What is the best uv protecting liquid to lay up aluminized fiberglass? Is a gelcoat necessary? Epoxy?
Anyone have a picture of a part done with this material?
Silver eglass looks very good, and parts we make use modified clear poly resin system, and no gel-coat.
I’d like to see pictures of this too.
There was some pictures on here that were blue alumized and other photos too…
Firstly before thinking about making any Eglass products, it would be a very good idea to see if you have a source of material, that you are able to work with.
Have tried French made eglass, which is very stiff and just about useless, so get some sample material and give it a try first.
Thank you guys, and for letting me know how the French eglass is stiff. That could present a problem because the part is all deep countoured ( front fender for a sport motorcycle ). Is the material FibreGlast sells French made? ( looking at the silver color )
http://www.fibreglast.com/showproducts-category-Aluminized+and+Black+Fiberglass-132.html
I also found this info for the material… .014 thick ‘may’ work for this, i’m not sure. http://www.fibreglast.com/documents/381.pdf
I wonder if spray painting a twill weave cloth with aluminum spray paint would give the same or very similar visual appearance upon viewing through the epoxy coating? Anyone done this with their cloths before… spray paint them?
Sorry for being a post-whore here but I have all this great info i found haha.
Here is an aluminized fiberglass part for a chevy engine cover. http://www.carbling.com/pics/f-body/f%20intake%20cover.jpg
Aluminized fiberglass can be layed up just the same as regular fiberglass or carbon fiber. A clear gelcoat can be used, but is not necessary. Epoxy can be used for more strength, but is generally reserved for stronger parts using carbon.
Pics of some small Texlium parts we’ve made:
the paint will blister and peel when you put the resin over it.
I tried using some silver spray paint under some silver cloth to hide any weave seperations…it didnt work.
I guess i won’t be using spray paint, it’s ok i’ll try the aluminum fiberglass cloth.
Where do you buy the texilium cloth from?
I wonder if it’s the type of paint? I’ve sprayed metallic blue (car touch up paint) and coated with epoxy and had no problems.
I doubt you could get the same look as the silver fiberglass though. I may give it a try with some silver heat paint I have.
Are the black and silver alernating weaves, or is that just the lighting?
Silver eglass is made by spraying with aluminuim, not paint. I guess if paint would have worked ok, thats what the manufacturer would have used also.
[QUOTE=TET]Aluminized fiberglass can be layed up just the same as regular fiberglass or carbon fiber. A clear gelcoat can be used, but is not necessary. Epoxy can be used for more strength, but is generally reserved for stronger parts using carbon.
Is this how these “carbon fiber” products were built?
A bright blue tint over 2x2 twill, with no hint of CF that I can see.
How does one do the tint? I’d like to do a gauge panel for my boat with this look. I just haven’t bee able to identify the system yet. Or is this just the 2x2 eglass? Seems like the gelcoat I’ve seen was solid vs a tint that would let you see the weave.
The first pic seems like blue tinted clear gelcoat, then layed up with silver Texalium.
The muffler canister appears to simply be made with blue Texalium.
Ok. Thats go to know. Now the rest of the story.
I used silver Texalium to redo the gauge panel/sonsole on a boat two year ago. The panel had very soft compound curves but were still a challenge with the Texalium.
The new project I’m investigating now has fairly extreme compound curves and edges. I can’t imagine the Texalium working for me.
My plan is to make a plug of the panel and produce a mold that I could use to produce dups for owners of similar boats.
The question goes back to a system.
Will this system reliably produce a quality product
- Translucent blue gelcoat
- 2x2 twill fiberglass formed to provide a pattern similar to carbon fiber twill
- Build up witrh structureal Fibergalss matt
again I’m shooting for the following (check the picture)look.
Thanks for your help!
A
Everything sounds good, except for #3. Use 6-10oz cloth instead of mat.
Thanks!!
Everyone thats sees my idea thinks I’m nuts. I want to create a very 3D set of tubes that house Livorsi Monster gauges in the ends. Traditional this treatment would fade straight forward into the hull of the boat (a treatment common to most models of Eliminator boats). Instead I want to create a “bed of snakes” where the tubes twist and turn prior to them disappearing into the hull. If you can picture the headers that were on the old F1 v12s that is that look I want to achieve. I think the effect of complex curves in a bright twill pattern laying across a clean and otherwise stark white hull will be outragous.
We’ll see!
It does sounds like a true test of trail and error, but anything is possible. Try some small test panels with records of the %'s used.
Need some small amounts of transparent blue pigments or some solid Blue pigments too?
Keep us up to date on your progress…
It wasn’t CF but there was a show car a while back done by Pioneer ( I think) that had a bunch of “tentacles” protruding from the dash, etc with gauges on the ends of them. It reminded me of some anime where the pilot sits down and all the instruments stretch out around him.
Your project sounds way more coplex, any pictures of what you’re planning to do?