Thread: Fiberglass Forms

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I stopped by Hobby Lobby to pick up a piece of fleece to use for some moulding work and was happy to see it 30% off, so a yard, 54" wide was only $4.75 or so. Later I was walking through WalMart and there on a display rack were fleece throws, 60x60, for $3 The power of buying in bulk! If you're looking for fleece to stretch over forms WalMart's the place to look, but over in the clothing/sports apparel area vs fabrics.

You must of bought some wal - mart stock. HE! HE! HE!

Originally Posted by vara4

You must of bought some wal - mart stock. HE! HE! HE!

Nope, but $1.50/yd compared to $4.75?? Had I been there first you can bet I would have bought a blanket from David Glass instead of a yard of the same material at more than 3x the price!

Roger, what are you building now?

Mike

Originally Posted by Mike52

Roger, what are you building now?

Mike

Just a small console/cup holder unit.

roger i have never made a fiberglass mold so i do not know how the fleece comes into it. could you explain as i am very interested. thanks.

Originally Posted by jyardgirl

roger i have never made a fiberglass mold so i do not know how the fleece comes into it. could you explain as i am very interested. thanks.

I agree with Barb. Maybe you could start a thread on how it's done.

Fleece is used to get the shape of what you are molding. Example: take a box and cover with the fleece then mix up the fiberglass resin and soak the fleece in the resin. When the resin hardens you have the mold of what you covered.
Fleece can be used instead of using fiberglass sheets as it will soak in the glass resin.
I've done a console in a car with using wood sticks hot glued to make the shape. Then drape the fleece over the wood mold and soak in the glass resin. When it hardens you have a basic shape of what you molded. And if after sanding things down you need to do more glassing, then you just add more matting or fleece and repeat.

Originally Posted by jyardgirl

roger i have never made a fiberglass mold so i do not know how the fleece comes into it. could you explain as i am very interested. thanks.

I was typing while SunsetDart was posting. Like he said, I'm not doing the type where you make a mold, form a part inside and pop it out when done. What I'm doing is making the form in the shape you want, fiberglass over that form, and then do final shaping/sanding/filling using bondo, more resin/cloth, etc. I made my basic shape from corrugated cardboard to give me a flat surface for my shifter boot and decided to add a couple of cup holders and a catch-all depression for sunglasses, etc. I don't like the boxy look, so I'm trying the fleece process, learning as I go, to soften the profile a bit.

Originally Posted by jyardgirl

roger i have never made a fiberglass mold so i do not know how the fleece comes into it. could you explain as i am very interested. thanks.

Barb, check out You Tube, there are lots of videos.

Mike

this is my first time on this forum.loving all the helpful info.this post sure is going to help me build a center consule for my 32 3 window . thank you everyone for helping a newbe.

thanks guys for the info. looks like i have a new project for the winter. sounds like alot of fun. will also look at the videos. thanks again.

Originally Posted by rspears

Just a small console/cup holder unit.

Roger, be sure to take pix, you know everyone here loves to see pix.

Mike

Using fiberglass is one of the best ways to make parts, Also keep in mind to glass in aluminum braces and places to screw too. It takes less time to glass something up than you think. We make parts all the time with it

Originally Posted by RECOVERY ROOM

Using fiberglass is one of the best ways to make parts, Also keep in mind to glass in aluminum braces and places to screw too. It takes less time to glass something up than you think. We make parts all the time with it

Tracy, would love to see some examples of your 'glass work, some of the things you've built for your award winning interiors.

Mike