weldings gettin better mate, comign along now..
keep it up..
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weldings gettin better mate, comign along now..
keep it up..
Monday 10/03/2008
Bit of an ar$e weekend - my Ibiza broke down on the way home on Friday - engine just died on an A road - oil light came on and engine cut out - which made power steering cut out - I was doing about 60 at the time - pretty unnerving but had enough speed to get in on the verge although was on a corner. Phoned Greenflag who came out and reckoned it was either crank sensor or coil pack (?) or ECU so towed me to local garage - dumped car and I went home. Had to suffer getting a bus to work over the weekend. :mad: So booked today off to get car sorted. Unfortunately the garage couldnt get the car fixed today (waiting on parts) which means another annoying bus trip tomorrow :mad:
Decided to finish off my slam panel today - I'd plug welded the new skin to the underneath one the other week bit although its solid it doesnt look very nice - it's uneaven in places and no amount of dolly work was going to sort it - plus I wanted something that would channel the air coming from under the bonnet. So I made a fibreglass show cover.
The prinicple is very easy and would also allow me to practice my fibreglassing ready for when I start my bumper/skirts. I started by laying up plastecine modeling clay all over the slam panel to even it out. This was then shaped and skimmed to get it nice and flat. I used a spirit level at specific points to ensure it was even.
The slam panel looked like this beforehand -
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...engine0013.jpg
I made a card template to ensure both sides were even (they were pretty much spot on anyway but I wanted to be sure) - Heres the result after the plastecine cover was built -
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...neltop0002.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...neltop0004.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...neltop0005.jpg
The masking tape covers bare metal areas. As you can see it is much more even and will protect the metal underneath.
Using the template I cut out some glass fibre matting allowing for folds over the edges. I mixed 400ml of resin and applied this directly on to the plastecine (it wont stick obviously as its nice and smooth) and then put the fibreglass on top. I then worked more resin into the fibreglass using a 2" brush in a stippling motion (basically you dab at the fibreglass with the end of the brush to get the resin to penetrate it and knock the air bubbles out). This was applied all over leaving additional material to trim where it wasnt needed -
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...neltop0006.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...neltop0007.jpg
I then applied a tissue layer (basically fibreglass matting but tissue thin) - again stipping with additional resin (only used about 250ml this thime though) - the tissue is like cotton wool and it clings and catched on everything so I needed to work carefully but fast.
It's currently curing in my garage but its pretty cool out tonight so have the heaters on to try and keep temperature even...
I'll post pics once I've trimmed the excess material off but I'm really happy with it and it's so much better than the plain metal panel. In addition it'll give my grill something to bolt striaght on to.
To fit I'll simply paint up the slam panel and then apply a nice even bead of body adhesive (eg tiger seal) - then simply pop the panel on and seal the edges.
Job done
:thumb:
nice work matey
cheers - just checked it and its cured purfectly - got a nice finish - just needs a trim and a very light sand back - I might not even do that - just leave it mottled...
Wednesday 12/03/2008
The missus went nuts at me the other day coz the smell of fibreglass resin got into the house off me trainers/overalls and stunk the place out! Doesnt help having the garage attached to the house either!
Anyway - started off by trimming off the excess matting and then removed all the plastecine (a pain in the bum) but it came out really well (its not attached yet) -
Will probably paint it black the same as the rest of the engine bay...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...bumper0001.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...bumper0002.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...bumper0007.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...bumper0008.jpg
I then decided to lay up a couple of layers of fibreglass on my bumper. Even though I'm still waiting for my new grill I can still make a start on the rest of the bumper. This took pretty much all day. I started by cutting up a fair amount of fibreglass. The glass I was using is pretty thick (4 layers) so because this layer is simply to get the basic shape I needed to split it so it would bend and shape easier. All you do if find and edge and peel it apart. Doubles the amount you have
Heres the results after just one layer -
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...bumper0003.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...bumper0004.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...bumper0006.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...bumper0005.jpg
I removed the bar in the fog light area simply because it will be part of a seperate structure.
I then added a second layer and by this time the whole garage stank of resin. So with it being 6pm and the missus being home at 7pm and me having access to next doors garage I moved the whole bumper and work benches there instead. Opened oll doors and wildows and stuck all my clothes in the washing machine!
It worked - didnt get into trouble! (except now when I close my eyes all I can see are my hands in latex gloves covered in strands of fibreglass! - think the fumes have gone to my head!)
Some good progress there mate, the cover for the slam panel is a neat touch and the bumper is now really looking to be coming along, top quality work as usual, look forward to seeing the next update.
Really liking the lateral thinking thats going into this Ade :thumb:
Excellent Ade.
If your missus nags too much do what I do and offer her a disposable face mask. :D
Saturday 15/03/2008
Took delivery of some parts today - my new OPC Grill (the Astra H one with the honeycombed vents and chromed strip) and 2 lower honeycombed panels as well as some bumper edge adjusters and suspension bolts. The grill is stunning and because it has the full surround will fit perfectly on the front of my Nova (once modified!)
Spent most of today sanding back the 1st layer of fibreglass on the bumper to get a flat surface to work from. The foam base, although flat, did have some unever spots in it. Once sanded back (and after changinf my clothes necause fibreglass dust gets everywhere and it pretty nasty stuff in the scratchy itchy department!) I put the bumper in place to get an idea of the depth.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...mplam20002.jpg
It definately needed another layer (which I planned to add anyway).
here's one with the new honeycombed grill section -
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...mplam20001.jpg
This will also form the back for the fog lamps.
The second layer was made out of 2 long pieces of fibreglass which will add strength across the face of the bumper. The next task is to sand this back lightly (to remove the evil burs and skelfs that are as sharp as needles) and skim the entire front with body filler. This will bring up the thickness to the correct levels and allow finer detail to be applied.
Here's a couple of pics with the bumper in place. It's bolted on at the corners of the lights and held in place with the big clamps at the side -
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...mplam20005.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...mplam20006.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...mplam20004.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...mplam20003.jpg
The old grill isnt sitting right on the pics but the new one will fill the whole grill section fully!
From this (once cured) I'll skim
Looks amazing mate - Keep it up :)