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Attn: Fiberglassers- I Need Help PLEEZE - 4/3/2002 8:24:17 AM   
JohnMcGowan


 

Posts: 822
Joined: 12/14/2001
From: Birmingham, AL, USA
Status: offline 		Hello All!! Me and a friend are in process of trying our hands at making fiberglass fuses. We have built a test fuse(negative mold) out of foam but are needing to know what you actually cover the foam with to get a smooth finish so it will not transfer to the fiberglass once we get that far? Also, whats the best thing to use as a release agent? Are there any links on the web to get some pointers? Thanks in advance for any replies!!!
John McGowan, Birmingham, Ala
       Post #: 1

Attn: Fiberglassers- I Need Help PLEEZE - 4/3/2002 6:07:12 PM   
winship


 

Posts: 151
Joined: 3/18/2002
From: Plainfield, IN, USA
Status: offline 		Hi John;

Epoxy and fiberglass are usually used to finish a plug. Polyester resins will react and melt some foams so a test sample is in order here. As far as a release agent is concerned your best bet would be to wax the part or plug and spray PVA.

There is more information on this page that will help some.
http://www.nextcraft.com/rcbuildingtips/fiberglassing.html

Dan

(in reply to JohnMcGowan)
       Post #: 2

Attn: Fiberglassers- I Need Help PLEEZE - 4/3/2002 6:36:38 PM   
Edwin


 

Posts: 3421
Joined: 2/8/2002
From: Leander, TX, USA
Status: offline 		Foam is normally used to make a lost mold plug. If you must do it that way, this is what I do. Coat the foam plug with a thined mix of water and elmers white glue. That will help hilight the surface imperfections. Then use light weight spackling to fill in any areas that need smoothing out. I dip my finger in water and apply it wet. Let dry then sand. Once you're satisfied with the finish, put another coat of thined elmers glue on. This works best with a male plug. I would recommend doing that instead of the female plug, cant think of anything that would work as a mold release without destroying the mold itself. At least with a foam male plug you can make a glass female plug that works good with standard mold release agents.
Edwin

(in reply to JohnMcGowan)
       Post #: 3

Attn: Fiberglassers- I Need Help PLEEZE - 4/3/2002 7:42:18 PM   
seafury_fb11



Posts: 236
Joined: 2/22/2002
From: Los Angeles
Status: offline 		John,
As Edwin mentioned, you are better off building a male plug, then making the mold from that. The plug can be made of anything really, as long you can get a good surface on it. The mold (and all the parts you pull from it) will look just like your plug. The way I build my plugs is much the same way that a surfboard is built - I shape it out of green urethane foam, then glass it using polyester resin to give it a hard surface. Urethane foam can be shaped with a Sure-Form and sanded easily, but it gets on, and sticks to everything (including you).

I don't worry so much about getting the plug polished to a shine. Scratches will show up in the mold as tiny ridges which can be easily wet-sanded out with 600 grit paper. Some guys don't like sanding the mold though. I suspect I'll be getting flamed for making that suggestion. But to show you what I mean, here is the plug I built for my sloper Spitfire. As you can see its not polished.

http://russ.rcplanet.com/slopeships/spitfire/images/spit_plug.jpg

This is what the parts look like when they come out.

http://russ.rcplanet.com/slopeships/spitfire/images/spit_fuse1.jpg

Good Luck,
Russ.


_____________________________

You're just jealous because the voices don't talk to you.

(in reply to JohnMcGowan)
       Post #: 4

Attn: Fiberglassers- I Need Help PLEEZE - 4/3/2002 9:03:10 PM   
Blackwuf


 

Posts: 12
Joined: 3/18/2002
From: Tomah, WI, USA
Status: offline 		I was looking into making Fiberglass molds for a project I was planning and found this site. It's kind of a 101 class on making molds.

http://www.cstsales.com/fiberg0.htm

(in reply to JohnMcGowan)
       Post #: 5

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