DIY Racecar Mold and Fiberglass Fabrication (Build Your Own Aero) 

I've been doing fiberglass work for around 17 years and have NEVER seen anyone recommend or practice waxing a dried PVA layer. And you're correct, warm water removes PVA better than anything.

​​@@HAMMER_2.2 *_Maybe I'm off here,_* but that response comes across like an off-hand dismissal. Like scoffing. In which case- the hell for? Just as well, you've done fiberglass for 17 years. OP specifically referred to *_carbon fiber_* and their experience with *_carbon fiber_* And while not a night and day difference in how they're prepared, and how the end products will turn out, from having the same techniques used to produce parts of each material, there are differences. Just because you've never seen it doesn't mean it either doesn't work or hasn't happened. Regardless how much experience you have. Nobody is nor can be omniscient.

@@3xeplodng_3agle_studios Hammer is just confirming what the OP has stated. The technique between working with glass fiber, carbon fiber, polyester or epoxy is exactly the same when it comes to releasing a part or plug from their moulds. I did try to wax pva for testing purposes (been making parts since 2004) and there is nothing wrong with it, just that you can disrupt the PVA layer and could end up with a chemical bound. In the case of the video you would first wax the plug about five times and then apply the PVA, but as Freedom Fries says himself, he's not an expert and by doing, he'll eventually learn. If you wax your part decently, you don't need the PVA and vica versa, but often its used in combination. It also isn't the custom to mix wax in the final layer of the laminate, this is only added to the gelcoat to make it a topcoat since gelcoat never fully cures when it is in contact with the air. In this case it is unnecessary and it only applies when you fix a gelcoat layer or use the plug to make a part without a making a mould.

@@monkeybase01 hey thank you for the levelheaded and genuinely informative response! I really appreciated that, and enjoyed reading it. I see the error in my perception.

Thats awesome man! I've just got back to the USA and will be starting back up. Lets connect on IG!

I don't envy painting a hood in the street haha!

Thanks man! It's my favorite thing I own!

This is definitely the correct method! Learned after making this video!

Glad to hear it! Let me know if I can help at all!

@@freedomfriestv thank you for the good and informative video. I am in the process of making a cowl hood for my 70 Cougar. Right now it is still the steel hood but I want to make a fiberglass one from the steel hood. I have never used fiberglass. 1st question, do you think the materials you made the door skin from will hold up to the heat from being a hood. 2nd question, where can I get all the materials you used to make the mold/plug and the final product? I'm not finding any "fiberglass kits" and have no idea what to start looking for. I went on Eastwoods website but was lost what to get. Thank you brother and I too enjoy a pinch of snuff 😁

​@@nova467spanker You may look into using a high temp epoxy if you're really concerned about the heat or maybe layering gold reflective tape along the inside to assist. I get my materials from fiberglasssupplydepot. You'll need a tooling gel coat, fiberglass mat, release wax, and PVA for the mold. (among other odds and ends) You'll need quite a bit of fiberglass cloth and polyester resin for the creation of the actual hood. Definitely buy a few cheap paint brushes, a metal roller to remove bubbles, wax additive for curing the resin, whatever flashing/hot glue for creation of the mold. (respirator as many have mentioned as well) GOOD LUCK BROTHER!

@@freedomfriestv cool man thank you. I will visit that website. Im probably gonna do 3 or 4 layers from the mold and then glass in some under bracing. Im still far off from my hood im making. Still some metal fab work, cutting and welding to do.

I started with making molds not so long ago and i was thinking the same. Not to bash the guy becouse he did a great job. But it seemed strange to add pva first and wax after it.

Hi there . When PVA is fully dry, there is no problem to put wax. The eventual problem will be , when PVA is layed , there is so much dust in the air (the dust and garbage is everywhere), and stick. When you apply the wax maybe with the rag you can probably hang some of the sticky garbage and peel it. I do it from years , and there is no problem .

Honestly you're probably right about the process, but I was able to carefully buff without damaging the PVA. That being said, the PVA was on there TOO thick. I changed to wax then HVLP spray the PVA since this video. Appreciate the comment though!

Thanks for the compliments man!! I really really want to get into more fabrication and carbon fiber when I get back to the ole USA - So, maybe we will be knocking out projects at the same time!

Hey dude I appreciate the compliment. Don't add wax to the gelcoat, but to the final layer of resin/fiberglass. I only add wax to gelcoat when I'm doing gelcoat repairs.

Carbon is the next step! I'll be getting vacuum infusion equipment in the future. You can definitely do without, but if you've seen ECO-LAP Studio... it's a lot of work!

Thank you!

I mean you want the kind that looks like Banes mask with the two filters. You don't need a full face, but I personally prefer the full face when I'm grinding or cutting. It's the only way to keep the dust out of my eyes. Safety glasses are useless for fiberglass dust and goggles don't seal properly around a respirator. What I use is a full face to cut and a half to mess with the chemicals.

