I made a positive mold of the stock hood out of fiberglass mat and polyester resin, it's the cheapest way to make a mold.
I used the hood pins for ease and cost. If I wanted to hook up the hinges, I would need to make a mold of the underside of the hood too, not just the outside, which would double costs of the mold and make it more complicated.
Vacuum pump is a necessity to make sure the CF sucks into the mold without air pockets.
Their are 3 different liquid systems, epoxy is the strongest and most expensive, polyester resin is the cheapest, stinkiest, weakest (This is what you find at lowes)
The most popular mold release agent is called polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). Good stuff.
Mold making is really the hardest part of the whole process, you need it to be thick enough to be stiff, not any big air pockets, and you need to make it bigger than the hood (or whatever you're making). You can do that by gluing plastic or covered cardboard on the underside extending out, then laying the fiberglass over and wetting it all down with the resin.
Here is an excellent resource, which is what inspired and taught me how to make my hood. Warning: you will probably spend the next 6 hours straight reading through everything.
Sub 2500 lbs. 96 Mustang Cobra Project... - Ford Mustang Forums : Corral.net Mustang Forum
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zeetah
what was your mold made of that it cost so much? im thinking of using foam or clay, which ever is easier and cheaper to work with.
why did your hood have pins? couldnt you attach it like your OEM hood? im sure its possible and should be fairly simple, no?
absolutely correct about practicing with smaller items first lol, the materials i think i need are
- vac bag pump thingy ( dont know the proper name )
- cf and fg sheets
- the hardener ( called epoxy resin? )
- and the liquid you put over your mold so that you can detach your finish product after so it doesnt stick to the mold itself
right? i know im obviously going to have to do more research, but i just wanted to get an idea of it, still have a couple months of ()@#&@ WINTER....................
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