Making Your Own Hood?

[Pvt. Maggot]

Well, Since i've done the 250r hood on the 300 plastic i've been thinking...and i was thinking about making my own hoods...but..i have no idea how its done lol....i know its fiberglass...but i don't get how they mold them...or how they get the plasticish coating on them...so if anyone could help me out that would be great...if so i'm going to make hoods for about any quad that you can think of..:)

[speedy400]

Flyin#5 here on exriders has made some pretty cool looking hoods for his blaster, he just takes flat plastic, takes a heat gun to it, the heat gun the heat gun makes it bend. my 2 cents-darren

[user101]

u need to fab up a mold...then the fiberglass sheet is applied then u brush on the rsin that makes it hard. then u sand and paint it..i guess

[lil400exman]

got a welder a anvil a tape measure, file some hammers and there you go.......besides a metal one would look bad!:macho

[FTR250Rnif]

Originally posted by lil400exman
got a welder a anvil a tape measure, file some hammers and there you go.......besides a metal one would look bad!:macho
it'd look good but it would be heavy as a *******!:blah:

[lil400exman]

Originally posted by FTR250Rnif
it'd look good but it would be heavy as a *******!:blah:
not if you made it light and tacked in support ribs. with a good MIG and even a wire welder you could it fine. you wouldnt need a whole lot on it. support ribs would look badarse on the outside with zipties like this X to the plastic. look kinda frankenstinish:macho

[Pvt. Maggot]

lol..i'm sure i could do that...cuz my dad does heating and air work..so i could make proto types with sheet metal and make frames for them kinda...but they def wouldn't hold up in crashes no matter what you made it out of...lol..so i think the fiberglass thing is a better idea lol what could i make a mold out of...thats the only thing i'm stumped with..

[drifterx]

You could make a mold from clay or something like that.

[Rip_Tear]

You can make a mold out of, well what ever you want. Some ideas, foam, wood, even a wire frame. Then you get the fibre glass mesh, apoxy (there are a bunch of chemicals) and you apply them to the mesh and thats a basic hood, you would have to cut the access off after and sand it. To make the cool colors and stuff you can paint it, or find a way to apply it in the apoxy. You could probaly find a good book on how to fibre glass stuff.

I took a boat building course, we had to apply fibre glass to canoe's and other boats like that. I can't remember all the chemicals though. Good luck.

[queenjr]

Drive down to Va and I will show you how. I dont mind at all.

[Pvt. Maggot]

well if i could i would hah..thanks for the offer...could you try and explain it to me somewhat through pm? i just need to know the basics..thanks man.

[queenjr]

Call Mark at 15615881001. He can explain it to you and sell you what you need to make them. If you get confused call me. 17579864544

[ATC600X]

couldnt you make one out of metal and spray somethin on it so it wont stick like that stuff for food??

[ZRider400]

that sounds like something that would be fun to do.....lol

make the mold out of like foam or something. that would be the easiest to shape.

the question is.....how thick would you need to make the fiber glass? 1 sheet is pretty damn thin so you might need more than 1. (to make it strong)

and how would you color it ..... like make it black. the sheets ive seen come in a white/silverish color.

[ATC600X]

you r right, i aint even got a clue, it looks like they cover em in a plastic or somethin e-mail quad-tech

[YLW400]

Is that all resin transfer molding, queen?

[Ralph]

if think you have to have a mold of some sort, maybe just a piece of sheet metal on a sandbag that u hammer into shape.

or i know a guy who makes all his own carbon fiber parts and im pretty sure he just uses the stock pieces as molds, ie air boxes or whatever...

[YLW400]

The only problem with using stock pieces that are plastic is, if your resin is not a room temperature cure, and has to be cured at elevated temp, you have to insure that the plastic can withstand the cure temp.

[Ralph]

Originally posted by YLW400
The only problem with using stock pieces that are plastic is, if your resin is not a room temperature cure, and has to be cured at elevated temp, you have to insure that the plastic can withstand the cure temp.

i guess....

[Rip_Tear]

I would think 2 or 3 layers would be enough. The idea of using a stock part would be good, just cover it in paper or something so that the resin doesnt stick to the original.

Another word of caution, sanding resin is very bad for your health. You really should be in a very well ventilated area (out side) and have a higher grade breathing mask on...

[Ralph]

where could i buy this resin and everything else etc...

[Ralph]

right direction???

http://www.fibreglast.com/showproducts-category-Building+Materials-22.html

[Rip_Tear]

Originally posted by Ralph
where could i buy this resin and everything else etc...

I checked your link, but I am not really sure any more of what everything is exactly. We use to go to a wood boat buidling store that sold everything like that... You might try going to some where that repairs fibreglass boats or something and ask them.

[Ralph]

what is involved in making the molds? foam or metal or ???

[Rip_Tear]

That would be up to you really. The only thing I am not sure of is how you would get it off the mold, unless you used paper or something inbetween the mold and fibreglass. It would definately take a few tries to get it exactly how you want it. With foam you could mold/carve it fairly easily to get the shapes you want.

[Ralph]

well i read something and i think they leave something like a dome at the top and then put an airvalve in there and then fill in the dome with clay and make it smooth, then when the mold is done and hard u just put on a little pressure and "Pop" u got the mold out...

[queenjr]

YLW400


Keeping it simple would be just doing a wet layup for fiber glass. To do transfer he would need a pump. After making your mold, you would spray it with a release agent, die the fiberglass gell coat to the color you want and back it with fiberglass. Gell coat can be brushed on but it looks better if you spray it. Start with a lite weight fabric for the first layer and use a heavy (20 oz)behind it. Fiberglass is simple. As far as a release agent some like wax parafilm, I use PVA. Fiberglast.com is high. Try shopmaninc.com for small quantities.

[YLW400]

Yea, transfer molding can be a pain if you don't know what you are doing. I work for an aerospace company up here in Delaware, and I deal alot (daily) with carbon, and glass. We make isogrid structures for space applications here. How do you apply your PVA? I like to heat the mold a little bit and use an airbrush, works pretty well...

[kicken250x]

ive built many bumpers and wide body kits for cars. what ive always done made a mold out of that spray foam that comes in the cans like you use for filling in cracks in concrete or 1/32 thick sheet metal. for the more complex things like bumpers and side skirts i use the foam, for larger, flater things i use metal. but thats JUST for the mold. when i get the general shape i want i take and smooth it all out with sheet rock puddy or bondo in a whole lot of thin layers so it will dry and not crack. then i spray a little water in the mold (just a mist) so i can get some either suran(sp?) or shrink wrap to stick in so i can pull the finished piece out without it sticking to the mold. then ill lay the mesh over the mold, apply the resin, put high heat lights on it to dry. once it is dry and hard the surface is rough so ill sand it with 80,180,220,320 (in that order) then smooth it all out with bondo and high build primer and wet sand it all with 400 for paint.

im not sure if that made since, if its the right way, or if its the best way. but that is how ive always done it, i tought myself how and anything i have done has always came out good.

[queenjr]

YLW400
I shoot all my release agents through a HVLP gun. I go through Delaware quite often. I pit for a Pro Mod driver that races all over. There is a pic of his car on my site on the "My Projects" page.

[YLW400]

Thats cool queenjr, does he race in Delaware? There is a 1/4 miles track down in Delmar....We have Mason Dixon back in WV also......There is another place in Jersey too I believe....

[queenjr]

We pretty much just pass through Delaware. Colonial beach was the last race.