Fiberglass, where to buy

[BlazerSpeed]

I am curious about this. I used to get my resin,hardener, mat and sheets all from the Hobby Lobby by my house. Problem is the dont sell it there anymore. I went to the home depot, and the guy gave me a look like I was caught hiding bodies in my basement! So I am wondering where you other guys that do fiberglass work buy your materials? are there any online stores that have decent prices? I checked eBay for the cloth, but it was all heavy weight 18oz cloth. haha im not building a boat, so I dont need anything that thick. any help would be awesome!
DEREK

[paul67]

Boat builders and its most time cheaper
paul67

[paul67]

I stopped you mention boat builders but they do you the thinner stuff, over here they do in the UK.
paul67

[TonyL]

napa & kragen is where i get mine.

[F70t/a]

Here is a link. This is the best place in my book


Hotdog buns (http://tapplastics.com/)

[ramz69ss]

i get my supplies from a company that makes molds for different businesses,,,,you should be able to find one in your town,,,just do a search with one of these online yellow page sites in your town for fiberglass,,,,or ask diffferent custom car stereo shops in town were they get their supplies,that is how i found my hook-up 12 years ago

[toddshotrods]

Actually Home Depot does sell it. In both of my "local" stores it's in thhe same aisle as the sandpaper and paint brushes. Lowe's has it too, in the paint department. Of course you are paying too much for the little 9 sq.ft. packages of cloth or mat, and it is thinner. Need more:

Aircraft Spruce (http://aircraftspruce.com/)
Fiberglast (http://www.fiberglast.com/)
U.S. Composites (http://www.shopmaninc.com/index.html)

I have more if you want them. Those are the three that I have purchased from. Prompt shipping, good customer service. Aircraft Spruce has great prices, but they can't tell you how much the shipping is going to be until it has been shipped. Sounds scary, but the actual shipping costs have always been what I expected.

Whatcha working on???

[ProdigyCustoms]

Where are you guys getting urethane foam for molding?

[toddshotrods]

Same places. Actually Aircraft Spruce has a nice selection. They have the two-part mix, and a variety in sheets. I'm going to order this one (http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cmpages/lastafoam.php) soon to do the Camaro's rear wing.

[68fusion]

We get ours from Warrior boats...was a Hatteras Yaht place. The guy that runs the place is a car kinda guy so..."what ya making?" tell him about current project and get stuff super cheap. Got a roll of glass 2ftlong with about a 10yrds on it. So it may be a while before we're back... The foam he said is floatation stuff and the smallest amount he can buy is 5 gal and kinda pricey.

[BlazerSpeed]

i do a lot of custom install stereo stuff for friends; IE boxes, center consoles, kick panels etc. My buddy has a Tahoe, and I was going to do a center consol for him to include a monitor, and a computer. Not to mention to do my own stuff. the place i used to get the stuff from was this big ass hobby supply wholesaler called Hobby lobby. I went in there last week and asked where the stuff was (used to be right by the model car kits...always occupied my time) but it was all model rocket stuff now (DAMN YOU ESTES!!!!). I asked the chick, but she said she didnt even know they ever sold it, and obviously had no clue as to what the hell I was talking about. i check a couple of different places in the yellow pages, but most of them carried the different resins (silicon, polyester, gel coat) but not the fabrics. so i figured why not just find a place that can get me everything at once.

I tried one of the stereo places over here, but he said he only uses MDF, which i know is BS cause he did my buddies dads elky's dash cluster.


SIDE-NOTE: hey Todd, what ever happened to your PO Box, i sent you those programs like last september (2004) and i got the package returned about 3 weeks later because no one ever picked it up. Not pissed or anything, just curious.
DEREK

[toddshotrods]

...hey Todd, what ever happened to your PO Box, i sent you those programs like last september (2004) and i got the package returned about 3 weeks later because no one ever picked it up. Not pissed or anything, just curious.
DEREK

Hey, maybe that's what happened?!?! I have never had a P.O. Box! Not sure where you sent them if it was to a Post Office Box! Did you get the address from me? Not sure what happened there. If you ever want to try it again I will email you the correct address.

Another Side Note: What's the name of the forums you frequent for your Blazer? I am using a 4WD box body chassis for one of my projects and am tempted to swap in an AWD transfer case, lower it, yadda yadda...

[blackbeast]

Hey, maybe that's what happened?!?! I have never had a P.O. Box! Not sure where you sent them if it was to a Post Office Box! Did you get the address from me? Not sure what happened there. If you ever want to try it again I will email you the correct address.

Another Side Note: What's the name of the forums you frequent for your Blazer? I am using a 4WD box body chassis for one of my projects and am tempted to swap in an AWD transfer case, lower it, yadda yadda...

check out s-seriesforum.com

or syty.net, for syclones, and typhoons, but they will probably have more knowledge about high-hp awd setups than the regular s-series setups.

these are the two other forums i frequent daily.

