making fiberglass panels?

[KRONIK]

damn i know. i have a simple thing to show you. but cant find any pics or video.
i ll try and describe it. let me know if you want more detail.
imagine your fender on the truck.
imagine the wheel opening as you need it, on a piece of plywood.
position it 10 inches out from your wheel.
imagine cloth fastened on the fender body line and draped over the plywood. now adjust all the cloth so all the wrinkles and waves are gone.
glue tack or staple the cloth to the plywood so it stays in position.
now if this were fiberglass cloth once the shape is right, brush or spray gel coat on the fabric and let it cure. add 4 to 5 layers of CSM ( chopped strand mat) and your fenders are made. then sand smooth and finally spray one last time with gel coat. from there sand and prime, no foam, less mess and easy to do.
once done you can screw, rivet or bond the panels to the metal fenders.
use fiberglass cloth in 4x4 twill as it will be super easy to take any 3d shape for the initial shape.
to hold the first cloth to the fender you can screw a strip of wood to the fender clamping the cloth in place. brush or spray on the gel coat.
if we have an old sheet and tape and a piece of wood i could come down and mock one up for you and you can see it in 3 d and better understand what i mean

thanks.
how would I keep the fabric from drooping?
I may need to have you start a fender for me so I can get the idea of what you are saying.
wouldn't the wood create ridges in the fabric and resin? :dunno:

feeling really confused now. Hahaha

 

[Gunter]

with anything you make it larger than you need, then trim it down. to keep the fabric from drooping it has to be tight with suffucient tension to keep it in place. i think a gun to spray gel coat might be best but if you have a light touch the brush will do.anyways once this is done, you can then trim it down to the final shape. then add additional layers of CSM. also we can get fiberglass tape(fiberglass on a roll) in 1 inch width for make the edges stronger.


and food for thought--when the final fenders are done and painted and fitted, then mold can be made like the easy composites guys did for their hood. a good mold can make about 100 parts. i know you arent the only one wanting these. i know it sounds daunting, but once the part is made , making a mold is fairly easy and straightforward.. if you have seen the ricer guys glass kits and even the pre runner fenders all of them are of dubious quality. hacking them out or making quality parts , the amount of work is about the same.

 

[Gunter]

i also think a best case is a cherokee front fender. once the initial is started we can take it off and work it on a table. we should get together for a burger and i can explain more of it better if we can talk and look at a Xj or even my MJ. my strength in this is my body work/sculpting ability and my knowledge of the materials.
i could get a chinese Xj fender or a u pull n pay one. and experiment with it.i have most of the materials to do that on hand. would need lots of fiberglass mat and cloth.
sorry to be bouncing all over--if we made a mold of the final part--well the final parts have a way of getting heavy cause we build and add to it (bondo,fiberglass, fiberglass resin)get it to the final shape. from a mold of the final we can then keep the layers consistent and a consistent part made. if we team up to make a set of parts i can do the molding and make you a set of parts(out of the mold)
i also want to do a XJ hood possibly with a hood scoop on it in carbon fiber but the molds can be used with any of the 3 materials, fiberglass, kevlar or carbon fiber. if we perfect the molds and technique for fiberlgass the only change up to make them carbon fiber is the carbon fiber. and carbon is 40 percent teh weight of steel. and FG is about the same but not nearly as strong. stuff to consider.

 

[KRONIK]

I'm still down to meet up with you. But I do need to clear up one thing.
I am not making these for my xj. I am making fenders for my extended cab long bed Chevy.
lol. Ill post a pic of the truck im building them for.

 

[KRONIK]

 

[Gunter]

I'm still down to meet up with you. But I do need to clear up one thing.
I am not making these for my xj. I am making fenders for my extended cab long bed Chevy.
lol. Ill post a pic of the truck im building them for.

LOL
ooops doesnt matter
hahahaha

 

[KRONIK]

Hahaha.
Well here is the closest thing I have seen to what I want to accomplish.

These 2 are for ideas of what I want them to resemble.

 

[O-Gauge Steamer]

If you have access to either the white or silver vehicle above, we can take a pattern off of them very easily. Then it, is just a matter of blending that part into the Jeep.

Not hard, just time consuming...