I am in the process of planning custom fender flares for my brothers truck as he is eventually gonna go with 12-13" wide wheels and will need new fender flares other than stock. Below are stock and what I would like to achieve. I have thought of going the foam board and expanding foam route, but have read bad things on foam because it keeps expanding. I have also thought of building up with wax but I don’t think I have the expertise for shaping wax or clay.
Which ever way I go I will have the original fender flat on a table and the stock flare mounted. I was thinking I could either just make it all one piece ( the flare and the fender) than cut the fender off and have a partial plug. Or, I could build the part that will be added and have it conform with the fender and flare, then bond and finish the plug.
Any help is appreciated!!!
Are you going to be taking a mould from this and remaking the parts, or are you just wanting to modify the originals?
If you are making a mould, then the foam route is the easiest. Don’t use the single pack foam you get from a hardware, it doesn’t work so well. Extruded polystyrene or polyurethane foam will work great and are very easy to work.
I want to make a new part by adding foam to the the old flare which will act as a guide. Once the new shape is finished I will make a mold of the new part.
Definitely foam then.
I would get some urethane foam board. It is rigid, stable, and uniform. It is also easy to shape. If cost is an issue, the 2 lb density stuff will work but you need to be gentle. It is easy to break off details like sharp corners and such. It is so brittle, you can even shape it with your fingers (no sandpaper needed :D). Higher densities (6-12 lb) still work easy but aren’t as prone to incidental damage.
Very interesting, I would love to see progress pictures. I am making some CTS-V body parts