I'm a fiberglass guy and I could give you a few tips 1 invest in a small j roller to roll out any bubbles which will improve strength and durability 2 acetone works wonders for cleaning said j roller 3 4" diamond blade on a grinder is dangerous but cuts it like butter 4 4" sanding pad disc on a grinder also gets through glass pretty well 5 you can use a light coat of high temp grease on aluminum foil for quick release 6 (knowledge based opinion) when working with the woven Matt sandwich it 2 layers chop 1 woven 1 chop wetting it thoroughly and j rolling the bubbles out Let the first 4 layers cure about 40 minutes then put down 2-3 layers of chop again This will be extremely strong and make the piece much smoother and easier to prep for Paint or whatever.
Instead of wetting out the glass on the bike, wet it out on a table covered in plastic, then roll the wet glass up like a tube. Carry it to the bike and roll it out over the tape covering. You can save on waste glass and resin by cutting it more accurately in the first place this way as you can move the wet layers if needed. Those nuts will break loose eventually, after the nuts have rusted on. Better to glass and rivet in a drilled and tapped stainless plate for those hinged fxr seats. And i always put in a point for the restraining cord ,stops the seat opening up to far and damaging the hinge mounts in the seat and the side of the seat bending where it hits the frame. Just my two bobs worth, but i've only owned 14 fxr's over the years and made 12 custom bases using this method, hinge mounts are critical failure points,particularly on original two piece seats. If it is a one piece seat use the front mount bracket, because if you have a sissybar on, the hinge restricts opening because of the rear mount being under the bar, hitting the pad when opened. Just some things i've learned through grit teeth and trial and fuckup.
The way you get "good" is too keep fucking up til you get it right. Seats arent hard if you're willing to put your ego aside and learn from you mistakes
You can’t learn if you don’t try it yourself so I’d have to disagree. All of you “professionals” were amateurs at some point as well and I’ve seen plenty of so called professional work that were hack jobs too. If you take the time to do research and study and make sure you have the right tools and materials and take your time doing yourself you can have an end result that you should and can be proud of.
I can agree with some of this and some of this I don't. Certain things take years to perfect. We can's all be great at everything. I have just learned over the years that some things take too much equipment and too much dedication to make it look great. IF you want show quality stuff a lot of times you have to take to a guy who specialize. We do work for customers and the expect a certain quality level. If you are working on your bike and learning great. If you are dong it for someone in a professional environment it better not be your first time. Thanks for watching.
