I do a lot of fiberglass repair work (rv’s, jet skis, etc). I’ve been wanting to learn how to make parts and this is a great video showing the process in a timely manner. Appreciate you showing this start to finish.
Great instructional video. I had a China Bomb tire blowout on my RV. The tire destroyed the cheap plastic fender that is more decorative than functional. The other side, the fender is cracked due to flexing. I could not find new fiberglass replacements so I bought the same cheap plastic set from my dealer. Nearly $100 each! I know if I install them, they too will crack in time. So my plan is to use them as a buck or mold and fabricate thick fiberglass duplicates that will be more durable over time. Thank you.
.. yeah Kool you included your dawggie Happy Dawg eye appreciate this video you made Thanks a million though the process is painstakingly time consuming your end product money saved and boy your absolute joy when the fender popped on out of the mold was beyond exclamation just pure delight Awesome Be Well God Bless and Thanks again ...
G'day, It's been a long time since I've done any fibreglass work. But from what i remember of it your job is outstanding. A+ From me. Thanks for sharing ✌️Peace from Melbourne Australia.
metal is strong, but fiberglass is light. full fiberglass acura nsx shell. velomobile four wheel electric tricycle with two electric motors powering the front two and rear two electric motors underneath powering the chassis
Amazing! I am learning to make my own molds to make a lot of different parts for my truck. One of the things Thanx a whole lot bro. This info is perfect for me.
Good basic video ..can I offer some suggestions ? If you rolled some strips of panel steel to go across the under side from side to side at the steel only stage , with an over lap of 3 inches both sides , and tacked them in place with your mig you would get a plug which resisted twisting .It also gives a rigid accurate trim . edge . I prime my plugs ( dye ) with a Duratec primer or regular 2 pk automotive primer . Any divets can be stop puttied with Dynatron or similar wet sand finished and buffed before the wax parting agent ( around 5/6 ) polished and left an hour after polishing between wax coats . Then pva before the tooling gel ..It will give you a mould which will need much less wet sanding to get ready to mould from ..👍 otherwise good info ..
Here you go asking serious philosophical questions. 😁 Locally I was looking into buying steel fenders, but they were $200 each, so it was going to cost me $400. I wasn't happy about that. I did all the fiberglass panels on the Baja that's on the trailer, so I have a lot of surplus fiberglass supplies on hand. So I was able to make these for no cost. And.... I just like doing custom parts like this.
I have never fiberglassed anything, great video, thank you. My next project will be to replicate a plastic chair. Can I use the original chair as a mold? It looks like the wax will prevent it from sticking…. correct?
Hi again,Doug I have a Question for you-could the vinyl tape be used to cover the entire area of the shape I'm making a mold of (my area is still in epoxy primer) (I'm making a shell skin of an interior crew cab roof, front n rear sections) so the release doesn't soak into it and cause future Ron issues. Thanks again. @@DougBugBuilder
@@brcron007 Hello, You can use vinyl tape, but, you need to make sure that the resin you are using doesn't react with the tape. So I recommend you do a test piece first. And keep in mind that you will transfer the tape lines into the gelcoat, so you'll need to deal with that. But I've done it before, it does work.
Amazing work!!!I have a question for you. How long to wait between the first and second coat of gel coat when making the mold from the metal die?.........................keep up the super work!!
Your parts would separate easier if you sprayed the Gel instead of brushing. Also, squirt some compressed air in between the mold and the part. They will separate in a couple of minutes.
Beautiful work man I learned a lot from this, I don't know anything about fiberglass but I'm interested for making hard toe caps for protective work boots
Thank you so much for this video! I have a new beetle I’m working to customize and this will help immensely. Question: Any issues with making my die from carved foam insulation board?
No, but Polyester resin usually reacts with most foams. So you'll need to do a test. And possibly use Epoxy as first coat, or add something to protect the foam if the polyester attacks it.
Ive done a few small scale parts, but the time involved has kept me from making the body parts i need for my woodsbuggy or copying my baja kit which is starting to crack and look rough. Thanks for making me wish i had more time! Lol
I’ve never done fibreglass so I have no idea if this would work, but could you use your air compressor gun to blow air between the part and the mould to help it release? If that does work you could even potentially add holes in the mould for the gun to fit
I watched your vid cuz I’m at a critical point finishing a transom replacement on my fiberglass boat. The top lip of the transom is 2” thick with virtually no radius and it has a notch cutout for the outboard motor. This makes for a difficult transition for the cloth. Seeing your relief cuts work so well was an eye opener. They seemed to produce no ridges what type of cloth did you use?
