Right - looking for some advice from the collective masses. Never done any fibreglassing before and think I'm over thinking it.

For my Duratec I need to make an airbox to go under the bonnet with a cold air feed from the front of the car.

Airbox will be something like this - but shaped / profiled to fit my layout




To go in the inlet pipe I've got a pipecross filter from one of their airboxes like these

http://www.thepipercrossshop.co.uk/replacement-integral-filter-for-px600-air-box-c6000_p23375847.htm

I've got some Celotex foam which I understand should be ok with resin. My plan now is to make a mould so carve the foam to shape, cover in filler, sand smooth and paint. Once set coat in PVA.

Looking at the shape of the airbox, I will need a split mould, but where is the best place to split it? Only the pipe end needs to be split moulded I think so do I just make a 'right-angled' piece for that end?

I have been looking at using the Easy-lam resin. Do I also need to use a gelcoat, and is it worth adding pigment to the final item?

What is the best weight of fibreglass matting to use and how many layers should I use?

Is it better to stiple on the resin with a brush or use a small roller? I assume the brushes/rollers cannot be cleaned so need to by a few?

I have also seen various paddle/washer type rollers for getting any air out - is one better than the other?

Sorry for all the questions and thanks in advance.

[Edited on 13/1/15 by davidimurray]

Have a watch of the videos in this
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=195477

Its carbon, but the mould making is much the same

quote:

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Originally posted by blakep82
Have a watch of the videos in this
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=195477

Its carbon, but the mould making is much the same

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Ha ha oh yeah, well, watch it again!

Wear gloves, do not touch your face arms body clothes hair (your ears and nose will start to itch, it's the law) as everything that comes in contact with the resin gets stuck and buy a load of disposable rollers and brushes.

I have had a couple of goes, made 4 arches, the front ones are still going well

Struggled with pin holes so filled, sanded and painted the finished product.

[Edited on 13/1/15 by mark chandler]

Ive done three fiberglass roofs in the last few years, always use brushes with bare wooden handles as the varnish or paint melts off i think

try a couple of small things first.
and where it says a little catalyst/hardener, it means much less than most people expect

edit:
and do it in a reasonably well ventilated area

[Edited on 13/1/15 by gremlin1234]

Brushes, rollers and other things can be cleaned with acetone. You can reuse brushes in the short term if your store them overnight or longer in a pot with a lid and some acetone in the pot.

The right way to measure out the mixture ratio is to measure the weight of the resin in a tub on a small scale, and the amount of catalyst in a small syringe.

For example 1 percent catalyst = 1 cc per 100 grams of resin

Cheers

Fred W B

[Edited on 14/1/15 by Fred W B]

With reference to the hose connector, I purchased a cheap cold air tube from eBay that had 2 spun ally ends, and bonded one to the inside of the box.

Description

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quote:

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Originally posted by gremlin1234
try a couple of small things first.

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Thanks everyone.

Will make some small test pieces first.

On a couple of my questions what are the thoughts about using gelcoat? Is it essential?

Any reccomended fibreglass weights?

Take a look at the easy composites videos - they cover all this in some detail, and it relates directly to their product set, so you can relate to what you need.

How about making the buck out of polystyrene and then dissolving it out with something like petrol? No need to split the mould then. Finish it with coloured flow-coat/gel-coat over tissue.

I've made a start on making a pattern - there are some photos on my engine swap thread here http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/viewthread.php?tid=192871