Fiberglassed Dash

[Bigg Boi]

Anyone have one? Doesnt necessarily have to be in a galant. I'm just wondering about the glare from it onto the windshield. I'm about to fiberglass mine and dont know if I want to do the entire dash, or just the piece that had the plastic vynil on it.

[BlankMan]

Really, you wouldn't get anymore glare from a FG dash than a plastic or vinyl one. It depends on the finish, not the construction material. I assume you will paint or otherwise finish it so stay away from high-gloss paint - stick to matte or even flat - and glare shouldn't be an issue.

J

[midwestgalant]

get it painted gloss
i think they look wierd painted matte or flat
a way to kill the glare???
just buy one of those carpet dash covers for when your driving and take it off at the shows ..

[Niytrus]

Should look real good https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif
Keep us updated if you go through with it.

[Z]

damn it somebody is beating me to it :evil:

[Niytrus]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Z)</div><div class='quotemain'>damn it somebody is beating me to it Â*:evil:</div>

Might as well just fiberglass the entire interior Z https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif

[Z]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Niytrus)</div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Z)</div><div class='quotemain'>damn it somebody is beating me to it Â*:evil:</div>

Might as well just fiberglass the entire interior Z https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif</div>

man dont be giving away my ideas dawg, peeps will get it done before me :x but yeah thatss the idea

[Reelax]

just for an idea of how the glossy would look (this is a 3G spyder btw):

http://wetworksgarage.com/Products/interior%20eclipse%20640x480.jpg

[Bigg Boi]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Z)</div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Niytrus)</div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Z)</div><div class='quotemain'>damn it somebody is beating me to it Â*:evil:</div>

Might as well just fiberglass the entire interior Z https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif</div>

man dont be giving away my ideas dawg, peeps will get it done before me :x but yeah thatss the idea</div>

Hate to tell ya Z, but this has been my intention from the start. https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif I'm just starting with the dash. I'll be moving to the center console, then the door panels. It's all going to be gloss black with a secondary color that I havent really decided on yet (probably a lil silver). The only problem is finding some inexpensive places to buy fiberglass resin. There arent any marine supply stores around here and the auto body stores are real pricey. I was looking at Select Products. Anyone got any better links?

Also, Thanks for the pic reelax. It gives me a good idea of what I should expect. https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif

[Stewi]

UScomposites.com

fiberglast.com

[Cali]

worse case, i can get you the resin's here and ship them to you...same place i buy my cf from.

[galantv600]

where do you buy ur cf from https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif

[Bigg Boi]

Well the places around here are asking a little over $40 for 1 gallon of resin. With the 6% tax, that's $42.40 I think that's pretty high. Is it cheaper for you to ship it to me cali? I know select products is at like $37 shipped for the bubble gum scented resin. And I honestly dont know which resin I would get from Us composites. https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif

On a side note, has anyone watched any of those training videos that are on select products? Are they any good?

[Cali]

that's not a bad price for a gallon, do you need that much? you also need to buy the hardner...

[Bigg Boi]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Cali)</div><div class='quotemain'>do you need that much?</div>
I've got a couple projects that will need their fare share of FG resin. For now it's my interior and tire well box. But I'm kinda like Z in the way that I jump around sooooo much that I'll never really know. So I'm wanting to find a good cheap place to buy from.

[Z]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bigg Boi)</div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Cali)</div><div class='quotemain'>do you need that much?</div>
I've got a couple projects that will need their fare share of FG resin. For now it's my interior and tire well box. But I'm kinda like Z in the way that I jump around sooooo much that I'll never really know. So I'm wanting to find a good cheap place to buy from.</div>

Z Effect - jumping around from project to project without getting shit done

[galantv600]

are you proud of that one Z? hahaha how hard is it to do this fg work? i would like to take out the cloth that is right ontop of the spare... and do a custom fiberglass enclousre....

[jusmills]

I'm also looking for where I can get some fiberglass (resin mat and hardener) I know there has to be a sub-supplier of CF/Fiberglass matte cheap. I'll check some of my resources here at work (work for a chemical company) to see if I can find a place where I can get a good deal on these---if everything works out maybe I can get some for a good price.