If I remember that was 6oz cloth, which is pretty thick for cloth. But it builds up quicker. Remember if you make relief notches on outside corners you'll need those "band aid" pieces I used to get the strength back. Good luck.
Awesome video! I like the way you explain things! Thanks for the mixing ratios! Just wondering what’s your advice on how to fiberglass outer wheel well areas onto metal quarter panels?
Hi, nice project! I will probably build a set. I didn't see a link for the mounting bolts in the description. would it be possible to get a link? Thanks much.
Do you do a spray of PVA or anything on your last coat of resin to let it cure? Or are you using resin with wax? Also, why did you choose cloth over mat for this one? I have never used cloth myself. Thanks Doug!
My resin has wax, so it fully cures on its own. My gelcoat does not, but as you know it gets sealed in by the resin. Cloth is way more flexible and easy to lay in place than mat. So usually I start with cloth so I can get good coverage to the part. Then once I have a couple layers done I might switch to mat because it cheaper than cloth. If I'm doing something flat then I usually do it all in mat because again, it's a better bang for the buck.
@@DougBugBuilder thanks for the response and all the videos on the subject. I recently copied some parts out of fiberglass using your older videos as a guide. Didn’t see too much cloth back then so I was curious if you learned something new! Thanks again
@@steveshepard If I remember I used cloth for the roof, and the beginning of the one piece front end. But the doors and quarters I think I used mat, those were mostly flat with just a mild radius. But the radius on these fenders was actually pretty tight, that's why I used cloth mostly.
Nice job but how do you go about making a fiberglass piece when you dont have a metal pieces your essentially making a fiberglass copy of? I want to make some ~4" wider rear fiberglass fenders/quarter panels for a prerunner xterra like they make for the ford explorers
You have to get creative. I've used cardboard, foam, wire mesh, wood, fiberglass, and metal, you just need to use whatever you have to. Then just make sure you can smooth it out and cover it with something that will not react with your gel coat.
I was wondering if people would catch that. At the beginning of the video Wratchet has old tires, but by the end he is sitting on all new rubber. 👍 My next video will be testing the tires at the track.
I’m really new to this & don’t understand why you are making a mold from the fenders to then make some fenders rather than just use the existing fenders as the mold. Can anybody explain why please?
The actual fenders can't be used as a mold. The mold has to be an "outside" copy of the part I want to make. Make the mold off what you want to make, in this case the fenders. Then when you make the fiberglass part it will be a copy of the original piece.
@@DougBugBuilder Thank you, it just seemed like a lot of effort for ‘only’ some fenders but I understand what you mean - this is the only way to get an exact copy. I do appreciate you taking the time to not only produce these videos but for replying too. Cheers 👍
![SAFEPLANET - ดาวเคราะห์ [ THE PLANET ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/4X1XL3I_k3c/mqdefault.jpg)
I do a lot of fiberglass repair work (rv’s, jet skis, etc). I’ve been wanting to learn how to make parts and this is a great video showing the process in a timely manner. Appreciate you showing this start to finish.
Glad the video helped, thanks for the comment.
Omg the satisfaction when the fiberglass just pops off of the metal die!!😍
Great instructional video. I had a China Bomb tire blowout on my RV. The tire destroyed the cheap plastic fender that is more decorative than functional. The other side, the fender is cracked due to flexing. I could not find new fiberglass replacements so I bought the same cheap plastic set from my dealer. Nearly $100 each! I know if I install them, they too will crack in time. So my plan is to use them as a buck or mold and fabricate thick fiberglass duplicates that will be more durable over time. Thank you.
Thanks, appreciate the comment.
Great job!
I appreciate the complete start to finish in one video, and with the important details you included
Thanks, I appreciate the comment.
Glad you liked the video.
Awesome! Making some fenders too. Thanks for the information
Great work there Buddy! Great work!
Thanks!
You're a real artist my friend and that's a cool dog you have! 👍
Thanks!
Awesome work, lots of great ideas, thanks for sharing!
Thanks for watching! 👍
Great video I really enjoyed it. Been trying to get my head rapped around how to build my mold. Thanks
1st video i chose to watch to learn how to do this and I don't need to watch anyone else's. Great stuff. Thank you
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks for the comment.
..
yeah
Kool you included your dawggie
Happy Dawg
eye appreciate this video you made
Thanks a million
though the process is painstakingly
time consuming
your end product
money saved
and boy your absolute joy
when the fender popped on out of
the mold
was beyond exclamation
just pure delight
Awesome
Be Well
God Bless
and Thanks again
...
Glad you liked the video and my dog. 🐕 👍
Thanks for the comment.
G'day,
It's been a long time since I've done any fibreglass work.
But from what i remember of it your job is outstanding.
A+ From me.
