Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum - EcoModder.com - View Single Post - Project Extended Pop-Top Aerodynamic Camper Shell ('99 Tacoma)

a8ksh4 · 04-20-2013, 11:57 PM

Alright, new progress for the week.

First thing was to go ahead and clean up the edges of all the existing fiberglass:

And then to build some wide stands to hang the top from up-side-down:

Then I stripped the guts out of the front half of the shell, put some extra pressure on the bracing for the back to help keep its shape, and started prepping for fiberglass. The strips that I used to build the curved surface that the top panels were glued onto were sanded down and all the cracks sealed.

I cut the fabric so it would go up both sides and am wrapping it around the opening for the front window:

All wet out:

Someone's advice on this forum was to use the lexan window to help form the fiberglass into the correct shape in the groove. We'll see how this comes out. You can kind of see the new fiberglass down at the bottom of this photo. I'm expecting some adhesion probs with this feature, but we'll see.

When I start overlapping the layers of fiberglass, should I sand it lightly or just wash it off to get rid of the amine stuff on the surface?

04-20-2013, 11:57 PM	#242 (permalink)
a8ksh4 B.O. Zen Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Folsom, CA Posts: 208 Pickup - '99 Toyota Tacoma 2wd, Regular Cab, Short Bed 90 day: 34.62 mpg (US) Thanks: 130 Thanked 140 Times in 59 Posts	Alright, new progress for the week. First thing was to go ahead and clean up the edges of all the existing fiberglass: And then to build some wide stands to hang the top from up-side-down: Then I stripped the guts out of the front half of the shell, put some extra pressure on the bracing for the back to help keep its shape, and started prepping for fiberglass. The strips that I used to build the curved surface that the top panels were glued onto were sanded down and all the cracks sealed. I cut the fabric so it would go up both sides and am wrapping it around the opening for the front window: All wet out: Someone's advice on this forum was to use the lexan window to help form the fiberglass into the correct shape in the groove. We'll see how this comes out. You can kind of see the new fiberglass down at the bottom of this photo. I'm expecting some adhesion probs with this feature, but we'll see. When I start overlapping the layers of fiberglass, should I sand it lightly or just wash it off to get rid of the amine stuff on the surface? __________________