@@johndohnson7902 Thanks man! I've invested in one since this video - definitely wasn't healthy beforehand...

I have! His channel gives some really good content for ideas. He obviously has a TON of experience to get such good product out of the way he does it. Incredibly impressive!

Thanks for the tip! I haven't seen it done that way and look forward to trying it out!

@@freedomfriestv no problem brother. 🤙#LGBFJB

Awesome man! Get it!

I really appreciate the compliment! Thank you!

​@freedomfriestv Any new content coming?

Not terribly. More activator makes it cure faster (but too much will cause it to heat enough to catch fire - but it takes A LOT extra). Not enough wont let it cure ever. Just order supplies from a reputable fiberglass dealer and they'll come with measuring tools usually.

Thank you for the advice! I'll definitely be purchasing some better safety gear when I get back to the USA.

Thank you! Planning on it soon!

I know you could manage these projects. I ordered significantly more because I wanted to jump head into it all!

Use west system as a try it before you commit to it. Practice on small parts.

Gladly! For a mold: PVA Release Agent Mold Release Wax Tooling Gelcoat (can be painted on) Iso Resin Fiberglass Mat (You'll want 3 layers of the thick stuff) Measuring Pail Metal roller (to get bubbles out) I get my stuff from fiberglasssupplydepot.com (they should sponsor me!) Sorry for the late reply!

@@freedomfriestv Thanks so much

​@@freedomfriestvdo you need to use pva and wax release agent as I've seen a couple of videos and someone just used wax and someone else just used pva ?

thank you brother!

No, thank you 🙏 😊

Thank you very much! I appreciate the kind words!

Thanks brother! Your comments at the start of me making videos is what really pushed me to continue!

I really appreciate that compliment! Thank you very much!!

Definitely in the works!

Great advice. Definitely have a respirator now!

Thank you! I used Fiberglass Supply Depot for the products. I would probably use West System or Fibreglast products for resin if I was doing carbon/infusion, but I've had NO issues with these products.

If I remember correctly, my dump gun was acting up - so improvise and adapt! Definitely a downer though! I appreciate the comment brother!

@@freedomfriestv of course! Thank you for the video. Very soon I’ll be making a mold for a lip I’ll be reproducing

@@josebarbosagarcia550 Awesome man! Are you posting anything about it on any social media?

@@freedomfriestv what’s your social?

Yes sir! Probably $350 for the pair. Has to be cheaper than replacing doors right?

Sweet! Post up when you are ready 2 sell a pair my drift car goes in for paint in about 6 weeks and I'd like 2 get me a set so I dont have 2 replace mine. I gutted my doors out so I can run "nascar style" door bars and I dont want to cut out another door

Thank you! Yeah, just make sure to seal off separations with molding clay so the gelcoat doesnt seep into any cracks. Good luck and I hope it goes well!

Thank you for the compliment!

Thank you!

Hahahahah gotta deal with the stress somehow

Probably best to just grab a set from Crown Carbon Crafting

Ive learned this and very surprised I had such an easy release this entire time! Thanks for the comment!

It kind of depends on your goal. The flange I placed around the piece was because it helps to release the item and it's needed for vacuum infusion. All of this was made to be reproduced MANY times. If weight isn't much of a concern - After doing bondo you can either do tape or what I prefer to do is rattle can the bondo with primer and preferably a topcoat. Apply PVA release (the green stuff in the video) then apply release wax (make sure to buff off). Then you can simply lay down your fiberglass and pull that from your plug (the foam/bondo piece). A mold (the red piece I lay my fiberglass into) will create a better/lighter piece, but will at least triple the cost vs just laying fiberglass over what you've already created.

@@freedomfriestv okay that makes sense thank you very much I appreciate your help I'm an auto body collision repair student just working on my own stuff and still kind of learning. I've made fiberglass moldings of small pieces and I've built stereo boxes but it's different to do a whole body kit. Thank u

Hey brother! I love projects like that. I'd love to give advice (its going to be a pain!)

@@freedomfriestv alrighty man I’m all for it I’m been dreaming of learning for a long time. Where do you want me to send you the pictures ?

@@freedomfriestv could I send you pictures of the project I wanna do just so you can give me a little bit of tips , I work at a bodyshop but unfortunately some of my coworkers don’t rlly give me the best tips because I still don’t understand

Definitely wasn't, but for the piece I was making was good enough. Didn't want to make it overly heavy/too resin thick

I just want to feel like I'm being held

You could likely epoxy or panel bond it. I havent tested a tire rub against it - but most people just riveted them on.

