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So I bought the florist foam to make my seat last year and finally got around to making something happen with it. After reading many threads on how to make seats and asking around I figured I'd try a go at it. Now, this is not the prettiest seat in the world. It is my first time and I have already learned what NOT to do for next time. After all, building cafe racers is one large learning curve.. right?
I have only one layer of glass on at the moment. It looks pretty choppy because I had a hard time with the matte not being pre cut and all. Plan is to sand down the rough spots, cut off excess and apply another layer of matte followed by a layer of cloth.
use a good resin, not stuff from the auto store, part of the reason you had such trouble with it is because the crap resin won't properly saturate mat, so it'll never lay flat the way it's supposed to. you probably need to spend more time carefully carving your foam too, it's not the kind of thing to rush
I used 3M resin. It wasnt the bondo stuff. $36 a gallon. I got nervous when laying the matte down and applying the resin because I thought i would run out of time before it hardened. As a mold release, I used masking tape and car wax. Thinking it may come off fairly easy. Find out tonight when I actually try to peel it away.. Thanks for the comment!
yeah, 3m is the crap resin, its styrene and filler content isn't consistent and god only knows how long it's been in the stores inventory, polyester resins have a 6 month shelf life tops in climate controlled storage, good resin properly catalyzed won't gel for a couple hours at least, and when it does, its shrinkage is low and consistent
Welp, I guess I learned my lesson then. Honestly, I wanted to try it with the cheaper stuff to see what it was all about first. If i mess up I wont feel as bad. What is a good brand for resin and glass? There is a shop that carries higher end products near me.. I'll have to see what they have for next time.
Do you have a public showroom of sorts where you are? I just google'd your shop location and I'm only 2.5 hours from you. Would love to stop in some day for some pointers/motivation/inspiration...
I used the 3m stuff with ok results, but I was working like a mad man due to the short working time it offers. I did 8 layers of woven mat, quickly mixing a new batch of resin every two layers. If I do it again, I'll get a roller and roll the resin into the fiberglass while it's flat on the table. That should allow for better distribution of the thick resin. Then you can just drape the prepared fiberglass onto the mold. I'm not a pro, like you I have only used fiberglass one time, but in my mind it will give better results.
I have since cut off the excess fiber and sanded down the high spots. It's going to need some patch work but that's to be expected on the first layer; at least for me.
Hit up US Composites. They offer good epoxy resins for a reasonable price. You can choose your hardener (slow, medium, fast, etc.) If you have an intricately curved shape, use glass cloth. CSM is a royal pain in the ass unless your part is flat, and don't be lulled into the whole "CSM is stronger" bs. For your non-structural purposes, cloth is fine, and thicker is stronger.
Yes epoxy is more expensive. But you've got to pay to play, especially if you want to do it right.
Thanks for the input. I planned to use cloth on the last layer. 2 layers of matte and then third as a cloth layer. The hardener options sound like a better solution considering quick hardening was probably my biggest downfall. I've seen your glass work Ringo, so I have a good feeling you know what you are talking about ha.
us composites has decent resin, fiberglasssite is closer and ships faster, but only carries one kind of resin, it's decent though, as long as you follow the catalyst ratio. a bristle roller is really good for building one offs with mat, it does a good job at removing bubbles and will move the mat around somewhat, which winds up making a more consistent, level laminate. Keep a small paint can of acetone around when working with it though, it will pick up resin and start to get sticky, so you need to rinse it in the acetone every few minutes
The seat shape is really nice. The knee dents are awesome. Be sure to let that bondo fully cure. a week or more. after you are done w bondo. spray a light coat of light gray primer. then a light coat of dark gray primer. sand over it w a fine paper. that will help make uneven surfaces show up. you will be removing the dark gray. and the light gray w show you high and low points. then use the bondo glaze to fill those. the glaze will help to give the bondo area a lot smoother finish. and fill pin holes and feathered edges. Then repeat w light and dark. sand and inspect. once you got it good. use several coats of high build primer. then sand it all. 200 grit max you dont want to get it glass smooth, yet. the microscopic scratches left by the course-er 200 grit paper will create a good texture finish, helps paint to stick better...than too smooth. paint it, several coats of clear, let clear cure several days (about a week) wet sand, 1200 grit or more (try not to cut through to color. the water will turn milky as long as your cutting the clear coat. keep it wet w a spray bottle) simply get clear smoother than glass , when clean and dry tank will look dull and a little milky but when you spray a couple more coats of clear it will come to life and done.
so when can I send you my tank..? jk Its been pissin' down with rain here for the past week and I'm on the home stretch to the end of the Spring semester in school. Needless to say I have been too busy to work on my bike. BUT, when I do start up again, I will def take your advice. The inside of the tank needs to be POR-15'd as well.. cant wait. NOT.
As your machine sits now you have plenty of time to do a great job on paint. but be pateint. let things fully cure. I know its difficult sometimes. but you have plenty of time. It is what you make it. you dont want that bondo shrinking under paint.
The glaze in the picture has been sitting on the tank for about 2 weeks now. I will finally get around to it next week, end of thw week sometime. I've got a gravity feed spray gun that I want to try out. Never sprayed anything before. Should be interesting..
this is the bondo glazing you want to use. after bondo filler. for low spots, small dings, etc. this goes on very thin and smooth. you can use it on top of primer also. so if you find something unexpected. before paint.
http://www.amazon.com/Bondo-907-Glazing-Spot-Putty/dp/B0002JM8PY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335585832&sr=8-1
I use this http://www.paulfrancispaint.com/servlet/Detail?no=102 .. I got it from a legit body shop place. The kinda shop that sells primer for $15 dollars a spray can. Its super easy to use and its very sandable.
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jk Its been pissin' down with rain here for the past week and I'm on the home stretch to the end of the Spring semester in school. Needless to say I have been too busy to work on my bike. BUT, when I do start up again, I will def take your advice. The inside of the tank needs to be POR-15'd as well.. cant wait. NOT.
