cavalier aero bumper / working with fleece & fiberglass

[rednic79]

hello, I just waned to share with everyone the benefits of working with fiberglass resin and fleece. I know that we all love our coroplast and cardboard..hehe. but... if anyone is looking to build some more durable body panels I recommend looking into fleece....yes fleece, like a blanket. I've included a picture of a front bumper I had made a while ago for a cavalier that I no longer own. basically you can stretch the fleece material over top of whatever body part you are looking to create. then paint it with fiberglass resin. if you look up 'fleece sub box' on youtube, you will get the idea. anyhow. this bumper was actually quite strong and light. and you can achieve some great curves with the material. sorry I don't have any data on the bumper as far as mpg goes.

[Cobb]

Wow, that looks nice. I was reading something the other day about making stuff out of old snuggies.

I want to take the hood from my sidekick and make a fiber copy. It doesnt have to be perfect, just keep rain out of the hood. Im more concern about loosing weight as weight in the front greatly effects or makes the stage coach ride worse. Minus the weight and its smooth as silk going down the road.

Think I can can just spray the hood with a wax or release agent, lay the snuggie on top, then coat it in resin? Let it sit in the sun, dry, they pop it off? Make some holes for mounting bolts and a hinge?

[MetroMPG]

Thanks rednic!

That serves as "re-inspiration".

I never got beyond cardboard & garbage bags for my massive Firefly bumper/air dam. (And as a result I only got to use it for a few days before I drove through a massive rain storm. ) At least coastdown testing showed it worked before it got turned to mush.

Sigh... so many projects, so little time.

[MetroMPG]

Was the bumper like this one originally?

[rednic79]

Yes, exactly like that one.

As far as making a new hood out of fleece.....it would end up as an inverse of the hood if you use the hood as a mold. Dunno about any heat issues with the fleece as well.

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by Cobb

Wow, that looks nice. I was reading something the other day about making stuff out of old snuggies.

I want to take the hood from my sidekick and make a fiber copy. It doesnt have to be perfect, just keep rain out of the hood. Im more concern about loosing weight as weight in the front greatly effects or makes the stage coach ride worse. Minus the weight and its smooth as silk going down the road.

Think I can can just spray the hood with a wax or release agent, lay the snuggie on top, then coat it in resin? Let it sit in the sun, dry, they pop it off? Make some holes for mounting bolts and a hinge?

For a guaranteed release,a coat of polyvinyl alcohol,followed by three applications of 100% carnauba wax will give trouble-free results.

[Cobb]

Thanks. This maybe my first project. My second one is to copy the hatch of my insight. I bet that will save a hell of a lot of weight.