Fiberglass Mold Making and Fabrication How To - Project Blog

Fiberglass Helicopter Ceiling Fan Build Continued

Now, I move forward with creating buck stations. A buck station is a guide that ensures that your plug is going to resemble what you want it to in the end. For this project I use the same 1/8 inch mahogany that I used for the initial profile pieces. My strategy for placement of buck [...]

Understanding the Dynamics of Fiberglass Molds that Stick

Ask any group of composites fabricators, and it is quickly apparent that everyone has encountered a problem with sticking a part in a new mold. It is just a fact of life in the open molding business, that on occasion a new mold will stick the initial part, regardless of the fabricators perception of the [...]

Fiberglass Mold Release – PVA Pros and Cons

I have received many questions from those who purchased my manual set regarding mold releases. Especially when preparing the plug. The bulk of the questions seem to come from the use of PVA as a mold release. Let me start by saying that I like and prefer to use PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) mold release at [...]

Fiberglass Model Build – The Final Product!!!

After the PVA dries, I brush in a nice healthy layer of gelcoat. Once the gelcoat cures to a tack, I begin to lay resin and mat. Since this is a fairly large item, I do two layers of 1 ½ ounce mat to provide a little strength without the part getting too heavy. Once [...]

Plug Building for Fiberglass Molds

Its funny how we do things that we think are not only the right way but the only way only to find out later that there are better ways. Years ago, when I first discovered the use of dry foam, ( No I had no experience with surf boards), as a medium for plug construction, [...]

This Fiberglass Mold Making Blog Was Hacked

Hello fiberglassers, I maintain Steve Jone’s web sites and blogs. Well, I sort of maintain them. I had to move this blog to a new server due to a couple of issues. I did not stay up with WordPress Security Updates which resulted in the site getting hacked. (You would think hackers could find something [...]

Fiberglass Finishing Microballoons

I have written blog entries in the past in which I have shared my experiences with new techniques and new products that are available for construction with composites. This is another one of those. Whenever I am building the surface of a part that is being made of chopped mat, I end up with a [...]

Fiberglass and Foam Plug Building

Its funny how we do things that we think are not only the right way but the only way only to find out later that there are better ways. Years ago, when I first discovered the use of dry foam as a medium for plug construction, I thought that I had found the perfect plug [...]

Fiberglass Reproduction License Plates

In the post prior to this one I had just started to get into the benefits of using silicone for a mold for a fiberglass project like this one. First of all, silicone doesn’t smell and it doesn’t stick to anything other than itself. With silicone I would never have to worry about ruining the [...]

Building a Fiberglass Fender – The final Chapter

To begin laying up a fender, I mix about a half a cup of gelcoat with the recommended amount of hardener. Once this is thoroughly mixed, I use a disposable chip brush to paint the gelcoat into the mold. I try to get a heavy layer of consistent thickness. This gelcoat needs to cure [...]