Just somthin I always think about.... Creating a fiberglass body using the origional buick body. LIke for the fenders laying a type of non stickto the metal then forming the fiberglass to the fender itself. seem simple enough. I know that fiberglass turns out rough but can be smoothed with either bondo or glazing putty. Doing the same with bumpers, even a grill, Q+Can you still chrome fiberglass parts? What would be hard though would be doing the actual body of the car. Just think of the weight reduction hey! I wanna see some RESPONSE lets get some ideas flowin boy'os Peace out
it's defantly do able. look into some canoe/boat building books. they have how to make fiberglass molds. the book can be from the 70's and it will basicly be the same. in theory you could lay carbon fiber or kevlar too. you will need to build a frame to put on the inside of the parts though. nate check here http://www.valsparcomposites.com/moldmakerepair/1introduction.htm also http://boatdesign.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=20 http://boatdesign.net
I have no idea if this will work, but I'd like to try it and see. Use a large cardboad box or make a wood box large enough for what you want to make. Place the part inside, raising it up off the bottom if needed. Then take a sheet of plastic and pull it tight over the part possibly even using a vacuum cleaner to help pull it down. Fill the box with expanding foam (like you get at Lowes) and criss cross some wood strips or something to give it strength to hold it's shape. After the foam sets up turn the box over and remove the bottom. Pull the part out and then lay the fiberglass in the plastic. I wonder how hard it would be to take an all fiberglass chevelle body and make it look like a GS?
yAH FOR Sure, maybe after you pull the fender off the hardend foam, coat the foam with some kinda of laquer to make it smooth so you wont have to use so much bondo over everything after. good idea though, WOnder what you'd do for a whole body, (firewall back) maybe make 2 sides and then join it together??? Keep em postin
DO NOT USE THAT KIND OF FOAM! it will not create what you are wanting. Just for credentials, I am a plastics designer for a major car audio company, so I have a little experience in this arena. I have considered building plastic bumpers for some time now, would people be interested? It really is quite simple, but be prepared to ruin some parts! The only way to get quality parts it use the original un-covered parts and build a mold of that. What is EXTREMELY important is to use the right materials and prepare the part to be molded. Use molding wax, available from boat builder suppliers and mail order, the best results come by waxing 3 times to ensure proper coverage, then spraying PVA (poly-vinyl alcohol) on the part. The PVA create a film that allows the mold to come off the part easily. The substrate for the mold could be many things, it all depends on how many times you are going to use the mold to create new parts, and what type of material you plan on using to create the part. If you are planning on building more than a couple of parts, I would use fiberglass. Foam can be used, using a wood or cardboard box, you would pour at least 4 pound foam, if not 8 pound, into the box with the part to be molded suspended in the box, allowing the foam to envelope the part. Then you would cut away the foam until the part can be removed. Not the best way for the type of parts you would be building here. I would use the fiberglass method. Start by pouring gelcoat over the waxed and PVA'd part. The gel coat will yield mold that won't have alot of flaws or grain from the glass. If you buy a fiberglass chopper gun and a resin gun, you would save alot of time and get better results. brush or spay resin over the part, then lay or use a chopper gun to spray fiberglass onto the part. do this in layers until it you have a part that is at least 1" thick. Don't mix your resin to hot or it will warp. Also don't use finish resin (walmart, most body shops carry finish resin) since it leaves a wax that needs to be sanded off before the next layer goes on, instead use lamintating resin, again, boat supply house can get you this. Once this has fully cured, you can removed the original part and do the same process to creat the new parts. If you use gelcoat the new part will be paint ready and look as good as the original part. If you have any questions, email me. Jeffersonjbrant @yahoo.com hope this helps.
By the way, one of the resons you don't want to use the lowe's-type foam is that it will have large voids (air bubbles) and whn you apply the resin, it will melt (as will most plastics that you could cover it with, anything that won't melt, couldn't be pulled tught enough to get the detail needed for the mold. Alo you have to be careful of not creating negatives, so the part can't release.
