2002 Mitsubishi Magna VR-X - 15.4" ultrabright LCD, fabricating...

**BiGGy** · 08-26-2007, 03:35 PM

I dont know about that way of doing it, it seams more professional though. I wet out the strand with a brush, a dabbing motion. Once its wet I roll it to get any air out and compact it. There are higher qualities of gelcoat available for higher prices, you can also get tooling gelcoat which is designed to last for 100's of mold pulls. I have only used the cheap stuff and I see no problem with it.

**coffee_mogul** · 08-26-2007, 06:06 PM

Truly impressive work here, im sure the finished product will look factory ! I was wondering why you would sacrifice the climate controls for the optical drive bay ? Surely the PC will have sufficient storage on its drive, so the optical drive would be used infrequently. why not mount the optical drive remotely and have your climate controls within reach at the base of the LCD ?
Waiting for the next update !

**turbocad6** · 08-26-2007, 07:33 PM

wow, that's awsome. how is the pva applied, sprayed? does it need a large nozzle or would a 1.3-1.4 work?

does the pva affect painting this piece? is it something that gets washed off the gelcoat afterwards? how will this be finished, paint? what kind of primer are you going to use?

I like that syringe idea, I'm guilty of guessing the ratio part sometimes, sometimes slight variations don't matter much, but when you want it really correct, that is the way to go for convienience, beats measuring with a mixing cup. now I want to go searching for a place to buy a box of syringes

**monkeyracer** · 08-26-2007, 11:46 PM

I am going to try the ABS thermoforming technique with my dash, we'll see how that goes.

**sporty_drew** · 08-26-2007, 11:56 PM

looking great! i can't wait to see the backlight upgrade because I'm interested in "attempting" it also.

p.s. i sent you an im on msn.

**BiGGy** · 08-27-2007, 02:45 AM

Got your IM, ive send the email. Thanks for any help

Originally Posted by coffee_mogul

Truly impressive work here, im sure the finished product will look factory ! I was wondering why you would sacrifice the climate controls for the optical drive bay ? Surely the PC will have sufficient storage on its drive, so the optical drive would be used infrequently. why not mount the optical drive remotely and have your climate controls within reach at the base of the LCD ?
Waiting for the next update !

I troubleshooted climate controls for a long time, my problem was the climate control is way to fat to go under the screen. The bottom of the screen only just fits in itself and reaches all the way to the top so there is no moving it. Turbocad gave me the idea of an overhead console fab, but will be kind of hard in my car as there is no overhead plastic.. just headliner. Im thinking of fabricating it in the center console passenger side, ill measure it up and see if its feasible. Also in the end I wish to have full hvac control via a fusion brain which I have yet to purchase. I can tell im going to have great difficulty doing this so a temporary fab is in order I think. I also need to place my hazard light switch somewhere (legally).

Originally Posted by turbocad6

wow, that's awsome. how is the pva applied, sprayed? does it need a large nozzle or would a 1.3-1.4 work?

does the pva affect painting this piece? is it something that gets washed off the gelcoat afterwards? how will this be finished, paint? what kind of primer are you going to use?

I like that syringe idea, I'm guilty of guessing the ratio part sometimes, sometimes slight variations don't matter much, but when you want it really correct, that is the way to go for convienience, beats measuring with a mixing cup. now I want to go searching for a place to buy a box of syringes

PVA has the viscosity of water, its very thin and a 1.3 tip will do fine for spraying, just pump up the psi to a mist spray. Light even coats which flash dry in 5 minutes. PVA can also be rubbed in with a cloth but it wont be as even. PVA is a realease agent and doesnt react with anything and insurese that nothing actually touches the mold. PVA dries like cling wrap, after you pop a mold it will peel off very easy not stick to anything. It water based so it can be washed off with water as well. You can see the cling wrap effect in the first mold pull picture.

Originally Posted by monkeyracer

I am going to try the ABS thermoforming technique with my dash, we'll see how that goes.

Interested in this technique, pm me when your doing it. Ive been reading up on a similar system for vinyling.

**BiGGy** · 08-27-2007, 03:03 AM

Originally Posted by turbocad6

I want to go searching for a place to buy a box of syringes

You will find syringes at a chemist and they are reusable, you'll only need one. Ive had that one since I started fiberglassing, lettering has worn off but it still does the job.

Originally Posted by turbocad6

what kind of primer are you going to use?

Acrylic primer with acrylic topcoat. There are purpose 2pak primers for fiberglass but the costs are crazy, simple acrylic will do the job, try and stay away from enamel with fiberglass.

**pdloader** · 08-29-2007, 01:00 PM

Woow, very nice job BiGGy... your fabrication skills are great man....

I have read your entire worklog and I'm starting to do the same thing for my Dodge Caravan. But your work is truly inspiring.... keep up the good work...