Ok so tonight was my first fiberglassing adventure, i fiberglassed the top art of the steering column. I put a few guages on the panel with 2 inch pvc and wrapped it in a tee shirt ( which was a bad idea because the resin was on too thin) so i soaked it in resin and layed about 4 or 5 layers of mat and now its hard as a rock. So on to the questions, what grit should i start at sanding raw fiberglass? 40 or 60? and i was wondering what attachment you guys use when cutting the excess fiberglass off the mold for the dremel, will a cutoff wheel be ok or will it cause the fiberglass to flake off? also for the final sanding i should use like 1000 grit or 1500 grit? Please exlain the grit process as i read the sticky and it said start with 40 or 60 i think
thanks
jason norwood
gmto2nr

u could start with 60 fine. A dremel is what i use to cut off the excess.. nice clean cuts.. only problem is just dusty so i'd recommend having a shop vac near that can suck up all the dust.. cuz get the dust on u and ur itchin the rest of the day. I've always started with 80grit.. but only cuz thats what i have for my d/a and i can sand a lil easier with the d/a.. As for sanding.. u dont need to go up to 1000grit cuz thats basically sandpaper for color sanding and fine finishing painted surface sanding.. I think u could prolly go up to 180/220 with the fiberglass.. put a couple layers of etching or filler primer on it.. then if u want it smoother just take some 400-500 grit and sand and u could prolly go up to 800grit if u wanted it really smooth..

And ill suggest when sanding f/g have some sort of respirator.. u dont need that dust gettin in u..

wear a respirator please. its can cause serious damage to your lungs if you dont. im talkinga bout internal bleeding here. so make sure you wear one.



for fiberglass. i sand as little as possible i try to make the shape as clean as possible. once the piece is strong enough i'll just hit it with the sander with 60 grit to knock down any high spots then i coat it in filler and sand the filler. you can sand down filler in 1/10th the time it takes to sand fiberglass down.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/sndsgood/ https://www.facebook.com/#!/Square1Photography

ok, so i used the dremel to cut off the excess and stuff, just use a thin coat of bondo right? then what numbers in the sand paper do i use then? and when do i use the glazing utty? thats before the bondo right?
thanks for all the help guys, and by the way do you guys use a mask when you sand , not the resorator but like glasses?
thanks again
jason norwood

How To - Fiberglass


Wide Body Progress

with filler depending on the filler will depend on what grit i use. with rage gold wich i usually use i start with an 80 then 180, then 220 then 400 . with bondo brand filler i'd start with a 60 grit then go from there. glazing putty is used to fill in the little pinhole youlle have when you sand the filler smooth.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/sndsgood/ https://www.facebook.com/#!/Square1Photography

Hello everyone and thanks for all the help this far, i will include pictures tonight after i get done touching u the spots that i have to fill in, i used 60 grit and the 150 and then 220 and its pretty smooth, should i wet sand with 800 grit before i prime it?? Also is the glazing utty that i need to fill in the pin holes the same as the stuff at the hardware store that says its for wood and aluminum?? if not where can i find it?? what is the ainting process for this interior stuff? can i use rattle can sray rimer if its high build? and also how do most of you guys paint these pieces, with spray paint or have it professionally done, also how do i clear coat the piece and how many coats?
thank for all the help
jason norwood

u can find glazing putty near the fiberglass and fillers or at the auto store in the same area. wet sanding with 400 grit is fine. i just wet sand the high build primer. i prefer sprayinv with a hvlp spray gun over ratttlecans anyday. as far as the clear its all up to you how thick u want the clear to be.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/sndsgood/ https://www.facebook.com/#!/Square1Photography

Sndsgood, thanks for all the help and i mean it i have learned a lot of tricks in the process of the creation of this whole piece and have spent 23 and a half hours on it and it payed off tonight because i got to prime and paint it! So shold i wet sand after i paint or clear???? how many coats of clear should i really use??i was thinking 5 and i just apply it like aint nice and even right???

thanks so much for the info as it should reall help me finisf my whole interior before this upcoming season, i will post a pic tonight after the paint is nice and dry
thanks again everyone and especially snsdsgood!!!!

as long as there are no issues with yoru color just lay the clear on and as i said layers of clear will depend on you. more you use the more deapth it will appear to have but you'd have to do allot if yoru using a rattle can, 5 coats should be fine. i basically just use more clear if its an area that will receive allot of contact.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/sndsgood/ https://www.facebook.com/#!/Square1Photography

