This is the video that I have been searching for, I've been wanting to make my own aftermarket front and rear bumper cover for my car and this is the best way I have found to do that. Thank you for your videos and your time.
Nicely done!! A great improvement. I was following a build you were working on before you started building your house, you were going to pack it all into a trailer. I've had a few computer changes since then and lost track of your activities. Glad to see you are still hard at work with all the creativity still intact after the house build. I've built several and I know how they can wear you out. Keep up all the good work. Best regards.
You sir are amazing. I never saw so happy man in my life. You know everything about cars and you're filming this videos with so much determination, it's unbeliaveble! I have question for you, ofcourse if you wanna answer me...Do you have wife or kids? :)
Nothing was poured into the white mold. What you see @ 11.04 is the result of another fiberglass layup - this time using grey gelcoat. The blue is PVA release which I then hose off. This laying up of the final product is shown from 10.00. This is a Masterclass" tutorial for the experienced fiberglasser. Do yourself a favour & go to my "Library" (top left main channel page), select the Fiberglass Tutorials" listings, and watch the first one which covers all the basics in full detail. To put all that information in every one of my videos would make them boringly repetitive & too long.
Depending on the price. I’d be interested in buying a custom bumper from you, if you’re willing haha. You do fantastic craftsmanship and I believe it’s exactly what I need for my Chevy Impala 2006. Thank you’
Yes you can. You can see me do it from part 6 in this build series. ru-vid.com/group/PLh5B6MCXRHiFalCU0qKyDltcBxNVZCLS1 and in this one I show how I made the rear guard overs ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-syZO0BGr8eI.html
You should rename this video, because most people on youtube call it a front bumper or such, not front car bar. I really had no clue what this video was about until I decided to watch it. You'd get way more views I'd imagine if you named it differently!!!
This is the second upload of this video (due to the music police). The previous version had over 4k views, but those view numbers are not transferred when you re-load a revised video. The many different names for the same basic car part in different countries when you're uploading a video to be shown in most of them also raises difficulties - a bonnet in Aust. & the UK is a hood in the USA, a boot lid is a trunk..a pick up is a ute - it's endless. But I have re-titled this title to "bumper" to keep you happy.
Awesome video. I've been trying to figure out how to make a custom bumper without sculpting the entire thing out of thousands of pounds of clay. What did you use for the actual bumper (bar) piece? It was the white mold, then suddenly a grey bumper pops out.
It's all clearly shown in this video. I began with the damaged factory bumper, then sculpted in the changes I wanted. A white three piece mold was made of this, then grey copies were made in those molds. Then they were joined together still in the molds into the final piece that went on the car. If you can't follow that in the video maybe this is beyond you?
This video is clearly titled "Masterclass for the experienced", not to deride anyone starting out, but meaning it does not cover every basic step of fiberglassing. That was done in my first fiberglass tutorial, and repeating every single step over & over again in all subsequent fiberglass tutorials would be boring and make those videos way too long. The final (grey) copy made in the white mold is just yet another 3 piece fiberglass wet layup exactly the same as that used to make the white mold. Wax, PVA release, Gelcoat, then poly resin on 1 layer of 225gm chopped strand mat followed by two layers of 450gm chopped strand mat. Go back and watch my first fiberglass tutorial until you know the steps by heart. Then we can hopefully avoid all this repetition and laugh our arses off.
Great info on your channel... thanks! I'm making custom fibreglass bumbers for the first time and interested to know where to buy Quick Fair product from. Local suppliers that I contacted in South Australia did not stock it. Cheers.
No.. it's VEFAIR.. which is just the brand name for Fairing Compound as made & sold by Trojan Fiberglass Supplies here in Newcastle where I used to work. Because they actually make the stuff no-one is cheaper. You can order & pay by phone & they'll deliver to you. Ask for Mitch who does the orders (he's a petrol head). Tell him I sent you, explain what you're doing and arrange a trade account. A Google will get you contact info.
