I notice a lot of the faster and really cool looking cars have fiberglass/carbon fiber bodies, how are those made, what are the molds made of. Where can I buy the actual fiber glass sheets and glue?
Thanks,
Ryan
Stevie G said
Nov 18, 2015
Fiberglast.com has a good white paper on fiberglass mold and part design/construction
mhodgertt said
Nov 19, 2015
There are several ways. We have a mold that was made from a nosecone we made and liked using the method below and we have a boat company that will make us nosecoes off of this for a decent price. If you do it yourself you can lay up layers of cloth and resin on the inside or use a fiberglass chop gun to put a layer of fiberglass on the inside of the mold that has is very smooth and has been coated in release medium. This is how you can make many of the same things. This is how most of the 'store bought' bodies (like Shift EV's Arrow bodies) are made. Others are a vacuum form plastic bodies again over a mold (like the Blue Sky bodies).
What I did to make my 'wolverine' nosecone and my students have done to make a number of aerodynamic nosecones and bodies is:
--Lay up a stack of foam--like rigid foam insulation to the height you want to nosecone/body to be from top to bottom. Use water based contact cement to hold it together as the original one will eat the foam.
--Shape the foam as you want the nosecone/body to look like. The foam will be the size of the inside of your nosecone. You can cut our 'cross section' of the cone from 3-D designs that you made on a number of computer designs to keep the nosecone the shape you want it and symetrical. On mine I just started sculpting the nosecone to have the face of a Wolverine (our school's mascot) and carved it down to be the shape I wanted the rear of the nosecone to look like (I am not an art teacher so it is not great but was fun to do). Once it is as you want it, and reasonably smooth, you cover it completely in aluminum foil. Be sure there are no leaks or fiberglass resin/fumes will eat up the foam when you lay up the fiberglass
--Now add a very thin layer of fiberglass resin on the foil and very quickly add fiberglass cloth or matting to this and use a 'fiberglass roller' to get rid of air pockets and soak the resin in. I pre-cut the material in pieces that will lay flat but are as large as possible so you have less seams to deal with. You will normally need to add more resin, add a little of it at a time. The resin is like glass and adds no strength except like glue it bond all of the fiberglass particle together into a solid mass.
--Keep adding layers until you have the thickness and strength that you want. Do your best to keep the fiberglass as smooth as possible with the fiberglass roller and I also use a 1" to 2" clean chip brush to do the best job of this as possible (chip brushes are cheap and toss them after each use). I suggest at least a couple of layers everywhere with more on relative flat areas to make them stiffer and where it will be attached.
--Once you have enough fiberglass and resin on, let it dry and then you will sand it. You want to get rid of the high points but not make anything too thin. If you see any thin spots you can add more resin and cloth to thicken/strengthen the fiberglass
--When you are satisfied with this you will add body filler (bondo) in a smooth layer to fill in the dips and smooth out the high places left after sanding the fiberglass. Do not add too much at any time as thin layers are easier to work with and usually work better. Do not make the total filler layer very thick or it will crack when you drive it and the nosecone flexes.
--You want the surface of the nosecone to be as smooth as possible and the exact shape you want it. Trim the open end if needed.
--If you want the nose cone you made to be longer on the rear/open side you can add some fiberglass sheets--like 4' X 8' 'shower' panels from the local builder's supply (Home Depot??) Cut these to the sizes and shapes you need to add to the length. Sand these before you try to attach them and cut/bend use multiple pieces etc.as needed to make the new opening and longer nosecone the shape you want it.
--Bondo, sand, etc. again to make it exactly like you want.
--When you are satisfied, rattle can paint can be applied in any way you want.
--To attach it to your car drill holes as needed and have flat metal tabs with holes attached to the frame that will lay flat against a small area of the inside of the nosecone. When you put your bolts through it all be sure to use fairly large washers (fender washers work well) on the outside of the fiberglass and if the fiberglass is pinched tight enough it should not break out and last for years. If need to, you can add more cloth and resin to the inside to reinforce the fiberglass nose before drilling your holes.
I notice a lot of the faster and really cool looking cars have fiberglass/carbon fiber bodies, how are those made, what are the molds made of. Where can I buy the actual fiber glass sheets and glue?
Thanks,
Ryan
Fiberglast.com has a good white paper on fiberglass mold and part design/construction
What I did to make my 'wolverine' nosecone and my students have done to make a number of aerodynamic nosecones and bodies is:
--Lay up a stack of foam--like rigid foam insulation to the height you want to nosecone/body to be from top to bottom. Use water based contact cement to hold it together as the original one will eat the foam.
--Shape the foam as you want the nosecone/body to look like. The foam will be the size of the inside of your nosecone. You can cut our 'cross section' of the cone from 3-D designs that you made on a number of computer designs to keep the nosecone the shape you want it and symetrical. On mine I just started sculpting the nosecone to have the face of a Wolverine (our school's mascot) and carved it down to be the shape I wanted the rear of the nosecone to look like (I am not an art teacher so it is not great but was fun to do). Once it is as you want it, and reasonably smooth, you cover it completely in aluminum foil. Be sure there are no leaks or fiberglass resin/fumes will eat up the foam when you lay up the fiberglass
--Now add a very thin layer of fiberglass resin on the foil and very quickly add fiberglass cloth or matting to this and use a 'fiberglass roller' to get rid of air pockets and soak the resin in. I pre-cut the material in pieces that will lay flat but are as large as possible so you have less seams to deal with. You will normally need to add more resin, add a little of it at a time. The resin is like glass and adds no strength except like glue it bond all of the fiberglass particle together into a solid mass.
--Keep adding layers until you have the thickness and strength that you want. Do your best to keep the fiberglass as smooth as possible with the fiberglass roller and I also use a 1" to 2" clean chip brush to do the best job of this as possible (chip brushes are cheap and toss them after each use). I suggest at least a couple of layers everywhere with more on relative flat areas to make them stiffer and where it will be attached.
--Once you have enough fiberglass and resin on, let it dry and then you will sand it. You want to get rid of the high points but not make anything too thin. If you see any thin spots you can add more resin and cloth to thicken/strengthen the fiberglass
--When you are satisfied with this you will add body filler (bondo) in a smooth layer to fill in the dips and smooth out the high places left after sanding the fiberglass. Do not add too much at any time as thin layers are easier to work with and usually work better. Do not make the total filler layer very thick or it will crack when you drive it and the nosecone flexes.
--You want the surface of the nosecone to be as smooth as possible and the exact shape you want it. Trim the open end if needed.
--If you want the nose cone you made to be longer on the rear/open side you can add some fiberglass sheets--like 4' X 8' 'shower' panels from the local builder's supply (Home Depot??) Cut these to the sizes and shapes you need to add to the length. Sand these before you try to attach them and cut/bend use multiple pieces etc.as needed to make the new opening and longer nosecone the shape you want it.
--Bondo, sand, etc. again to make it exactly like you want.
--When you are satisfied, rattle can paint can be applied in any way you want.
--To attach it to your car drill holes as needed and have flat metal tabs with holes attached to the frame that will lay flat against a small area of the inside of the nosecone. When you put your bolts through it all be sure to use fairly large washers (fender washers work well) on the outside of the fiberglass and if the fiberglass is pinched tight enough it should not break out and last for years. If need to, you can add more cloth and resin to the inside to reinforce the fiberglass nose before drilling your holes.
Good Luck, Hodgert