Additionally, I'm not sure how brittle fiberglass or CF matte is, but I'm wondering if you can just use an industrial grade adhesive (I'm thinking polyurethane based) with a long open time but high enough strength to keep parts in place to lay the matte, then clear coat the top. That would save tons of time/money because I know we make industrial adhesives here that I could errr borrow...I might try this on a test part...just to see if the idea works.

[Dominicano]

i think the resin will eat through the adhesive and cause the pieces to seperate from each other.

[pinoyesv6]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bigg Boi)</div><div class='quotemain'> The only problem is finding some inexpensive places to buy fiberglass resin. There arent any marine supply stores around here and the auto body stores are real pricey. I was looking at Select Products. Anyone got any better links?</div>

have u tried the home center, discount stores like walmart, and auto parts stores?

i know here i can get a galon of resin for like 20-25 bucks at those places.

[jusmills]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'>i think the resin will eat through the adhesive and cause the pieces to seperate from each other.</div>

I'm not sure--the point of doing it with the adhesive is to eliminate the resin part--the resin is just to make the part set and give strength...polyurethane adhesive would be the "resin", since they set (and cure) through a moisture cure mechanism, you wouldn't have to worry about the parts not curing, they might be a little bit more resistant cracking. You'd have to clear-coat the outer layer of CF to resist chipping (and/or breaking the fibers) but I'm sure it would look good once it was done. That and consider that the adhesive that we sell is $20 gallon or less if I just take it and we have tons of retain materials... (we only sell business to business) it might work. I'm not sure how well it would go for exterior pieces (like Cali's CF wrapped kit) but it may work well for interior trim pieces, and in theory you can definitely wrap smaller pieces more effectively. Or even an industrial pressure sensitive material and/or a thin industrial double sided tape on the back of the CF mat, that you can stick on like the rear visor...

[Bigg Boi]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(pinoyesv6)</div><div class='quotemain'>have u tried the home center, discount stores like walmart, and auto parts stores? Â*

i know here i can get a galon of resin for like 20-25 bucks at those places.</div>

Those places around here only have quart sized cans. Though, I havent check home depot yet. So far I've only found 1 store with 1 & 5 gallon sized cans. And that place is known for being overpriced.

For now, I bought a quart of resin to start on the dash.

[pinoyesv6]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jusmills)</div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'>i think the resin will eat through the adhesive and cause the pieces to seperate from each other.</div>

I'm not sure--the point of doing it with the adhesive is to eliminate the resin part--the resin is just to make the part set and give strength...polyurethane adhesive would be the "resin", since they set (and cure) through a moisture cure mechanism, you wouldn't have to worry about the parts not curing, they might be a little bit more resistant cracking. You'd have to clear-coat the outer layer of CF to resist chipping (and/or breaking the fibers) but I'm sure it would look good once it was done. That and consider that the adhesive that we sell is $20 gallon or less if I just take it and we have tons of retain materials... (we only sell business to business) it might work. I'm not sure how well it would go for exterior pieces (like Cali's CF wrapped kit) but it may work well for interior trim pieces, and in theory you can definitely wrap smaller pieces more effectively. Or even an industrial pressure sensitive material and/or a thin industrial double sided tape on the back of the CF mat, that you can stick on like the rear visor...</div>

clear coat ain't gonna do shit to the cf fabric if the fabric is just glued onto the dash.

picture this. take a piece of paper and hold it up in the air. then stab it with a knife. the knife goes through.

then try taping the sheet onto a concrete wall. then try to stab it all the way through with the knife. not gonna happen.

the fact is, without something stable for the clear coat to bond to, its not gonna hold on that well.

also you gotta think of the adhesive. lets say you used some kinda industrial glue. and lets say it dries up clear. how will it effect the color of the carbon fiber when it dries since the moisture from the glue would have seeped into the cloth first.

the resin also helps with the wear factor. picture this. take a sheet of sand paper and start scrubbing on the carbon fiber to simulate years of friction and abuse. which would wear down quicker? the cloth, or the cloth that has been soaked and covered with resin that has been cured?

[jusmills]

pinoy...thanks for the info...the main point of this is seeing if its actually possible to do. I'm pretty familar with adhesives, epoxies, PUR etc (ie that's what i do for a living). BTW I'm not making parts yet--just experimenting...I need something more exciting to do at work.