Thanks for sharing ✌️Peace from Melbourne Australia.
Hello Kevin, good to hear from you as usual. Fiberglass is awesome and horrible at the same time. 😁
But the results are worth it. 😉
Peace! ✌
@@DougBugBuilder
I can still feel the itching. 😵💫
metal is strong, but fiberglass is light. full fiberglass acura nsx shell. velomobile four wheel electric tricycle with two electric motors powering the front two and rear two electric motors underneath powering the chassis
hey! adding a flange to the mold also increases tremendously its stiffness
I think to start fiberglass work business. This is really helpful videos
Thanks, good luck with your business.
Composites are so cool ❤ good work !
Yes they are! Thanks for the comment.
Amazing! I am learning to make my own molds to make a lot of different parts for my truck. One of the things Thanx a whole lot bro. This info is perfect for me.
Glad it helped, thanks for the comment.
Excellent video, thanks for sharing and explaining 🤟🏼
No problem 👍
Thanks for the comment.
Great video, great job. Thank you!
Thanks!
Good basic video ..can I offer some suggestions ? If you rolled some strips of panel steel to go across the under side from side to side at the steel only stage , with an over lap of 3 inches both sides , and tacked them in place with your mig you would get a plug which resisted twisting .It also gives a rigid accurate trim . edge . I prime my plugs ( dye ) with a Duratec primer or regular 2 pk automotive primer . Any divets can be stop puttied with Dynatron or similar wet sand finished and buffed before the wax parting agent ( around 5/6 ) polished and left an hour after polishing between wax coats . Then pva before the tooling gel ..It will give you a mould which will need much less wet sanding to get ready to mould from ..👍 otherwise good info ..
Not a bad idea actually. I wish I would have done something like that on the mold. Thanks for the ideas. 👍
That's freaking awesome!
Thanks!
Very cool and well done…but I have to ask why? Maybe I missed something, but what’s wrong with robust steel fenders for a trailer? Weight?
Here you go asking serious philosophical questions. 😁
Locally I was looking into buying steel fenders, but they were $200 each, so it was going to cost me $400. I wasn't happy about that.
I did all the fiberglass panels on the Baja that's on the trailer, so I have a lot of surplus fiberglass supplies on hand. So I was able to make these for no cost.
And.... I just like doing custom parts like this.
nice job...missed some steps...your time would be better spent on something else than common fenders tho
a little blast of air works great for demolding....
Great video!...We need to do the same thing on Honcho's fenders. Thanks for the info.
Sounds like a project for Bear! 😁
@@DougBugBuilder reading my mind.
I have never fiberglassed anything, great video, thank you. My next project will be to replicate a plastic chair. Can I use the original chair as a mold? It looks like the wax will prevent it from sticking…. correct?
As long as it's shaped in a way you can pop the part off it should work just fine.
Amazing tutorial - thank you!
You're welcome, thanks for the comment.
Great step by step Thanx Doug !
Very welcome, thanks for the comment.
Hi again,Doug I have a Question for you-could the vinyl tape be used to cover the entire area of the shape I'm making a mold of (my area is still in epoxy primer) (I'm making a shell skin of an interior crew cab roof, front n rear sections) so the release doesn't soak into it and cause future Ron issues. Thanks again. @@DougBugBuilder
@@brcron007 Hello, You can use vinyl tape, but, you need to make sure that the resin you are using doesn't react with the tape. So I recommend you do a test piece first.
And keep in mind that you will transfer the tape lines into the gelcoat, so you'll need to deal with that.
But I've done it before, it does work.
thank you again for your insight. I appreciate it. @@DougBugBuilder
Amazing work!!!I have a question for you. How long to wait between the first and second coat of gel coat when making the mold from the metal die?.........................keep up the super work!!
Wait long enough for the previous to be tacky. So if you push your finger into it and it leaves fingerprints that's pretty good.
Your parts would separate easier if you sprayed the Gel instead of brushing. Also, squirt some compressed air in between the mold and the part. They will separate in a couple of minutes.
Beautiful work man I learned a lot from this, I don't know anything about fiberglass but I'm interested for making hard toe caps for protective work boots
Thanks 👍
Thank you so much for this video! I have a new beetle I’m working to customize and this will help immensely. Question: Any issues with making my die from carved foam insulation board?
No, but Polyester resin usually reacts with most foams. So you'll need to do a test. And possibly use Epoxy as first coat, or add something to protect the foam if the polyester attacks it.
Informative and useful video but why fiberglass instead of metal?
Just to be able to make a slightly different shape, and now I can remake as many as I need.