[BlazerSpeed]

huh...yeah maybe i copied the address down wrong. oh well. as far as sites for teh blazer go, syty.net is a good one, although they like to stick to their own breeds over blazers and jimmys. i used to go to blazinlow.com, but there are too many 16 yr old jackasses on there and not enough real info. IMO the same goes for s-seriesforums.com and s-series.org, (no offense blackbeast :box: )
the one ive found that has a great amount of info for all aspects of these trucks is v8s10.org some of the projects on there are unreal. Grappler and Wildside especially. the other good thing is that the majority of the guys (and gals) on v8s10 are from the midwest, so its pretty local to me.
aside from that RPM Frank on lateral-g.net(not sure if hes on here too), as well as Myclone on this board are great sources for needed info. haha this got kinda :offtopic: huh? oh well.
DEREK

[BlazerSpeed]

oh, frank i never got the chance to respond to your question about foam. the two things I found that work great are medium density floral foam (that weird teal colored stuff) which is what i like to use primarily because it is readily available and can handle curing and haha 2" rigid insulation. Found the second one out kinda by accident, before i graduated from ark-e-teck-chur school we had a full access shop. the industrial arts guys used to use all our left over (as well as the schools multiple construction sites) 2" pink rigid insulation. They would glue it together in stacks, shave it to the desired shape, tape it and 'glass it. never saw or heard of a reaction to the MEKP or resin itself. so i figure if there is any of that available to ya, haha give it a shot :3rd:
DEREK

[ProdigyCustoms]

Yeah, we have been using stylene, gluing it together, shaping and painting it first. I want to skip that step.

[toddshotrods]

Try the two-part mix. You just have to build a box or structure to contain it. I always tell people to test a little first to make sure it is stable with the type of resin they are planning to use. Nothing worse than having a perfectly carved foam buck, only to see it melt away before your very eyes - don't ask me how I know...

[F70t/a]

Todd,


I seen people use that foam in a can to make molds.It seems like it works.Does that stuff melt with resin?

[toddshotrods]

Nooooo!!! Remember the part where I said...

don't ask me how I know...
I tried it. Can't speak for epoxy or vinylester, but polyester resin completely destroyed a perfectly sculpted foam buck, and left me with a huge mess to clean up after it cured.

I tried again using latex paint and duct tape as a barrier but found the problem to be in the canned foam itself. When the "skin" is removed to shape it, the foam starts distorting. It literally shrinks with nothing more than air! I wish I had taken pictures of it to show you. I tried putting duct tape on as soon as I finished carving to seal it, but it just wrinkled the duct tape as it contracted.

I was using Great Stuff (both red and black cans) so I can't say what the others would do. Again the best method is to test a little before you use it on something important. Make a little blob, carve it and see if it changes shape. If it survives the air test, try painting some catalyzed resin on it. If it survives that, run immediately to your computer and tell us what brand it was!

Tip of the day is to use wood rasps to carve the foam, until you get close.

[F70t/a]

If you applied some fiberglass filler would that help to keep the shape of the foam? This has really been a great thread!!!! :)

[toddshotrods]

If you're referring to an autobody filler, like Tiger Hair, that has fiberglass strands in it - I tried that too. If resin will eat your foam up the filler will too. I was hoping that the filler would set up so fast that it would "freeze" the shape before the foam could distort. The amazing shrinking foam won! It did better than laying up wet fiberglass over it, but not much.

A lot of the stuff I tried, I was conducting experiments to do a series of tech articles on this. I wanted to see what the home builder could use to keep the fiberglass work within the allotted project budget. I have put the articles on hold temporarily though while I consider the legal implications of offering "professional" advice in a litigation-happy world.

My favorite way to finish any type of foam (except the canned variety) is joint compound. I develop the rough (but close) shape quickly with the rasps, then coat it with joint compound. I use the rasps to shape the joint compound too, for the first layer or two, then finish with sandpaper and/or drywall sanding screens. Spray or brush (depending on how smooth of a final surface I want) a couple coats of latex house paint. I get the reject stuff from the paint department at Lowe's, Home Depot, etc. A couple coats of mold release wax, and I like to use a couple coats of PVA mold release film. This is brushed or sprayed (again depending on how smooth I want the final surface). Lay up the fiberglass, and when it hardens I remove the foam from the back. The latex paint and joint compound stick to the fiberglass. I used to carefully scrape this off, but we just found out that a MODERATELY high pressure blast of water will strip the joint compound and paint right off, leaving a perfect fiberglass surface. I have been using this method to make quick molds and parts for years.

The beauty of it is I can use any type of foam I want, without worrying about what the fiberglass will do to it. The only time I really even try to use fiberglass right over foam is for building lightweight sandwiched parts. Then I use foams that were designed for that purpose.

[F70t/a]

Really great info here todd!!! You saved me a lot of time on trying new stuff out and then it not working.

[toddshotrods]

Hope it works for ya. This is why I wanted to do the tech articles. It sucks that you have to think about lawsuits to offer free help, but that's the society we live in these days.

