Help !making fiberglass mold (female)

[SCOTT WITHERELL]

Getting ready to mold the bottom half (female mold) of my sport 20, need to know the best way or the best first material to be layed down (EX.mat, 3/4oz cloth,4oz cloth.ect) ,after the tooling gel, to get around the sponson corners and so on, to keep the material conformed to a tight fit on the plug with little or no air pockets or wrinkels for the first two or 3 build up layers , I will be working with polyester resin,work time will be short(25 to 35 mins)&(will be using a spray gun also) + have extra person to help lay out the resin and material. Would really like to see some MOLDING process pics from some of you guys that have already done this process and made some sport or scale hydro hulls, hate to ask for your trade secrets, but I don't want to mess this up.

Thanks : Scott N Witherell

 

[Ray Sametz]

Scott, Check out http://www.intlwaters.com/index.php?showtopic=21510&hl= Ray

 

[Brian Blazer]

I just went thru the whole process. Give me a call if you want.

513-598-1769

Brian

 

[Mark Poole ModVP]

Use the lightest mat you can find for the first couple layers. I have used 3/4 oz. with no problem. If you make sure the mat is saturated with resin before bending it over a corner it will conform better with less air trapped in it. An extra small fiberglass laminating steel roller (available from places like mini-craft of florida) does a nice job of getting micro air bubbles out of mat. You are better off using many layers of mat only, not woven cloth. If you put any cloth on it make sure you have at least 10 layers of mat down first. Putting cloth on too soon will result in the cloth pattern transfering through into the mold surface. If you make the mold thick enough there will be no need for bracing other than a couple of small wood strips to make it sit level and stable on a flat surface. Good luck.

 

[joefroooo]

Use the lightest mat you can find for the first couple layers. I have used 3/4 oz. with no problem. If you make sure the mat is saturated with resin before bending it over a corner it will conform better with less air trapped in it. An extra small fiberglass laminating steel roller (available from places like mini-craft of florida) does a nice job of getting micro air bubbles out of mat. You are better off using many layers of mat only, not woven cloth. If you put any cloth on it make sure you have at least 10 layers of mat down first. Putting cloth on too soon will result in the cloth pattern transfering through into the mold surface. If you make the mold thick enough there will be no need for bracing other than a couple of small wood strips to make it sit level and stable on a flat surface. Good luck.

Scott, Check out my post earlier this year on how I made my cowling http://www.intlwaters.com/index.php?showtopic=21510&hl= or follow the link from Rays post. I have a complete session of pictures on making a mold of a 1/8 scale hull that I will send you. PM me your email. I use epoxy for making my molds. It is a very easy proceedure if you take your time and prep your plug properly. Start out with making a cowl first to gain the confedence to takle a large part, If you mess up you wouldnt have a lot of materials lost. Do a google search for ( fiberglass mold making ).

Have you made any glass parts in the past or is this your first project? There are no secrets here, only different tecniques to accomplish the same results.

Joe