Who can guess what I'm making?

[jlaird]

That is Gelcoat that is sprayed on first to make the smooth surface.

The only thing I can think of is an air scoop, but why.

Any good fiberglass sales place has gel coat. Try the web even. As I thought, West Marine has it.

 

[drooartz]

Jack, I assume it's a filler piece for below the tail lights, to fill the gap left when the rubber bumpers are removed.

 

[RickB]

Jack, I assume it's a filler piece for below the tail lights, to fill the gap left when the rubber bumpers are removed.

ding ding ding

Yes!

I have the need, no tools to make them from steel, so I'll build a mold and see what I can make.

 

[jlaird]

Make good molds, that is a sellable item.

 

[Morris]

I agree with Jack.

 

[Pythias]

I didn't know you could do fiberglass molds... but if you're interested, you could cast the shifter can but not put a hole in the top. Offer them to people with 5 speeds and let them locate the hole for the rubber grommet. They would look stock, but solve a problem many are faced with. I had a line on a guy who could do such castings, but he lost his access. ..

You could even cast it shorter to give more throw room for the shifter..


Just a thought......


and hey, I have some wire(s) for ya, next time I'm in the area.

 

[RickB]

Ewww i have a shifter can from my mk1 parts car...

Good news about the wires, Thanks Bill.

 

[drooartz]

I'd be interested in a shifter can...

 

[tdskip]

Ohhhh, fabricating stuff is cool!

 

[RickB]

And fun!
Hopefully between yard work and all the other stuff I want to get done over the next few days I will come up with something to show.

 

[nomad]

In my youth I made fiberglass gas tanks and seats for flat track bikes. A friend of mine made the frames. Fiberglass works great for small scale parts production. I'm guessing that your biggest problem will be getting the mold to release. Suggest talking to someone in the business that can steer you to the best release agents and perhaps get you some small qauntity's. Mold gel coat is different and more durable than production gel coat also.

Kurt.

 

[equiprx]

[/quote]

You can burn a BIG ugly hole in the body......

m [/quote]

Been there, done that. Step away from the MIG. Everyone I asked for pointers said to practice on similar metal scraps. Did I listen? Nooooooooooooo.

 

[equiprx]

I'll work on it a bit more tonight and post more pics.

A long long time ago I worked for a company that built fiberglass boats and other things.

The molds were sprayed with something that adhered to the fiberglass so that when the panels (or hulls) were removed from the molds they had a very nice smooth shiny coating on the outside (the side that contacted the mold).

I seem to remember this was called gel coat, is that right?
Is there anything like that for the small artsy craftsy market?
It would be really cool to have that kind of thing on the outer sides of these babies.

You should be able to buy gel coat and pigment from any good place that stocks fiberglass materials.

 

[RickB]

A long long time ago I worked at a business making fiberglass boats and other interesting items.

We had a local brewery back then - Rainier Beer - who had an ad campaign using large beer bottles. The bottles were made at the place where I worked.
I remember making them in halves, then after the halves cured we would pop them out of the mold and then put the two together and I'd get inside to seal up the seam.
Great fun memories...

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[DrEntropy]

Fiberglass... or GFRP in English parlance. Just "frozen snot" according to a boat-builder friend of mine.

I've had a 46 year love/hate relationship with th' stuff. :wink:

 

[nomad]

Yeah Doc! Without it NO Lotus!!!

Kurt.

 

[Guest]

Yeah Doc! Without it NO Lotus!!!

Kurt.

Loti are made of snot?

 

[JodyFKerr]

Yeah Doc! Without it NO Lotus!!!

Kurt.

Loti are made of snot?

Well, that explains why they're as fast as a sneeze.