Home Made Centre Vent Gauge Trim

[SalSheikh]

been looking on the net on how this fibre glass mould jobbie works. i understand i would need to make a mould first and then make fibre glass copies of the product. will try and pop into my local motorstore where i can get the products and hopefully some advice too - they specialise in paints and products so hopefully will get some ideas/answers. unfortunately this probably wont be until later in the week.

if someon has very good links on how to make these fibreglass mouldds then please put links up as lots i have seen are crap - especially youtue ones!

 

[S17EW O]

well ive used fiberglass alot. But im not sure you appreciate the work involved, i used general household items such as cardboard and play doe to make my mould then fiberglassed over the top but obviously this mould is not durable and wouldnt last. You would need to make a good mould out of somethig solid such as wood or plastic etc and then you can get mould wax which you put all over the mould to stop the fibre glass bonding to it, then you fibre glass it and then remove the mould, Fibreglass is funny stuff though, very strong but can crack easily and gives a very rough surface finish, so once the fiberglass skin is made there is then alot more work to get the surface smooth and ready for painting. I hope youve got alot of time on your hands....you might have to quit your job. lol. Yog can also get a product called 'bridger' this is like a mixture between fibreglass and filler. good for filling odd holes etc but giving as strong finish as fibre glass. Also worth bearing in mind

 

[SalSheikh]

thanks for the advice. what about using these rtv silicone rubber type moulds? would his be easier as the gauge does have some funny angles.

seen this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcRv__zNxYE to give me ideas....

your thoughts?

 

[SalSheikh]

guys, your thoughts on using plastic filler/fibre glass filler to fill the gaps?

 

[ringer]

if you use gel coat first on the fibre glass mould you make,it will come out smooth.just make sure you do hell alot of layers of fibre glass for you mould so it will last.I used to work with firbeglass for 7 years making wind turbines.its a great idea you have mate

 

[midgetgem]

get a patent application in first, if it goes through then you could just sell the righs to manufacture and leave the nightmare of mass production to someone else, top work anyway bud

 

[SalSheikh]

get a patent application in first, if it goes through then you could just sell the righs to manufacture and leave the nightmare of mass production to someone else, top work anyway bud

i dont know if my idea would pas all the patent application laws/hurdles!
plus i really dont know if anyone would really pay to put this into mass production!

 

[Bluto&Purdey]

Have you sorted out how to make a mould yet?

That looks a simple piece to copy without needing to make a 2 piece mould, I cant see any sharp curves etc.

 

[Murdered LCR]

They make real carbon fiber ones of these on eBay about 55 quid , and normal gloss black style ,

 

[wayne lcr]

link dan please.

 

[Murdered LCR]

Will try find em

 

[wayne lcr]

have just had a look carnt find fook all lol.

 

[sambryant]

id like one aswell

 

[SalSheikh]

They make real carbon fiber ones of these on eBay about 55 quid , and normal gloss black style ,

c'mon Dan, link?

 

[Pyro]

Yea linky not that I need one ay sal

 

[lock1981]

you thought of a rubber mould? could fibre glass in to that. easy as use it all the time at work but we fill them with plaster. but im sure you could fibre glass them.

set it down and blank the gauge holes off. box it in using plaster board and seal the edges. then mix the two part rubber. pour and leave till it cures. peel off, jobs a good en.

then you can start fibre glassing.

 

[Murdered LCR]

Lol can't find em at the min there on there some times not all the time and there not from this country

 

[Pyro]

lol

 

[Murdered LCR]

They come up now and then was gunna order em but have no use for 3 gauges lol boost and oil temp , altho a liquid gauge will replace them

 

[Bluto&Purdey]

At £55 I cant see them being pure carbon fibre, they will most likly be wet layup with 1 layer of 200gram 2x2 twill carbon fibre backed with csm.

With grp you could have various colour gel coat or just stick with black.

To get the best finish for the mould then the part your taking a mould from has to be 2k painted and buffed up to a very high standard.

The better the finish of the part the better the mould will be.

You leave any scratches, bumps and lumps in the part then when you take the mould the mould will have those very same scratches, bumps and lumps.

I could get a company to make them up, but then they want their money etc so that would push the price up and of course their would have to be a minimum run to make it worth their while.

If the OP wants the company name more than happy to pass it along.