I want to see pictures. I like pictures.

ok so i am doing good but getting discouraged easily, the piece under the steerling wheel which is a subframe of the dash if you will i am painting it silver and am having hella problems with waves and hi and low spots after i fill, i glassed the whole piece and used filler on it, now when i use primer there are a lot of high and low spots, what am i supposed to do keep filling and sanding for the next week?? by the way the only reason i didn't just sand it down was because i have my digital airride monitor in the dimmer switch so i had to fabricate a little bit
thanks
everyone
jason norwood
gmto2nr

im confused....are u talking about the gauge bezel or the bottom of the dash? cuz if u glassed in the dimmer for the digital setup, thats the bezel, not the bottom of the dash.

i fiberglassed my dakota digital airride monitor in the spot of my dimmer switch to the left of the wheel.

just gotta keep sanding it down. if you have waves use a block of wood with the sandpaper on it. for that i'll spray a dark primer on then a light primer over top and start sanding with the block. it will show you your worst areas. getting rid of those waves is the diffrence between your average kids fiberglass piece and a pros fiberglass piece. people wonder why fiberglass is so expensive to have someone do. this is the reason.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/sndsgood/ https://www.facebook.com/#!/Square1Photography

ok just a question, when i use filler, sometimes ill let it sit for like a day or so before sanding because of my work schedule, and when i sand it down sometimes i will hit a spot that it still muddy, after 24 hrs it shouldn't be like that, but what happened? is there a chance that that spot got no catalyst? i am not talking about big spots but rather 1/8 inch by 1/8th inch spots
thanks
jason
gmto2nr

could be it wasnt mixed up completely. ive had that happen before. or there was not enough catalyst and cold weather.

mix better. if it was the cold your entire piece would be muddy. but since its just small areas its from not mixing it well enough. mix it until the color is all the same.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/sndsgood/ https://www.facebook.com/#!/Square1Photography

Here are the pictures of the pod i glassed it was my first time glassing now i am doing the lower part of the dash and side of the glove box, thanks for all the help especially sndsgood!!!!








comments welcome
jason
gmto2nr

Wow, I just read through the whole post, and some of the info kinda scared me. Somebody up there said to use an etching primer or high build primer, wow. Number one, they are COMPLETELY different things. Etching primer, you only put on a VERY thin coat, and it isnt used for filling. High build, you usually put on 3-4 coats, block it down, wet sand it, then put on a coat of sealer, then your base, then clear, that is the method I would have personally used. Number 2, if you spray etching primer on plastic or filler, haha, enjoy the results. Etching primer is used on bare steel, to promote adhesion with the primer, because regular primer surfacer doesnt adhere to large patches of bare steel, you need some sort of chemical adhesion, which is what the etch does. Etching primer is an acid, so imagine what that would do to plastic and filler. Number two, not really bad info, but with the clear, if you are using an spray gun, the newer clears, like PPG DC4000, you wont get any more shine out of 5 coats as you would 2 or 3. Also, in the mist of all of this, I would add flex agent to your primers and clear, base doesnt matter because it is so thin and it wont crack anyway, clear and primers go on heavy, so add flex, and the finish will last a very very long time. I am pretty sure PPG's flex is DX814 and you can add up to 5% of the total mix. If you have anymore questions, just ask!

your piece doents look bad jason. i just think i would have sanded it some more before paint. sucks doing all that sanding but its the diffrence between looking good and looking great.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/sndsgood/ https://www.facebook.com/#!/Square1Photography

ok so using a palm sander what grit do you guys use the palm sander up to like 240?? then hand sand everything else?? also for fiberglassing the dash i took the vinyl off and removed the air bag cover do i leave the metal bracing on the underside of the dash on or take it off??
thanks
jason

i would leave the bracing on. i would also put the dash top back in the car while the resin is curing so it dosent warp, as i assume u are using bondo brand products which have a tendency to shrink/warp when curing

as for the palm sander, i use upto 320 grit usually, then go into hand sandng

240 is about right for a palm sander. with hand i go up to 240 or so before i hit it with primer, then go over it again with 240 to find the highspots and keep doing that till i have it smooth. then i sand up to 400 grit and prime.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/sndsgood/ https://www.facebook.com/#!/Square1Photography

If you are going to use a high build primer, high build will fill in 240 scratches easily. Then block the high build with 400, then final sand with 600, then seal, then base, then clear.