anyone try this yet??? mold making

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#1

so im in the middle of the dash mold build and im trying something new…

i started yesterday laying glass on the plugs but it was taking wayyyy toooo long because of the cold. layed a heater in front and the heat shrunk the middle causing a wicked bow.

no im changing up to using body filler

what im doing is adding poly resin to bondo mixing and using the cream hardener. curing takes longer but the result is the same. im noticing less shrinkage. what im planning on doing is brushing this mix 1/4" on the plug and laying glass on the backside.

what you guys think. the mixture should saturate into the glass.

from the looks its like using the expensive tooling gel with less money. im pretty sure i can get a dash mold done with a quart of poly resin and a gallon of filler. roughly 30 bux.

any suggestions on a quick way to set flanges around the dashes. i dont really need them but do like them.

i tested this out using a glad ziplock lid. took the fuel pump cover out the 240 and layed 3inch making tape around the edges. waxed the tape and the cover. poured the mix in the glad lid and set the cover on it. the tape kept the cover from sinking and 10 minutes later. a perfect mould… so good i didnt want to primer it. im thinking about trying it with straight wax, no primer and see what happens.

#2

if your making a business of your parts, its important to consider longevity of your tools. invest in proper gelcoat/surface coat and keep a high fiber to resin ratio or else after a couple pulls your mold will begin to break, and not to mention using a proper surface coat or gelcoat the tool will have much less micro purosity then other methods. also being patient while laminating, keeping room temp at a good working temp, and properly attaching a backing structure to your mold will help your tools from warping. also make sure you dont over catalze your resin or laminate too many layers at one given time

#3

your most deffinatelt right. i wont argue with any of these points as they are the best advice anyone can give. im trying new things to cut initial costs tho. im only trying to get at least five pulls.

#4

i use a similar method on most of my one off pieces where there is a significant amount of poly foam moulding, it makes a great top coat… for faster cure, try using the normal 1% mekp mix… it works a little better and dries like concrete…