Fibreglass moulds

[Tannerman]

Right I gotta crazy ass idea which if works will look the dogs danglies...BUT...I need to make my own fibreglass mould..were the hell do I start??any fabricators on here then could gimme some ideas?

[Bedford126]

you need's Gel coat fibre glass matting proper resin (not fast glass) a fibreglass roller a stiff brush and gloves lots of gloves.

First step is to make a plug. basically the shape you want from something like wood or better still mould making foam. shape it up to how you want it then give it a coat of primer this will show up any imperfections then you need to fill and sand until its perfect. Then you need to paint the plug with 2k paint and get a perfect finish as this will end up being your moulding surface finish.

Then you basically cover the whole plug in mould wax and give it 2 coats of gel coat then leave that to dry. Then start applying your glass fibre onto the top making sure to use mdf as a brace to keep the mould rigid and movement free and make sure you have no air bubbles in the fibreglass at all.

once you have done all this you have the negative for your mould.

if its a complicated mould you will need to make it in 2-3 different sections so you can remove it when done.

[Tannerman]

Kk bit more complicated than I thought but I'm still gonna give it a crack

Thanks for that mate

[iw_laurence]

google it?

[Tannerman]

When u say "negative"does that mean it's the opposite side to what you want showing?so you make the mould like the negative is the "showing"side?

[Tannerman]

google it?

That's easy to say but u get so many different ways to do it it's just easier if someone spells it out for you

[Bedford126]

When u say "negative"does that mean it's the opposite side to what you want showing?so you make the mould like the negative is the "showing"side?

Yeah you got it mate.

[iw_laurence]

http://carbonmods.co.uk/Products/Carbon-Fibre-Mould-Making-Kit__CMMMK750.aspx

[Tannerman]

Yeah you got it mate.

Lol.thanks for ya help mate

[bainesy2011]

saying roughly what you want to make would help

[Bedford126]

saying roughly what you want to make would help

Why would it the moulding proses is the same no matter what the object he wants to make.

[iw_laurence]

well im guessing it will be slightly different if you are moulding a saxo door to a fog light blank for example, as one would be double skinned and would need two moulds also the type of finish you want and material you use are all factors you want to consider...

[Damask]

for a sub enclosure, people have just used the resin on fabric, with filler to smooth, and some fibreglass inside as a reenforcement.
To make a plug is generally for reproducing more than one, or for something needing very thick fibreglass (my dad used to make toy bus's for merry go rounds, they hade to make a 7 piece plug for that)

Iirc, wassy said 4mm of fibreglass has the same propertys as 25mm of mdf, so should be fine for a sub enclosure...

Here, have a video How to build a Fiberglass Subwoofer enclosure (fleece/resin stage) - YouTube

Im not claiming bedfords method is wrong or inferior, it would probably make alot stronger enclosure, and if this method has any flaws, i'd love to know them as im planning my own boot build in the near future :)

[bainesy2011]

well im guessing it will be slightly different if you are moulding a saxo door to a fog light blank for example

spot on, not always the same way

[Bedford126]

Iirc, wassy said 4mm of fibreglass has the same propertys as 25mm of mdf, so should be fine for a sub enclosure...

Think you will find that was me.

A mould is a mould you use the same method to make any mould you just make them in different sizes or one or more peices.

A sub enclosure is nothing like a mould as the structure is left in place.

Considering I use to do this every day for 3 years I think I know how its done ask any one on here who I give advise to over the phone such as wassy. If I don't know how to do it I will say But the stuff I know how to do i will tell you the propper way to do it so the end product is the best it can be and close to perfect.

[Damask]

ah right, sorry i assumed the op was making an enclosure.
I've only just started looking into making my own, so the video above was the method i'd looked into for making it.
are moulds better for sub enclosures then, or overkill? Like i said, i wasnt trying to prove you wrong at all, just showing the way i'd seen, and pointing out that the only experience of it i had was through my dad :)

[Bedford126]

ah right, sorry i assumed the op was making an enclosure.
I've only just started looking into making my own, so the video above was the method i'd looked into for making it.
are moulds better for sub enclosures then, or overkill? Like i said, i wasnt trying to prove you wrong at all, just showing the way i'd seen, and pointing out that the only experience of it i had was through my dad :)

A mould is for something completely different. What your building for your sub enclosure is called a Form you make a basic shape from MDF or sound board then stretch a fleece over the top and add resin to make it solid. This is perfectly fine as it needs a solid structure to mount heavy subs and amps to.