Can't you take the original head lining and reinforce it with glass fibre from behind and then butcher it? Or is it aesthetic?

Possibly could I suppose, and I've done a bit of classing but nowt on that sort of scale

 

[Tinbasherdan]

How good do you want the stereo to sound?

I've heard a stereo mounted in one of these (whether it was the same make or not I don't know) and it was terrible - any bass at all just made the whole panel wibble like an eel with alzheimer's...

At least if you make it yourself you can reinforce sections and make sealed pods behind the speakers.

It's a defender, put what speaker system you want in the cab it'll still sound like you've your head in a bucket

 

[Ton-up]

Can't you take the original head lining and reinforce it with glass fibre from behind and then butcher it? Or is it aesthetic?

Dan, as mat said, use the original. They are made from a pressed cardboardy/fibre type material that will take resin well. If its in reasonable shape, take it out, but if you have the roof off and its sagging, etc, leave it in the upturned roof. Do the inside first, with a good coating of resin that will soak in, when dry turn it over and do the back and lips with resin and mat. I did the front of mine again with a layer of very light fine cloth and resin.(I can't remember the name of)
Do you mods and cover with something like this:

http://www.megavanmats.com/apps/webstore/products/category/333394?page=1

 

[Keith 66]

Despite some saying its easy, to do a good job can be very time consuming & to take a mould & produce a part for a one off is rarely cost effective.
First thing you need to know! What is the part you are going to take a mould off made from? If it is a plastic that is attacked by the resin no amount of wax & pva will save you from a massive stick up resulting in a bin full of scrap.
Ditto is it vovered in vinyl or painted? If it is painted in 2k polyurethane or polyester primer you can mould from it. Anything else & the resin will eat it.
By the time you buy filler, surface primer, wax , pva release agent, gelcoat, resin, acetone, mat, brushes, rollers, wet & dry, sanding discs, masks etc you will have spent more than buying one & thats even before your time.
If you can buy a ready made one for £290 buy it & eat steak.

 

[pedrobedro]

Make it out of fleece and resin instead of fibreglass, much easier to manipulate than matting. We did a speaker box for nephew's car and it works well. You could make it in fleece then reinforce it with matting for more rigidity.

 

[ajlelectronics]

Taking a mould from polystyrene etc can be done with a little thought. I use resin proof tape which looks like 2" Sellotape. Either that or parcel tape. I agree that it is time consuming, but if a part is no longer available, or you are making a custom part, there isn't much option. I have a couple of thin plastic trim parts to copy presently, once I stop prevaricating!

One of the best tips I can give is NOT TO buy Halford's (Isopon) starter kits. The hardener is far too fast and doesn't give the novice time to do a good job. Go to a fibreglass specialist and buy quality materials. You will be amazed how much better the mat flows the resin etc.

 

[Kayos]

I used to make mounded sub boxes, mostly self taught with a bit of guidance

The way I made them was simple, if the car was caught in a nuclear blast, then the box had to survive. Once I got to that stage it was strong enough