88 replies to this topic

[icebox187]

ok sorry, i wanted my third pepper, this is my 500th post lol

[icebox187]

moving along slowly, compressor's definatelly fixed, i sprayed a bunch of pva tonight, dont really like the way it's going on..... kinda orange pealish.... any painters got any pointers? if i cant get it, im going back to hairspray, that was way smoother and easier..... cleaned up the passenger fender that will become the plug, waxed and buffed the mold for the drivers side, then waxed and buffed, then waxed and buffed, again and again and again (10 coats of carnuaba) then laid pva, didnt come out well, and i have to wash it off and do it again in the morning

[icebox187]

ok, the reason for the pva going on so bad is the dehumidifier....... too low humidity causes the pva to cobweb and fisheye, too high humidity causes the gelcoat to fisheye.... hmmm, i guess its dehumidifier off for pva and on for gel. let see how much i can get done tomorrow

[icebox187]

the first fender is layed up half way in the mold, its damn well impossible to lay it up all at once, the glass falls off on the top or bottom, wichever way i have it turned, and if l lay it flat it still does it..... so theres some more time to figure in.... there will be some prep work needed before painting.... prime/sand type stuff, let me know by pm if you want me to do the prep work or you have your own primer system that you want to use....... ill sand to 800 grit, so they'll be ready for poly..... if you do choose to sand these DO NOT SAND THROUGH THE GELCOAT! if you see black stop! the gel is white so it will be obvious, i had to add dye to the epoxy so its idot proof, not calling anyone an idiot, i just dont want someone to pay 200 for some fenders, sand through the gel, and not be able to find a paint that will stick..... i still havent started the mold for the other side, but ill start that in the morning, and finish the layup on the other so i can get some pics up. again if anyone is having second thoughts, now would be a good time to say something.... all deposits are in btw thank you guys. btw I WILL NOT BE DOING FENDERS AT THIS PRICE EVER AGAIN.... I DOUBT I WILL DO THEM FOR ANY PRICE theres too many bends and grooves and details for a part this size, and its pretty hard to get a worthy product. the door panels are still on though, but im not dealing with the fender nightmare again unless somebody wants to pay extremely well

[CarNutCertifies]

how about some pics of the progress...please

[icebox187]

sorry no pics, havent taken any, ill take pics of the first fender in the next couple days

[icebox187]

it cripples me to say that the deposits are now being refunded, who knows what the future holds, but for now i am in over my head..... i have an 8 mos pregnant girlfriend that is driving me crazy while i keep pressing, ive ended up taking too many shortcuts due to this and the compressor and the pva upsets, and now im turning up very low grade parts that really arent worth selling. to those whos hopes i have lifted i am truly sorry. i aam still going to make an attempt at the side panels in the near future, but honestly the fenders have too many corners, its nearly impossible to make a one piece mold. and i had a plan for that in the beginning, but i tried to do the one piece after everything started going against me and im paying for it now. it didnt work. i wont take deposits for future projects, ive invested over 1000 into this project, and thats why i took deposits. i really wanted to ensure i would make my money back at least, but before i dump any more i have to hang the towell. its taking me about a week to make 1 piece, and at that rate i wouldnt be done for a long time....... especially if that one piece i just spent a week on isnt sellable.... well enough babbling, and to the refunds, again i am sorry

[funkmaster]

Now you all know why it costs so much money to have a truly nice custom FG or CF part made.
Its why the Houseman kit costs $1750, not $500.

Hats off to you icebox for even giving it a go.
I wouldnt give up though, try some smaller/easier parts.
I bet if you started making CF B-pillars like the ones 5150 made a while back you could sell those!

[icebox187]

i could make those all day, but im not into the whole cf deal...... function over form

[icebox187]

oh, and the glass involved in the housman kit would probably cost over 500 alone. throw in the gel, and the poly..... hes probably spending 7-1100 just to make them.... thats alot of glass to wrap a whole car basically especially if he uses poly..... my fiberglass days arent over though, i still have a stockpile of material. i just dont think the fenders are worth the trouble now that ive attempted mold/demould...... as soon as i get this thing all the way out, ill take some pics and show what all went wrong... its still useable, just not saleable.... its gonna take some work, but ill probably get it looking good.... i dont want to sale anything with filler though. thats been a big deal for me from the start, and i am definatelly going to use filler on it. but honestly, if someone knows what they are doing, 200 is a good price for a set.... maybe 300 at the most, but they would have to do a 2 or 3 stage/part mold.

[CarNutCertifies]

Just a question, How are these made? If i were to attempt it I would take plaster of paris and (alot) and make a pressed in mold and then lay the fg into that and let it set and relayer and repeat and when it gets thick enough put put in the stiffiners and relay over the stiffiners and mounting points....Is this how this is done? Now I am just guessing I have never attempted anything out of FG or CF....

[crxls]

...its still useable, just not saleable.... its gonna take some work, but ill probably get it looking good.... i dont want to sale anything with filler though. thats been a big deal for me from the start, and i am definatelly going to use filler on it. ...

im not sure about everyone else but i wasnt expecting a part i could just hang and go with. any fiberglass piece needs final fitment work. to add to that it needs to sit in the sun mounted on the car for a while before the work is done and paint is applied because there is shrinkage and warpage that happens (these little pricks in civic's with primered bodykits arent as "ricy" as most think). im not sure if you ever seen the $1700+ mugen repro kit in person but i have and it deffinitely isnt a hang and go kit. some filler and fitment issues ARE expected with fiberglass pieces. with that said, im interested in seeing these pic's because it sounds to me like your expectations just might be higher than mine. either way, if your not happy with the end product and dont want to sell, im ok with that. just remember our phone conversation, most will be pleased with a product but there will always be someone to bitch no matter what.....

[icebox187]

Just a question, How are these made? If i were to attempt it I would take plaster of paris and (alot) and make a pressed in mold and then lay the fg into that and let it set and relayer and repeat and when it gets thick enough put put in the stiffiners and relay over the stiffiners and mounting points....Is this how this is done? Now I am just guessing I have never attempted anything out of FG or CF....

no, not at all...... you clean and wax the orriginal part then apply pva (poly vinyl alcohol) although hairspray has been used successfully (20 coats either way) then lay tooling gelcoat (they say with a gun, but i brushed it on my last mold with success) then 10 hours later (under normal conditions) start building up layers of mat and epoxy or poly resin..... you dont wait between layers, they cure together better if you layer it all at once..... it takes at least 6 layers to make a mold that will last (i took a shortcut and only did 3 layers..... my mold tore apart taking the part out) all the bubbles have to be worked out of the layup with a roller.... alll of them. then you wait a couple of days to ensure the gelcoat is fully cured on the inside, then pull it all off..... they sell chisels to do it, but i just pull and blast air between....... a dremel is good to free up around bolt holes btw, then do it all backwards (3 coats though, and normal gelcoat with wax) to make the part


crx ls, the part turned out pretty good, but as i said a few sentences ago my mold is tore all to hell..... id have to start all over..... im still going to make another mold for the drivers side, and we'll see how it turns out, but likely it wont be reuseable.... im going to try a couple of different techniques, to see what i can do....... the orriginal 5 will have dibs if i start the project back up....... but the timeframe is looking way longer than what i told everybody and i cant justify holding the deposits any longer, because i am not as sure of myself as i was a month ago.... and i cant afford to make a new mold everytime

[badpenny]

Did these turn out? If not, was everyone refunded?