Guage pod mold questions...

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#1

Been a while since I have been on here, but was working a lot and not making enough money to continue with carbon. I now have a new job and time to kill in the evenings and on the weekends…

I have read and read and read… and think I have a good idea of how to do it, but want to see if someone can give me a good rundown of what exactly i need to do.

I want to make a mold of my 3 gauge A-pillar pod and then make a carbon version. I know I need to get coat the plug, sand, polish, and then wax it. But when it comes time to make the mold, how is the best way to do it??? How many layers of fiberglass should I use (I want to be able to reuse the mold at least a few times)???

If I want a glossy, smooth clear finish I need to gel or clear it after it comes out of the mold correct???

Finally… The best way to do something curvy like that is with a vacuum bag right??? If so, how hard is this and what will I need to buy to setup/make my own vacuum bagging setup??? I have some larger items in mind to do next (my dash trim that extents all the way across the car).

Thanks for all the help you have given me so far… I just want to hopefully take my carbon fibering further and make some custom parts for my car.

Ben

#2

Wow… post counter must have been reset when the board moved… lol now I am a newbie again

#3

You first need to rough up the surface of the pillar first. take your plug and spray some duratec surfacing primer and you can add the high gloss additive to it as well if you like. Sand this completly smooth. then buff that to a gleaming shine. Then add a PVA or a parting wax. You want the plug to be as shiney and glossy as possible, because when you pop a part out of the mold, if the mold surface is very glossy then your parts will be glossy and take less prep when you are done. Your mold surface will be identical to the surface of you plug gloss wise. You mold should be about double the thickness of the part you want to pop out of it. just take your time an exspect to mess up a couple times in the process of learning. When it comes to making your part you put the gel coat or top coat right in the mold and lay on top of that. I will let Evan or Dan exsplain the bagging part, and make sure to get your stuff from Evan here on the forum.

#4

:smiley: I’ll let Evan take the ball on this one, I suck at explaining things online.

#5

Fixed

#6

You are too funny :lol:

#7

Fine… I’ll bite

A guage pillar like that isn’t exactly a good part to work on as your first project. You’ll end up trashing a lot of scrap pieces and it’ll be costly. I can show you how to make them in person and you’ll still have a hard time with it. My best suggestion is to leave this project aside and pick a simpler one to get started. The best thing I can think of is to try and make the other pillar on the passenger side. That way you can get stared and log enough hands on time which will help you tremedously once you’re ready to move on to the next project. It also means you don’t have to spend a lot of money on a vacuum bagging setup immediately.

#8

Alright… well I think I have all the materials to actually make the other pillar, I just need everything to get started on the mold… Might be ordering some stuff from you here shortly… Have to hold off probably a few weeks though as two of my rims are forming cracks so I am replacing them all :cry:

#9

that sucks. how’s that happen?