Ive done a few small scale parts, but the time involved has kept me from making the body parts i need for my woodsbuggy or copying my baja kit which is starting to crack and look rough. Thanks for making me wish i had more time! Lol
Glad I could help... 😉👍
I’ve never done fibreglass so I have no idea if this would work, but could you use your air compressor gun to blow air between the part and the mould to help it release? If that does work you could even potentially add holes in the mould for the gun to fit
I've never done it, but I've had people tell me it works great. But for me I can always pull and pry my parts to release, so I've never had to try it.
thanks man, that's help me alot
Well explained
Bellissimo lavoro, lo hai fatto sembrare facile. 👍
Grazie amico, apprezzo il commento. 👍
I watched your vid cuz I’m at a critical point finishing a transom replacement on my fiberglass boat. The top lip of the transom is 2” thick with virtually no radius and it has a notch cutout for the outboard motor. This makes for a difficult transition for the cloth. Seeing your relief cuts work so well was an eye opener. They seemed to produce no ridges what type of cloth did you use?
If I remember that was 6oz cloth, which is pretty thick for cloth. But it builds up quicker. Remember if you make relief notches on outside corners you'll need those "band aid" pieces I used to get the strength back. Good luck.
I want to make a personal watercraft for fishing and leisure. Is this method appropriate for such a craft?
Yes this would work.
Awesome video! I like the way you explain things! Thanks for the mixing ratios! Just wondering what’s your advice on how to fiberglass outer wheel well areas onto metal quarter panels?
Are you asking how to make fiberglass wheel wells? Or fender flares?
Good job sri❤
Thanks!
Hi, nice project! I will probably build a set. I didn't see a link for the mounting bolts in the description. would it be possible to get a link? Thanks much.
Hello, I just added them in the description at the bottom, thanks for letting me know.
Good luck with your project. 👍
Do you do a spray of PVA or anything on your last coat of resin to let it cure? Or are you using resin with wax?
Also, why did you choose cloth over mat for this one? I have never used cloth myself. Thanks Doug!
My resin has wax, so it fully cures on its own. My gelcoat does not, but as you know it gets sealed in by the resin.
Cloth is way more flexible and easy to lay in place than mat. So usually I start with cloth so I can get good coverage to the part. Then once I have a couple layers done I might switch to mat because it cheaper than cloth.
If I'm doing something flat then I usually do it all in mat because again, it's a better bang for the buck.
@@DougBugBuilder thanks for the response and all the videos on the subject. I recently copied some parts out of fiberglass using your older videos as a guide. Didn’t see too much cloth back then so I was curious if you learned something new! Thanks again
@@steveshepard If I remember I used cloth for the roof, and the beginning of the one piece front end. But the doors and quarters I think I used mat, those were mostly flat with just a mild radius. But the radius on these fenders was actually pretty tight, that's why I used cloth mostly.
Nice job but how do you go about making a fiberglass piece when you dont have a metal pieces your essentially making a fiberglass copy of? I want to make some ~4" wider rear fiberglass fenders/quarter panels for a prerunner xterra like they make for the ford explorers
You have to get creative. I've used cardboard, foam, wire mesh, wood, fiberglass, and metal, you just need to use whatever you have to. Then just make sure you can smooth it out and cover it with something that will not react with your gel coat.
Very informative thank you very much
Glad you liked it, thanks for the comment.
Can the paint stay on or is bare metal better?
Old paint is usually ok, but be careful, there is a small chance it might react with the poly. I recommend doing a small test first.
Most of the links say page not found. Is that because they are only good for so long?
It's just because over time mfgs. change their websites or slightly change the part numbers. I believe I fixed the links that aren't working.
Thanks for the info 😎👍🏾
No problem 👍
Very nice!!!! How many hrs do you think it took?
Hmm, I would say realistically 15-20 hours.
Mike, looks like brand new tires on Ratchet what's the deal? Peace
I was wondering if people would catch that. At the beginning of the video Wratchet has old tires, but by the end he is sitting on all new rubber. 👍 My next video will be testing the tires at the track.
I found the perfect video as I want. Very informative and very nicely explained about the process.
Thank you very much.
I’m really new to this & don’t understand why you are making a mold from the fenders to then make some fenders rather than just use the existing fenders as the mold. Can anybody explain why please?
The actual fenders can't be used as a mold. The mold has to be an "outside" copy of the part I want to make. Make the mold off what you want to make, in this case the fenders. Then when you make the fiberglass part it will be a copy of the original piece.
@@DougBugBuilder Thank you, it just seemed like a lot of effort for ‘only’ some fenders but I understand what you mean - this is the only way to get an exact copy. I do appreciate you taking the time to not only produce these videos but for replying too. Cheers 👍
👏👏👏💯💯💯
Thanks! 👍✌