Brett Proctor
Well-known member
Building parts for your own application may sound great but may require more work and money than anticipated.
Smaller parts would be a good starting point before you try and tackle larger parts. find out what your skill level is and lessons learned from making smaller one piece molds.
Making larger parts require more time and money to make the plug/buck then the mold and finally the part. Time, materials and the tools required to make larger parts add up real fast.
On smaller parts you can get away from having to buy a gel coat gun and rollers but with larger parts they are absolutely needed.
Working time before the resin starts to harden has to be taken into account on larger parts. It takes time to remove all the air bubbles and having the proper tools makes this job go faster
Sure you can just make the part out of fiberglass and sand it to the desired finish but the sanding and time required to get a good finish thins out the glass and the dust created is a pain. For me its was best to make the plug/buck out of less abrasive materials that can be easily worked with and make a mold of the part first. Costs more time and materials but it was easier to make changes to the part before committing to making the part and wasting glass and resin if it didn't turn out right.
Thats it for now
I may add more later
Smaller parts would be a good starting point before you try and tackle larger parts. find out what your skill level is and lessons learned from making smaller one piece molds.
Making larger parts require more time and money to make the plug/buck then the mold and finally the part. Time, materials and the tools required to make larger parts add up real fast.
On smaller parts you can get away from having to buy a gel coat gun and rollers but with larger parts they are absolutely needed.
Working time before the resin starts to harden has to be taken into account on larger parts. It takes time to remove all the air bubbles and having the proper tools makes this job go faster
Sure you can just make the part out of fiberglass and sand it to the desired finish but the sanding and time required to get a good finish thins out the glass and the dust created is a pain. For me its was best to make the plug/buck out of less abrasive materials that can be easily worked with and make a mold of the part first. Costs more time and materials but it was easier to make changes to the part before committing to making the part and wasting glass and resin if it didn't turn out right.
Thats it for now
I may add more later