Thanks, you're a legend!! I will contact Trojan. Also, I will send you a photo of the car once finished. You were a huge inspiration for me to push the envelope and turn the custom car dreams into a reality. Thanks again.
Question so that fiberglass mold can be use as back up bumper bc I don't understand why u fiber glass the bumper if your not going to use that fiberglass mold I think that was a waste of fiber glass but I don't understand your method so explain to me plz🙂
New chums to making fiberglass car parts are always looking for short cuts - and there aren't any. It is not possible to sculpt a car part, then make a copy of it to go on your car in a two stage process of make a die, make a copy. Why? Because all the surfaces would be inside out and back to front. Think of copying half an orange. It can't be done in 2 steps. If you just fiberglassed over the orange, would you have that ball shape with the orange peel texture on the outside? No. You would have a concave rather than a convex shape, with the orange peel surface on the inside. What you need to do is a third step, and copy that mold of the orange, the third stage giving you a convex, ball shaped piece of fiberglass. It's exactly the same with car panels. Three steps are required because it cannot be done in two steps. So the mold that does not go on the car is not wastage - but an essential part of the duplication process.
Have you ever tried to make fiberglass inner fenders? I think that it would be neater looking than metal inner fenders if done by an amateur, but i can't figure out how
Nothing. I didn't use a pouring technique. 9:56ff Yes, i used the exact same fiberglass layup to make the final copy in the mold as I did in making the mold: Wax, PVA release, Gelcoat, 1 layer x 225gm/8oz csm, then 2 x 450gm/1oz csm.
Hi, I have been a long time subscriber and love your channel. Could you please tell me what I'm missing. I would like to make a copy of my original plastic bumper that is Mazda OEM painted, but I want to be able to keep the original bumper. The original bumper is two pack painted and dose not contain any filler. You have said that it would need to be sealed with the Wattle Estapole 708. What would happen if I skipped the 708 stage. Would the job not separate, would the original paint be come away with the mold or something else. I'm sorry to be asking stupid questions, but I have searched your videos and can't find the answer. PS: Thanks for making these videos, they are so well made and insightful. Regards Clive...
Hi Clive. Not a stupid question at all. Yes, you only need the 7008 to seal car body fillers that absorb gelcoat. On a clean bumper just give it two coats of release wax (NOT car wax), and brush on two coats of PVA release. The latter will just hose off or a rag in warm water will do the same. Then just polish the wax.
Hi Bill, I've got another question for you. Do you tend to roller out each layer during laminating, or like the first and last or something? and in addition, do you apply a full coat of resin after each roller'd out layer before adding the next layer of cloth? I tried working it out from the vids but sometimes these sections are sped up to show the overall process. I'm about to lay up my first fibreglass part :) Thanks again. Steve
I'm sorry you're only allowed one question. Hahahaha! Normally you only need to use a consolidating roller after all cloth is laid, but if the shape has fine details or curves in it I might lay the 225gm csm & the first layer of 450gm csm & use it before laying the next cloth. Each layer of cloth is preceded by a coat of resin. You don't add resin onto the top of the last layer because the consolidating roller works the resin up to it's top surface. If you watch my very first fiberglass tutorial it shows all the basics in detail. Remember this particular video is a MASTERCLASS for the experienced, so just go back & watch my first one designed for beginners again - and buy the booklet off e-bay shown at the end. Expect mistakes & problems if you don't.
Hahaha! I should have wished for more wishes! Hey thanks for the detailed responses Bill, its definitely not going to waste. I just created a google+ post with some pictures of what I'm working on. If you get time please have a ganders! Cheers, Steve plus.google.com/collection/IO1SZE
Ha! No worries, bum steer lol haven't heard that for a while! Well I went and had a crack at it, I think my gel coat was not completely cured as there a a couple spots that are sticky on the female mold part. Overall it came out great in terms of surface conformity just those patches. Would that be salvageable somehow if I cleaned it off, sanded and maybe put on a glaze to get to the final part? I'm hoping so!
