Im posting this here because i know there are alot of resourceful minds frequenting this forum and i might be able to get some help. Anyways, a customer has asked me to build them a custom wide body kit for a 3000gt out of glass. Does anyone here know anything about modeling and mold building or can put me in touch with some resources online? I need to know what the best material is for the modeling portion, and then the best way to turn that model into a useable buck to lay the glass onto. Any help would be much appreciated.

 

Have you ever done any fiberglass work before?

http://www.fibreglast.com/show....html

look there

 

Not like this. I told the customer i probably wasnt the guy for the job but he really wants me to do it. I dont know. I wish it were metal, then i wouldnt have a problem with it.

 

just quote the guy like 50k...especially if you dont have all the equipment for doing composites

 

I've never done anything the size of the whole pannel but I've done several items in the 2x2 foot range. I plan on doing two hoods this summer. if you want I can help walk you through the whole process. PM me. I agree, charge him a lot though because you are going to mess up and will probably have to do it a couple of times to get it right. Also how much time is he giving you to do it? Do you have a good idea of what he wants the body to look like? If you are really good with metal then do the first one in metal and then take a mold off of that. Just charge him for it.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by b16_DIM &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I've never done anything the size of the whole pannel but I've done several items in the 2x2 foot range. I plan on doing two hoods this summer. if you want I can help walk you through the whole process. PM me. I agree, charge him a lot though because you are going to mess up and will probably have to do it a couple of times to get it right. Also how much time is he giving you to do it? Do you have a good idea of what he wants the body to look like? If you are really good with metal then do the first one in metal and then take a mold off of that. Just charge him for it.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I disagree don't charge him a lot because you don't have the experience for the job, charge him a lot to do a nice job for him. If you don't have the experience but still want to take on the job go into it with the idea that you are going to take a loss on the first one especially. It's good that you were upfront about your inexperience with the customer, at least then he can expect a bit longer wait time. If you are good enough to build a body kit in metal that is good enough to pull molds from in the first place you should stop there because that would be much cooler than a fiberglass body kit. In fact I have never seen a body kit in metal but the cost just for that would be pretty high. The reason to go with glass in the first place is lower cost and the ability to make complex shapes easily.

What material you will use for the pattern depends on how extensive the modification to stock will be. If it's an extreme change you would be best ot go with polyurethane foam to creat the shape from. It's very easy to shape, fill and coat and is compatible with most resin systems. Build wood stations and fill in the gaps with foam, then cut the foam back to the shape of the wood station. Then glass over, fill and sand your *** off. Use a contour gauges and templates to make each side identical. The pattern will probably get pretty heavy so you will want to brace the plastic bumpers so they don't sag under the weight. After you get your shape down you can pull molds from the master pattern. I would charge him a bunch for the initial design and modeling work because that requires a good eye and lots of time. Each mold will probably be $1000 min if they are made well and even more if you use epoxy to build them. Then charge him to make the parts, install and paint. A conservative estimate for this job if you know what you are doing and have the materials and equipment is in the range of $15-16K. That is probably a few months work if you have other things going on as well.

You can check out my composites forum or feel free to ask for help. If you need more help than just a few questions I'm also available for consulting and training.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by crx12 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I disagree don't charge him a lot because you don't have the experience for the job, charge him a lot to do a nice job for him. If you don't have the experience but still want to take on the job go into it with the idea that you are going to take a loss on the first one especially. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Just to clarify, what I meant was that you will want to charge him a lot because, being your first experience you will probably use close to twice the materials and four times the time you expect. Charging a lot will prevent under estimating.

 

LOL I guess you missed my point. What I am saying is the customer shouldn't have to pay for the extra materials used due to inexperience. When you quote a job there should be a few percent added in for normal waste but not a whole bunch added in because you are planning on rebuilding things. I do think you could work out with your customer a certain amount of trail and error cost since he already knows custom composites are not you bag. As long as you are upfront with the guy and he's willing to pay for the work and your learning I think that's fine. He obviously trusts you and loves the work you have done in other areas if he's still willing to have you do the work.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by crx12 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">LOL I guess you missed my point. What I am saying is the customer shouldn't have to pay for the extra materials used due to inexperience. When you quote a job there should be a few percent added in for normal waste but not a whole bunch added in because you are planning on rebuilding things. I do think you could work out with your customer a certain amount of trail and error cost since he already knows custom composites are not you bag. As long as you are upfront with the guy and he's willing to pay for the work and your learning I think that's fine. He obviously trusts you and loves the work you have done in other areas if he's still willing to have you do the work. </TD></TR></TABLE>
I think we are saying the same thing. You are saying it better though

 

hello i am in the process of getting a chrysler crossfire and i want to get body kit for itbut can not find one does anyone know where i could get one made and order it/

 

probably not on a honda forum... i'd check with a local body shop.

 

iv done a ligit wide body for a prototype car, panels were carbon and the molds were made of polyester resin and 2 oz fiber glass matt, little advice, take the hours you quoted him...double it, after preping, laying up the molds, test fitting (lots of it) and if this is your first time, plan on alot of rework (no offense) get on some fiberglass forums im sure youll find more resources than on here...GL

 

lol, reading owns you, this thread is almost 3 years old.