Originally Posted by Tmoth4

SPAD Update:

I finally got around to making the mold for the radiator cowl. I used rigid polyurethane "prototyping foam" that I got from McMaster-Carr to make the plug. It's kind of expensive but that stuff shapes and sands really nice! It took a few coats of Polycrylic and "high fill" auto primer to get a smooth surface. Then I glued the plug to a board and prepared it for glassing: a coat of spray wax and then 5 coats of PVA mold release sprayed on with the airbrush. I use West systems epoxy for molds and for finished pieces. The first "gel coat" is just a mix of epoxy and microlight filler which is allowed to cure, then 3 layers of glass cloth are applied. Next day the plug gets removed from the mold. Unfortunately, the plug got destroyed in the process but that's OK ...the mold came out good.

If you see anybody asking $50-100 for a fiberglass cowling or $300 for a fuselage, be thankful! It's not rocket science, but it's a long process!


Jim