So teach me about fiberglassing..., oil cooler shroud inspired by eastcoaste Options

[Aaron Cox]

i have a 13" x 4" setrab cooler in the front of my car... its been up and running with no ducting so far. id like to make a fiberglass shroud to duct the air out the bottom......

so - reading east coaster's fg cooler shroud thread i think this is a great idea....
BUT
i know nearly nothing about fiberglassing....

i have no problem shaping a nice foam "plug" (what kind of foam should i use?) et.....

so if someone could give me a run down on procedure such as...

Plug / release agent/ fg cloth/ resin / cloth / resin

they have a fiberglassing kit at FLAPS, 32 oz resin, 8 sqft fg cloth, hardener and maybe some matt was in there also - dont remember...

so any help you could give me would be much appreciated

AA

[East coaster]

A couple fo things.......

1) All of the aforementioned advice is good.

2) Simplistically, I see two options for a foam/fiberglass project. One option is using expensive foam (Urethane)and cheap resin (polyester), the second is using cheap foam (styro) and expensive resin (epoxy). From a buget standpoint, it's basically a wash.

3) I lied, there's a third option. You can use cheap foam and protect it from the polyester resin using various methods (metal tape, clear packing tape, plaster, bondo, modeling clay, joint compound, boogers, etc..) This gives the foam a protective layer and also provides for a better interior finish to your end product if you're able to successfully remove whatever substance you use????

4) I lied again, there's a fourth option. Test the resin on the foam you choose and see if the attack rate is tollerable. This is what I did on the oil cooler project that got you into this mess to start with (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/laugh.gif) I did a test lay up on a small scrap and decided I could tolerate the small amount of attack. This was for a "one off" sacrificial plug and it netted the part I wanted. Some of this has to do with using the appropriate mix and avoiding a "hot batch" when you do your lay up. Remember more isn't better when it comes to harder (mek).

5) I would recommend not using more resin than necessary to properly saturate the cloth. Any extra resin really does nothing to strengthen your part, only makes it heavier and help attack the foam.

6) Cloth.......Mat is the easiest for you to work with and will be plenty strong for what your trying to make. I usually just tear it with my hands rather than using scissors ( see gloves recommendation above...). This allows you to feather the edges where peices meet and avoids hard edges. It also lays down better. Bi-directional is stronger and looks better, but be prepared to fight contours, turns and bubbles. Not really a problem if your familiar with glass, but for your first project it'll just make it tougher on ya'.

7) I purchased the foam for my plenum project at a craft store (A.C. Moore) and found it in the section for flower arrangements (yeah, I felt kinda gay (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/lol2.gif) ). They had 4" thick, 14" x 36" pieces for 12 bucks! I used the pink insulation foam from Homer Depot before, but it really hates the polyester and needs to be protected somehow. I've also used part A/part B expandable urethane foam (great stuff). The aircraft cowling in the pic below was created using this type of foam and coating it with joint compound prior to lay up.

8) Good luck...........and post pics!!