@@freedomfriestv thank you I’m going to be trying this hopefully soon

We crush doors pretty often in racing. The factory 350z has OEM door bars, so the door structure itself is 99% of the time fine but aesthetically not the most pleasing thing. Because we do it so often, its much easier to just bolt a skin on rather than swap doors every month or so.

Possibly, but more likely you'd look into composite courses for aerospace.

Well, don't get him back until I make a mold of his door too! I'll send you a video of what the finished product look like manggg

Thanks man!

Yes. Only issue I face when brushing on is the difficulty of getting the fiberglass backing to completely connect due to the grooves left by the brush.

Sounds like you'll just need to lay fiberglass over whatever your hull will be!

Yes. Wax, resin, Matt will make 1 part. You will need to do work to make the part look good. Gelcoat will make a mold so you can make many pieces with a perfect look every time.

You definitely could. Either a hard top replacement for the soft top or a full replacement like the normal 350z roofline. Would just take a bit of work and like 2 molds. (so I'd expect around $1,000 in material)

I am not sure how to manage the clear epoxy hood - I think most people use lexan for the clear hoods. I'd check out Easy Composites LTD youtube channel to see how they managed to get the bolt holes and everything secured to the composite hood. Good luck with the project man!

The more flimsy a product, the more difficult. You can setup a jig to have it mounted as it would be on the bike and then run the flashing for your run off or get real weird and find a way to do it while its mounted on the bike (messy though)

@@freedomfriestv sanding and painting souds way more doeble on that part then.

The piece releases easy enough that it wasn't necessary to reinforce the mold like this. Definitely would do that for something like a bumper or anything more complex than a slightly curved flat piece

Actually its a clay called plasticine. Significantly cheaper than importing filleting wax from the UK. Downside is clean up is a pain, but a plastic bristle brush and water+dawn dish soap does the trick!

It's my favorite shirt hahahah

Yeah. This is exactly how you'd make a mold for carbon and vacuum infusion. Will be doing the same inthe future.

@@freedomfriestv awesome thnks for the response great content by the way

I didnt use fillet wax, but wish I could have. This is simply plasticine model clay. Pain in the butt to clean, but some dawn dish soap in a cup of water and a bristle brush makes semi quick work of the excess after its peeled away.

@@freedomfriestv ah, gotcha. Thank you for the reply! I ended up ordering a couple packs of that Fill-it clay from FiberglassSupplyDepot which I believe is what you're talking about.

PVA first. Would recommend picking up a HVLP paint gun from harbor freight for $20 to spray on the PVA. Much easier/better release vs painting it on. That being said, I painted it on prior to learning this and had no major issues (outside of runs imprinting on the gelcoat).

I have never seen someone put wax on after the PVA. I have used just the PVA and had easy releases, but waxing first will make it easier.

@@danielohara2974 Maybe I'm mistaken in the process, but have always had easy releases. Will look into it! Thanks for the comment!

Wrap would likely get ruined. I've considered using wrap as a release agent but have read it doesn't work well. The heat build up from the fiberglass/gelcoat and the possibility of materials running is definitely high. I'd actually pull off the wrap from the panel before trying to replicate. Sorry man

@@freedomfriestv it's all good I have voltex flares on top of b magic overs. Turbo Coyote swapped Evo drift car 🤘🏻. So I full expect to ruin something. I appreciate the reply!!

@@untamedantiks5073 Dude that's the most wild thing I've read all day! Need to see that car.

@@freedomfriestv not my video but my car ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-dBZhtMDITjQ.html

Thanks! I really appreciate that!

Normally, I'd agree! The flex helped pulling the composite from the mould quite a bit though!

When someone scores too low on the ASAVB for a job they can get a waiver to still enlist. Yes its real. No I did not get an ASVAB waiver.. So I guess it's a bit of rude shirt.

Thank you sir!

I WISH IT WAS FILLETING WAX. I used plasticine (modeling clay/oil based clay). It's a pain to clean, but dawn dish soap and a plastic bristle brush does wonders. The clay is expensive but I've reused the couple lbs I purchased about 4 times.

Close enough. Manhattan area

@@freedomfriestv I'm Darnell with AlphaRPM and I would like to get into learning more hands on with molds

@@dnell816 Hey man, its going to be 6+ months until I get back from Dubai. After that, I'd be down to help you with it.

Changed the order of the PVA/Wax. The flexibility of the mold really seemd to help releasing the item. Why do you recommend the mat vs just building up with cloth?

@@freedomfriestv mat makes the bond- cloth like 1708, makes the strength

@@toma7744 Is fiberglass mat needed to bond carbonfiber cloth to the gelcoat as well?

@@freedomfriestv Besides the bond, the mat would conform easier to the spray texture of the gelcoat- (so no air pockets would form, any air between gel coat and fiberglass material would eventually crack open- so that is why most builders would use mat first... I never used carbon fiber, but assume it would be similar