bigboybanshee Posted December 15, 2003 Report Share Posted December 15, 2003 I was thinking earlier about fiberglassing my plastics for durability and ease of taking a quality paint. Anyone ever doen this before or know someone who has? If so, what were the results? Theoretically speaking it should work out pretty good; in turn I should have a stronger plastic and be able to "re-shape" it a little to produce a smoother look...Please, if anyone has any thoughts or ideas regarding this let me know, I'm thinking of doing it over the Christmas holidays and would highly appreciate your opinions. Thanks!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wallrat Posted December 15, 2003 Report Share Posted December 15, 2003 I did some fiberglassing on my street bike fairing to repair some damaged areas. Worked really good too. Also I repaired some major cracks in a freinds ATC plastic. Both came out very strong, never had to worry about it again. Only thing is that you have to use epoxy since polyester resins don't like plastic. Just make sure to sand with some 220 grit beforehand so the resin has something to grab. Oh and a good lightweight filler is mandatory for a good finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigboybanshee Posted December 15, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2003 THANKS Wallrat, that is the kind of stuff I wanna hear! Anyone else try this and have different results/tips? Thanks again Wallrat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chemical Castration Posted December 15, 2003 Report Share Posted December 15, 2003 HS Customs has a one piece fiberglass body Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigboybanshee Posted December 15, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2003 Thanks Lefty, that's kinda what I had in mind for this project. I was hoping to mold the radiator plastic with the tank plastic to make one smooth piece, without paying a small fortune for it. Thanks again!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
banshee370 Posted December 16, 2003 Report Share Posted December 16, 2003 I have done lots of glassing in the past. and I will add my opinion. For you to have something thats strong enough, it will be HEAVY. Much heavier than stock. Do you plan to glass over the stock plastic or make your own? I will recommend against glassing OVER the stock plastic and heres why. Your going to apply a hard and brittle product over a soft pliable one. I also think you would have adheasion problems but thats a whole diff ballgame. Now if you plan to make your own.... You will want more glass sheeting and less resin for strength. Just resin is very brittle and will crack/break easily. If you have any more questions feel free to ask... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigboybanshee Posted December 16, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2003 THANKS 370! I just might be taking you up on some advice...If I were to NOT lay the fiberglass over the plastics and create my own separate "shell"...what would be a good thing to use to mold it? I was thinking of laying something on the plastics, molding over that and once the shell was hard, somehow take it off the plastics and finish from there...Does that make any sense? I'm really wanting to do this now and I DON'T want to F' it up...Thanks a million for your help!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cotton eyed Joe Posted December 16, 2003 Report Share Posted December 16, 2003 Thats what I was thinking. Just use your old plastics for a mold, and I think you could just spray some mold release shit on the plastics before you start laying 'glass. I've never used fiberglass before. I saw it used once by a neighbor about 14 years ago with horrific results. He had a trike that my dad helped him fab, and then one sunday afternoon they (not my dad, but the burned out neighbors) put up sheets of plywood, and then fiberglasses this "shell" over the top of it. Then they painted it Krylon Blue. It looke like a big blue Comanche helicopter with a Volkswagon engine, and a really shitty interior. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigboybanshee Posted December 16, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2003 Thats what I was thinking. Just use your old plastics for a mold, and I think you could just spray some mold release shit on the plastics before you start laying 'glass. That's the idea, I almost wanted to say spray some type of cooking spray for lack of better terms and the mold should just pop off the plastics... :lol: but I figured everyone would look at me like I was crazy...Maybe there is some kind of lube I could spray on the plastics beforehand to get the desired result. Hell, I don't know...I'll figure it out. Thanks for the help/advice EVERYONE!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
banshee370 Posted December 16, 2003 Report Share Posted December 16, 2003 bigboy: Use your bike as the mold. mount the tank and everything where you need it.. Bag up the rest of the bike. Now duct tape the tank around to the radiator. Make sure you have several layers, and make sure the tape is tight. In other words dont follow the tank at the upper frame loop... go right from the radiator to the gas tank. Once everything is taped apply a thin light coat of resin. Lay some sheeting down over than and use a brush to pull the resin on the tape through the sheeting by dabbing it w/ the brush. Slowly build up the sheeting and apply the resin in light thin coats. Remember the strength is in the sheeting NOT the resin. One thing to remember... If you used YOUR plastic as a shell or mold... it would be too big and not fit where you need it too... Think of how a mold works... and right now the plastic on a shee came from a mold. If you molded the stock stuff it would be too big and wouldnt fit the shee. I just built a custom set of door pods and kick panels for a chevy pu (stereo system) The first set of kick panels were ruined when my friend cut the wrong area... we decided to make another set rather than fix these. The old set I tried to smash w/ a hammer to throw away... and I couldnt break them. I ended up cutting them w/ a sawzall So do it right and you will have a very strong set of plastic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justintoxicated Posted December 16, 2003 Report Share Posted December 16, 2003 Thanks Lefty, that's kinda what I had in mind for this project. I was hoping to mold the radiator plastic with the tank plastic to make one smooth piece, without paying a small fortune for it. Thanks again!! couldnet you just do that with bondo? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
banshee370 Posted December 16, 2003 Report Share Posted December 16, 2003 Thanks Lefty, that's kinda what I had in mind for this project. I was hoping to mold the radiator plastic with the tank plastic to make one smooth piece, without paying a small fortune for it. Thanks again!! couldnet you just do that with bondo? no strength what so ever with bondo... Bondo is a FILLER for imperfections and is used for appearance only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justintoxicated Posted December 16, 2003 Report Share Posted December 16, 2003 yea but to make the 2 pieces into one I would think bondo would be the easiest way to do it...Works on the plastic on the computer case bezels I modify to create perfectly smooth ducts etc... No flexability, but for that piece (Fuel tank cover and radiator cover) why wouldnet it work? I made a duct like this out bondo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cotton eyed Joe Posted December 17, 2003 Report Share Posted December 17, 2003 HOLY SHIT!! Your computer looks like a space ship. Yeah I didn't think of that Walt. I don't make too many molds at my shop. You got to have your "die" smaller than what you want the finished product. You could always make a "negative" of the bottom side of the plastics, then lay the "positive" on the top side of that. Don't know what you could use for a negative though. B370's idea is less labor intensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
banshee370 Posted December 17, 2003 Report Share Posted December 17, 2003 Justin: When was the last time your pc jumped off a cliff or ran 80-100mph down a 1/4 mile of whoops? How often do your knees bounce off the pc case? Pick up your pc and slam it down on your desk a few times and let me know if the bondo starts to crack I'm joking of course! Bondo is used for cosmetic repairs ONLY. For what your doing its fine... Stan: After seeing what K&T charges for their glass fenders I almost thought about making some myself. With the method I described you could mold what ever design you wanted and have a solid sturdy set of plastics, that would fit your bike perfectly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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