Gelcoat faults are common when molding. Yes, you just sand them, patch them with car body filler, sand again, then paint the patched area with whatever brand epoxy clear you used to seal your die so the repair won't become part of your copy.
any reason why you didnt just fiberglass the bumper all in one shot with the 3 part molded bolted together rater then laying up the 3 seperate molds and then bolting them together? great video.
Yes - there is a very important reason which stumps most beginners. Fiberglass mat saturated with resin is a heavy wet cloth that cannot be laid on any underside of a mold, because it just falls down & off the gelcoat. Doing the initial lay up in 3 pieces allowed me to let those "hanging" parts to tack so they then did not fall away from the mold when I bolted it all together for the final lay up that united it into one piece. Good question. I cover this in detail in my recent video on making a one piece Honda Integra front end.
Hi Bill, something I’ve seen elsewhere but haven’t seen you cover really is that adding dimension to a mould improves the strength of the resulting fibreglass shape / panel. Is there any rules you must follow for the direction it must be for the forces put on it? I’ve thought about using styrofoam inside my race seat.
People get overly carried away with the idea that fiberglass needs re-enforcing, forgetting the incredible strength that comes from it's interlocked laminated layers... way stronger than sheet metal pressed to a shape because it's MADE in that shape. Yes occasionally you need to add ribs or core material to give extra strength - but if you get your thickness and type of cloth correct most of the time you DON'T. The only rules in racing for fiberglass are specs on minimum thickness (so you don't make panels so thin they will fracture & fly off). You have to use the correct type of foam with fiberglass because poly resin will literally EAT most of them. You're over thinking things, and experience will tell you when a basic layup needs strengthening.
Hi Bill, I'm seeing gelcoat with wax, and no wax. What should I be using for processes like this, ie over prepped plugs, molds etc? What are both types used for? Great vids fella. Thanks, Steve
I'm not sure what you mean by "both types". However on my plugs/dies and molds I ALWAYS use BOTH release wax & PVA release, and ALWAYS use Gelcoat as the first step in laying up fiberglass. To cover all and every basic step again & again in every video would make them too long and bloody boring. To avoid this I skip basic steps in videos I title "Masterclass" like this one "for the experienced", and also direct newchums back to my very first fiberglass tutorial where I covered all the basics in detail. I also ALWAYS seal my plugs/dies with Wattyl 7008 (USA = Famowood Glaze Coat) to stop the gelcoat locking itself into any fillers in the dies. The steps are always the same, it's only the video content or detail that varies for the reasons outlined.
Sorry Bill, I meant the gelcoat itself,... I gather what I should be using is a gelcoat with no wax in it, ie to keep the exterior tacky until the fiberglass layup goes down... as i said, I found the explanation in Warrings Glassfibre Handbook. The gelcoat would be classed as air-inhibited with no wax in it. I saw an option of 'with wax' when i was looking to order and it threw me off. I wanted to make sure I ordered the right stuff. It seems 'with wax' aka a sanding aid would be used if a full cure was desired for certain applications. Thanks, Steve
I applied one generous coat of brush on gelcoat. You can apply spray on gelcoat with a brush, but it needs a second coat after the first one won't lift off when you touch it ( but when it will still be tacky). Resin and cloth are always applied when the gelcoat is like that too. I normally apply it in the afternoon & leave it overnight. But you can't leave gelcoat longer than about 2 days befoe doing the fiberglass lay-up as it then starts to shrink & crack.
Hi sir, I keep watching your videos about making custom car bumper ,also I subscribe your you tube channel there many videos help me out because I'm interested to making my own fibreglass car body parts.
It's trade name is "Fairing Compound" - widely used in the boat repair industry because it is aerated and light weight. Basically just poly resin with fillers whipped in. You'll find it by searching for "Fiberglass Materials Suppliers" in your area who service the boat industry. If that fails search for "Fiberglass boat repairs" andwork backwards to their supplier.
Aussie slang for automotive car body filler. Strewth digger, I went for a fang in the EH and had a prang - grunters came and the ambos. Towies were great, but the sheila in the other rust bucket looked like the back of a bus. I was buggered. Too many XXXXs. Know what I mean???
