DIY body kits....?

[psyense82]

ok, got thinking today... these companies that design prototypes of body kits.. i assume they use the blocks of foam to start with? becuase i was thinkin...cardboard n ducttape for a form. build it onto the car, then make your marks n cut out the vents n junk. then resin over the cardboard, layer of fiberglass, 2-3 laeyrs on the inside, bondo, sand, prime. im sure theres alot im missing, but i just wanna run this cardboard by those of you who have experience...

[Johns93GS]

You might as well build your body kit out of particle board and spray paint.

Who needs bolts and screws to mount it anyway, we've got contact cement!!!!

Cardboard is not very absorbent - if you are talking about resining cardboard... and if you want the flimsiest bumper of all time, you could use some absorbent material.... but I urge you to create something of SOME quality

[Silver_Wraith]

Instead of just Knockin' his idea you could've suggested a something to use better than the cardboard. I think his idea is a great one but "constuctive" critism is what he's looking for not a smart***.

i'm not very versed when it comes to fiberglassing but i would use the foam due that it'll absorb the resin a lot better. But in theory for a mockup to test your idea depending on how much money you want to spend practicing wrap the cardboard in a fleece blanket and that should harden enough to atleast see if it'll work.

again i'm not very experienced so hopefully some more qualified people might be able to add their own suggestions to this.

[psyense82]

yo John, i didnt mean to literally resin just the cardboard... thats jus plain stupid. using it as a guide to get your lines n stuff.

im just trying to figure out a cheaper way to get more custom front end then doing my original dodge neon conversion... seeing that R34 Nose is like 250 bucks. im just trying out different concepts and runnin thro the site to get input. i just need the least cost effective yet decent idea for making up the mold or form to make the fiberglass kit out of. i had thought cardboard due to the fact its easy to make out a template. if you have any ideas on how to do this using something better then the card board, go ahead and post it.

[Silkwyrm]

Ok, in my limited experience I believe the cardboard would work. It really doesn't matter what your using to shape the fiberglass as long as the whole thing is enveloped in the fiberglass. If you use the cardboard as a base and only coat one side with fiberglass you will want to pull the cardboard out once the fiberglass hardens. Over time the cardboard will absorb moisture and get pretty nasty. The thing is, anything can work as a base on which to shape the fiberglass. As long as you have enough layers of FG mat or cloth, to provide the structural strength it doesnt matter if you used playdoh to shape it. I say this because I've actually made a fiberglass mask for a samuri costume using shaped clay that was scraped off after the FG hardened. Currently I'm using a combination of foam, aluminum foil, duct tape, and sheet metal to make speaker pannels that fit over the indented section of the side pannels in the back seat. It's working great. With all that said, I do still suggest styrofoam over cardboard, it will be a lot easier to shape and all you need is some sand paper to shape it. Hope this was helpfull.

[psyense82]

i thought of styrofoam too... but, theres the issues of making it symmetrical (sp?) you dont wanna make this kick *** kit, and have it not be nice and even. the cardboard idea i liked cause it would be a lil easier. lol. like i said im jus weighing ideas... nothing against the kits on this site.. but they are all more or less the same, pakifier, erburnei, corksport, ms, mazdasport... just want something different, to stand out ya know. thats why i liked the idea of a neon aftermarket, or making my own kit.

[SE-Man]

Hey []D s y []D h y,
Just so happens I'm the owner of the FX fiberglass hood PROTOTYPE (the first one they ever made), I've actally while patching the ricer pin holes got to see the compositin of it. the hood was made from card board, really thick card board, and then fiberglassed over. It is very tough and durable, both sides were fiberglassed and then I think their might be alum. rods in the edges to giv it shap cuz i was unable to get a screw in. hope that helps.

[psyense82]

:scrathes head: :blink: BING!!!! i know where to get card booard easily... i wonder how thick... prehaps FX is nice and will help me to further understand this. hey, they might tell me if there are the alum. rods. thanks SE

[Johns93GS]

Hey []D s y []D h y

I must have completely misread your post - cuz I seriously thought you were talking about resining the cardboard, and I was only making a joke anyway, which I'm sure you understood. The other guy didnt...