I will probably end up just documenting myself doing various projects and describing what I am doing in each step, "for entertainment purposes". Then back it up with a disclaimer, explaining that it is not a "how to" guide.

Share your results with us, when you try it out.

[F70t/a]

I plan to try it out sometime next week. I will take pics and what products I used. :usa:

[TonyHuntimer]

For those of you living in California...TapPlastics has all the cool stuff you need for doing these fiberglass and plastic jobs. If you don't live in CA, you can go to TapPlastics.com.

For small projects and repairs, this is AWESOME stuff!
convenient spray:
http://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/paa/paapt15.htm

big refill (good size for doing lots of jobs)
http://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/paa/paapt29.htm

Good superglue
http://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/paa/paapt02.htm

The Zip Kicker makes superglue dry instantly. I've repaired the cracked corner (where the screw had been overtightened by some idiot before I got the car) of my speedo bezel in my 68. Rough up the back side of both parts, lay on a little fiberglass mat, some superglue, some zip kicker and VIOLA! The bezel has a corner again. It's been holding together since 1996. Instead of or in conjunction with Zip Kicker, you can also use a light sprinkling of baking soda on the super glue. It helps super glue dry faster and gives the repair a little more "meat."

I'm not sure it works with ABS and it causes "crazing" (unwanted discoloration and cracking) with clear plastics.

I've used it to do some fiberglass work upto 3 inches in diameter. I don't know about using it to do more than that though. It would take a lot of super glue.

Tony~

[toddshotrods]

Nice, thanks. Sounds like it does the same thing as Cool Chem (http://coolchem.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=cyanopoxy&CFID=1185754&CFTOKEN=55345276) , but without the Cool price. I'll definitely give that a try.

[indyjps]

this is exactly the info ive been looking for, any recommended books.

[TonyHuntimer]

I can't think of any really insightful books on fiberglass and plastics. There is one by HP books on fiberglass, but I don't know if it had enough good applicable info. The best avenue I can think of would be to look for a good book on building fiberglass street rods and/or kit cars. I think I recall this book by Tex Smith (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1878772090/qid=1124067941/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/103-8777824-0112645?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) might have been okay.

Just in case you missed an old thread I had posted, A friend had good luck building flares for a car by using expanding foam as a base, drywall tape as a barrier, then drywall mud for the final finish. Then he made a strong mold of the part using fiberglass and 2x4's to keep the shape. Then he had the mold to make as many parts as he needs. If you are really good, you can make a multiple piece mold that bolts together to make compound corners and bends.

Tony~

[Damn True]

You might try West Marine.

[toddshotrods]

this is exactly the info ive been looking for, any recommended books.

I can't recommend any either because I just haven't taken the time to read one. Fiberglast has a Learning Center (http://www.fibreglast.com/contentpages-Learning-Center-286.html) that has some information available free, as well as books and videos. I can't vouch for any of it though, because I haven't had time to look it over yet. I imagine it would be good stuff since they are actually in the business.

Tip of the Day
The biggest mistake I have seen people make with fiberglass is way too much resin. The more resin you have the more brittle and heavy the part is. The strength is in the cloth or mat. When you have just enough resin your part will be lighter and more flexible. It will also warp less from the heat of the sun, down the road.

When you finish, if the fiberglass you just worked on looks smooth and/or really glossy, with just a faint pattern showing through - you have way too much resin in it! You should use a roller anywhere you can to squeeze out the excess resin and air bubbles. I work the other sections with the end of my brush.

[MuscleRodz]

I am feeling generous today so I will give you guys the hookup. WEST SYSTEMS (www.westsystem.com) is where I get my stuff. Any weight cloth, complete resin systems with fillers, good tech manual, newsletters, proper ratio dispensers, the works. Not cheap but I will not use anything else. They have distibuters all over but I buy direct. Enjoy!

Mike

[BlazerSpeed]

there really arent alot of quality glassing books out there. there are alot of overview ones, dont get me wrong, but as far as 'how to' books go. haha good luck. haha one thing to remember...when using MDF, dont try to resin it, dont get it wet....and dont feed it after midnight.
DEREK

[toddshotrods]

I have been working on a Pro Street Vega that is getting a LOT of custom fiberglass. The car belongs to a friend/business associate. It's my design, his money, his car, being built mostly in his shop. I bring some things to my shop when I need my tools and equipment. The theme is a modern interpretation of a old classic. It will be featured on my site soon as Project Remix. Some of the details:

*2005 Mini Cooper headlights
*6-inch cowl with custom ram induction to feed 434 SBC w/Dominator on Dart single plane
*Custom rear fascia with ZR1 tail lights
*Custom dash with carbon fiber gauge panel

I am telling you guys all this because when I get the article ready I am going to show a lot of how the 'glasswork was done. The front clip is getting close so I am about to start carving the dash and rear fascia. I am leaning towards the foam/joint compound method discussed here instead of clay. I will share...

[F70t/a]

Can't wait todd :git: