| It was only a year ago that I thought up this crazy | | | | product. A mold can be a simple one piece, or |
| project. Somehow, I had got it into my mind that I | | | | multi-piece production and is usually built from |
| was going to completely customize the exterior of | | | | fiberglass. It should have a thickness of four times |
| my Toyota Mr2 Turbo. | | | | that of your finished product. This prevents warping |
| I had big plans! I wanted to build a custom fiberglass | | | | while your products are curing. |
| front bumper, complete with an aero-splitter and | | | | 3. Prepare the mold - After you've created a mold |
| flush mount headlights. Along with that I would build | | | | and detached it from the plug, there are some |
| side skirts and a rear bumper. | | | | precautions that you need to take in order to ensure |
| The task was daunting, and I would surely need | | | | that you will get the best "pull". Just as you did with |
| specialized tools and machinery that I had no access | | | | the plug, you need to wax the inside of the mold to |
| to. | | | | a glossy finish. The better the finish is, the easier |
| Boy was I wrong! All I needed to know, was some | | | | your final part will detach from the mold, and the |
| basic fiberglass techniques and I would be on my | | | | better it will look! |
| way. | | | | 4. Lay your part - Using a wet layup technique is the |
| So, after scouring the web and going to every book | | | | best bet for home based fiberglass fabricators. First, |
| store in an attempt to find a manual on how to | | | | apply a gelcoat to the entire mold. This acts as a |
| fiberglass, I took to the garage to create my | | | | thick top layer and prevents glass fibers from |
| masterpiece, learning the hard way. The techniques | | | | showing through. Then, lay down some fiberglass |
| were fairly simple, the execution was the tricky part. | | | | cloth. Thoroughly wet out the glass with resin (which |
| The steps boiled down to four basic steps: | | | | you mixed according to manufacturer specs), and |
| 1. Create a plug - A plug is the original part or design | | | | dab with a paintbrush to remove any air bubbles. |
| that you wish to replicate. You can build a plug from | | | | Once your part dries, remove it from the mold and |
| a variety of materials including foam, MDF, drywall | | | | finish sand it. If you took care to wax the plug and |
| mud, body filler, fiberglass, etc. The important part | | | | mold along the way, there should be very little finish |
| about the plug is that it be exactly what you want | | | | work to do. Simply sand, paint and install your new |
| your finished product to look like. This means that it | | | | part. With these basic techniques almost anyone can |
| needs to be sanded perfectly smooth and finished to | | | | build anything they can put their mind to, from their |
| the best of your abilities. When you are finished with | | | | very own garage. Fiberglass isn't limited to car parts |
| your plug, it is imperative that you wax the surface | | | | either. Many companies use custom fiberglass |
| to make it mirror smooth. | | | | fabrication to build products such as tubs, sinks, |
| 2. Build a mold - A mold is a negative version of your | | | | furniture, RC cars, even taxidermy! |
| plug. Essentially it is an inverted version of your final | | | | |