I could see cardboard working as nothing more than a guide, and working well too, but I still remain to see how you would get your curves right since you would have to use thick cardboard that wouldn't be very plyable... but I think you are on the right track.

I mean sub-boxes are done with an MDF Frame with Fleece stretched, stapled, and shaped over the MDF. Fleece is very absorbent and that way you don't really even need to use fiberglass mat.

You could think about building a frame with MDF, and then maybe taking an absorbent fabric and stretching it over your frame. It may be more workable/plyable than a thick cardboard...

Just a suggestion

[psyense82]

ya know summin, i thought of that. but building up the frame is where id get lost. MDF would work, but the only is that i wouldnt be able to get my curves to flow nicely, without a jigsaw. needs to be cheap... maybe like dowles or summin, i could take and hot glue them to get my angels n the such... more feedback is welcomed.

[psyense82]

Rob at FX got back to me on SE-Mans hood.... the cardboard isnt the actual base like i thought, it was the support for braces... here u read it

Hello;

The hood the person purchased from us was a prototype and the cardboard was
used as support for some bracing we put under the hood. Plugs can be made
out of anything although we like to use fiberglass and body filler but once
the plug is finished and we have made the mold it is thrown away.

Thank you for your interest in FX

[SE-Man]

interesting...... Is their any metal in it? It sure bent a stainless screw.

[psyense82]

im pretty sure those support for braces might be thin metal slats. or at least my assumption. anyone got some ideas tho on what to use to lay out my frame for the wool to be stretched over? i got thinkin tonite at work.. on Monster House (Discovery Channel) they made a tiki god out of fiberglass. they made a wooden/chickenwire frame, sprayed the fiberglass on, then sanded and formed it. actually, now that i look at the thought in text... its a dumb idea for kit design, because the wood, chickenwire, and globs of fiberglass would be seen on the inside of the kit. oh well, anyone got some ideas start throwin em at that wall over there, maybe one will stick to it!!!

Happy Mx'n

[psyense82]

BING!!! MDF STRIPS!!!! i was messin around on Car Audio Magazines website, and i found the answer. in Street Legal.. or Import Tuner, one of the 2, they showed this sick lookin custom fiberglassed Civic. the thing had a monitor array, centered seating, like a 1 man ****pit, and a custom fiberglass interior. well, low n behold, i found how they made it all on the audio site. they show step by step how to make the custom dash, and to get curves and stuff, they built an MDF skeleton out of MDF slats, then used Grille fabric, then resin, then 6 layers of glass. so thats the answer.. this might come in handy when i do my fiberglass box for my subs. that project first, then the body kit... oh, heres that link for that thing incase some of you wanna see it, i think there might be some aftershots of the car too.. its mad sick, the paintjob flows inside and out, real nice detail.... http://www.caraudiomag.com/competition_corner/0310cae_corner/

[Silkwyrm]

Yeah, John93GS mentioned that a couple posts ago. Heres the thing, as i see it cutting the MDF ribs to create a form with the contours of say, a front bumper or side skirts, will use a good deal of MDF and become fairly heavy. You could make a "plug" (prototype for a mold) from that and make a mold to reproduce an all fiberglass version that would probably be the best way but very time consuming. What I would do is use foam boards stuck together and sanded to shape, to get things symetrical you would need to complete one side first then take measurements at regular intervals from what would be the center point. Have you seen those novelty things its like a box with lots of nails you can press it against your face and it reproduces the contours of your face. People seem to like making rude finger gestures and pressing it in so it looks like its giving you the finger. Well theres a tool like that that reproduces contours. I dont know what its called but you could use that to check the contours at those measured intervals and then reproduce them on the other half. Once you have a foam version of what you want you just fiberglass it and your done. Should work, in theory.

Rik