Thread: Project $ 3 K Is Underway

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Well, I already have the new electric carving knife I went out and bought the other day, so a little tin foil and I'm all ready for the Thanksgiving turkey.


With my luck Brian, there would be this one tiny hole in the foil and resin would somehow find it's way down into the foam. Wish I would have had a video camera to take a movie of the foam shrinking up. It would have had to be without sound though, because you would have had to bleep out all of my little comments. To say the least, I was a little shocked.


Well, can't put this off any longer, time to head to the shop and try this again.


Don

If you buy the bags of drywall mud and mix it yourself, you can get it to dry quicker, they sell 10 minute mud and 45 minute mud, the 45 sets up fairly quick, the 10 on the other hand sets up in less than five so work fast, but it is good for large spots that you need to pack mud in, but dont want it to crack like the premixed stuff will, cause it sets up to fast to crack

Plaster of Paris is usually available in craft stores. It is a powder that you mix with water. It hardens very quickly (10 - 15 min.) and can be shaped with a bondo file, wood rasp, grinder, sandpaper, etc. The problem with it is the dust. If you've ever sanded the spackling on drywall, you know the dust goes everywhere and coats everything with fine white dust - same thing. It's hazardous to your lungs and a mess to clean up. Unless you are making a buck for a permanent mold, it ain't worth the trouble...

Good luck with the second attempt.

Plaster of Paris is usually available in craft stores. It is a powder that you mix with water. It hardens very quickly (10 - 15 min.) and can be shaped with a bondo file, wood rasp, grinder, sandpaper, etc. The problem with it is the dust. If you've ever sanded the spackling on drywall, you know the dust goes everywhere and coats everything with fine white dust - same thing. It's hazardous to your lungs and a mess to clean up. Unless you are making a buck for a permanent mold, it ain't worth the trouble...

Good luck with the second attempt.

Thanks John and Jim for the suggestions, I just got in and read them. A little late though, because I already bought the premixed drywall mud and used it today.

On the way to the shop it occurred to me that there was no reason to scrap the foam base that is there. It is not going to shrink any more, and it has all these sharp resin points all over it, making it perfect to hold some of the drywall mud on top of it. So, I went to Home Depot and got 5 gallons of it ($ 5 for one gallon or $ 10 for five gallons.......a no brainer) Good thing I did, becuase I used about half of it already and will have some touching up to do before it is over.

I got the initial top coating on and it went pretty well. No doubt it will take a while to dry, but that is ok, I am in no hurry. I have lots of other things on the car to keep me busy, and I am going to make sure it is rock hard before I go on. One good thing about Florida is that it won't take long for the heat to dry it. It was almost 90 in the shop today.

Here are some shots of how it covered the foam.


Don

Don,

Are you going to put some type of mould release on the plaster so it will come out of the 'glass? Drywall mud is porous, and the 'glass resin could sink into it.

Yep Jack, I'm gonna grease the heck out of it. Brian suggested Johnsons paste wax and I saw some mold release liquid at the marine supplier where I bought the resin. It was pricey, so I think a few coats of wax will work.

In any event, I am going to let this stuff dry rock hard. I have enough little jobs to do to keep me busy while it drys, like painting the transmission, etc. Today I worked on my taillights. I bought some '32 Ford taillights for it, and want them mounted a little high so that some of the senior citizens driving around down here in Florida have a chance of seeing them. I made up a temporary mount to see if it was what I wanted, and it seems fine, so tomorrow I will make up the same shape in 3/16 steel and weld them to the frame.

I also figured out how I am going to do my license plate and light. I have been saving an old, original Hollywood light for a special car, and this is that car. I am also going to transfer the personalized plate off of the '27. I figure the wording is appropriate for this car too.

Don

Don foam came in handy so no wasted work i see. I do Hobby H.O trains and when i would latex rubber a rock for scenery i used soapy water for a release agent worked well for that application. Then plaster in side mold same way to transfer reverse image .

Bob,

Then, you're an old hand with Hydrocal . . .

It's nice to see another ferroequinologist among the hot rod bunch.

Oh oh, now we have trouble. Those ferroequinologists can be a rowdy bunch sometimes.


Don

Don,

Love what you are doing. I have always used the pink dense insulation foam. I would glue it together with 3M spray adheasive, keep it away from the edges that you will be removing. I then used a thin coat of plaster and alot of release.

From experience masking tape doesn't protect the foam. I really like using the foam you can just the right shape.

I can't wait for your next update.

Z

Well thank you. Everybody in the world uses foam and it works, what the heck is wrong with me? I really liked the concept and it would have probably done great if I could have kept that resin away.

I feel bad, because I know everybody was really trying to help me out on this one too. Oh well, maybe next time.

Don

Henry dont know about the Ferro thing but i do really enjoy trains LOL . I also would mix a drywall compound with plaster of paris (budget at the time) . Its boxed up and waiting on retirement now. LOL first house i sold new owner said you are going to remove that aren't you . It was mountains going up wall 3 1/2 feet .

Don if i were to try glass i would use the foam for ease of cutting versus wood . I think i would test a barrier now though before continueing . But your work on foam was great and plaster will give you the smooth under side .

Don as I was catching up with this post I see you have a cart you were going to make into a engine stand, might I suggest you weld supports on the cart for your frame jig. That way you don't have to carry it around when you need it and get's it off the floor.
Brad

Yeah, that's an idea. Darned jig weighs like 300 lbs, so we just stand it on end and lash it to my '39 Dodge so it won't fall over. It stands pretty well that way, but it would make it more convenient to be able to wheel it to where you are working,l rather than drag it like we do now. Thanks for the suggestion.


BTW, got my transmission painted today, it won't win any trophies, but it is at least painted. Jackson Racing Transmissions uses this goofy silver paint on all their transmissions, so I had to remove it all down to bare aluminum before I could prime and paint it. Took me about 6 hours with a wire wheel, sander, die grinder, those rice cake sanding pads we were just discussing, and finally some 80 grit and 100 grit sandpaper.

I wasn't looking for show quality because only about two inches show of the bellhousing at the firewall, but I didn't want it to be silver either. So now it is the same orange as the engine. I would call it a 20 footer, but what the hey, it's a transmission.

The tunnel mold is drying pretty well. Some cracking in it, but I expected that because of the thickness of the drywall compound in some places, but nothing I can't touch up when it is all dry and I do the final smoothing.

Forgot my camera today, but nothing interesting to shoot anyway.

Don