that POS is not even worth 200$, that's some poor craftsmanship there. The outside looks nice with the flares and all but some kind of moron laminated that thing. They went way too quickly, threw in too much resin, slapped it together and just let it cure while the resin flowed to the lowest popint. Just 15 minutes or attention on their part could have prevented this.

If I were you I'd sand the inside so that the shiney surface of the resin is gone and you are down to smooth fiberglass and then laminate in a layer or 2 more. Just use large sheets and impregnate them properly so they can be smoothed into curves. If you want to join sections just tear the matte so it will blend in better.

Is it me or does the fiberglass appear to be very thin? Looks like there's hardly any strength in it, maybe only 3 layers or so. I would glass the snot out of it before putting it on. Do that on the inside though, if you do it on the outside it will be a major PITA getthing the shape nice & consistent, they used a mold to get it that smooth.

 

Twin Turbo is unfortunately probably right on about the need for substantial reinforcements. Going down the road it would definetly be subjected to a lot of wind forces and having it come unglued would be a NASTY NASTY experience indeed! It could possibly literally explode if running at high speeds. You may want to glass in some solid support material, maybe even some aluminum tube framing or sheets in stress prone areas. Perhaps the Ecklers version has a good pic pf theirs you can borrow some design engineering tips from. Just knowing the difference in weight between the two versions may be telling.

What is the process to build something like this. I understand it is formed with a mold but just how is it done? I presume the mold is coated with some nonstick material or release agent of some sort then the fiberglass matt etc is simply hand worked into the mold with a brush and roller? Is it that simple or are there additional complexities.

Thanks, just never seen it done before

 

Yea, that's good advice. I would run 2 beam reinforcements length wise, just about where the hood ends on the stock front end. I did this on my FF too. I used styrofoam strips, glued them on and laminated over them, this makes for a light but very strong tubular support that really stiffens up the front. I'd do 2 of these and make a v-shaped one where the header bar is on the stocker (the metal structure that holds the headlight assemblies on the hood side)

The mold is made from a stock front end with the flares and scoop added, either in fiberglass, some kind of modeling clay or plaster or whatever the mold maker likes to use. Then they pull a mother mold from the front end after it has been waxed (or a release agent is used, normal automotive wax works fine). Then the mold is gelcoated, sanded smooth and waxed again. Then they spray gelcoat on the waxed surface and start laminating away, let it cure, a few taps and it'll come out as smooth as the mold was on the inside. The mother mold usually has reinforcement ribs on the outside to keep the shape. Some parts need multiple piece molds, they just bolt them together before laminating, that's where the parting lines come from. When cured the mold is taken off in pieces.

It is indeed that simple. The puddle comes from someone laminating with way too much resin and not paying attention. If you have an open mold (so no 2 sides clamp on each other) like they used here you just laminate away amnd make sure all the glass is properly saturated with resin and that the layer thickness is pretty constant. If they would have kept rolling and spreading the resin with some more matte the puddle would have never formed. the excess resin wouldn't have been a problem if they had brushed it over the inside like glazing a cake untill it is gelled a bit and won't run anymore. Some kind of amateur did this, I am an amateur but with their mold I could have done a better job than that.

Marck

 

What Marck forgot to mention is that styrofoam will be immediately attacked and disolved by polyester resins, you need cover it with a layer of epoxy and cloth first, THEN go with poly resin and roving....that's the way I had to do a boat bottom/interior some years ago....

make sure it's closed cell styrofoam also, water abssorbtion...

GENE

 

yeah mrvette is right, I laminated the styrofoam with epoxy resins & fine cloth, then I sanded it and painted the thing.. Thanks for adding that.

 

Thanks for the advice guys, so if i just sand down all the extra resin and put down a few more layers of fiberglass it will work? I am definently considering steel reinforcments, also my biggest fear is that if i do sand down the resin, and then put down some more fiberglass, that the top layers will just start coming apart off of the resin and fiberglass that i laid down, because its already starting to come apart in a few spots, is there any way to stop it from coming apart any further? Or should i not even be concerned about this?

 

Yes, sanding down to the fiberglass matrix, you will recognise it as you will see little white stripes when you hit bare glass. Then the top layer will not come off, the rough finish will make that it will cure as a solid piece. I laminated my fender flares in 3 different sessions, each time sanding down to bare glass and building them up. Where the resin is pooled it's probably cracked, that doesn't matter because you will remove it. All the amber colored goop is just resin and by itself it has little to no strength, the glass matte is what makes it a matrix.

 

Before I would spend another minute or nickle on that thing, I would make certain that it is dimensionally correct and will even fit...
If laid up glass parts are removed from the mold before they are completly cured they can do all kinds of weird tricks.....