looking for a carbon fiber/plastic/fiberglass EXPERTS !!!

Minato

white puffy thing was probably a high density foam. That is called "sandwich" composite. It can make a much lighter/stiffer carbon fiber or fiberglass part, and be cheaper too. (it is structurally like a steel i-beam) I've made a hood using CF/nomex honeycomb sandwich composite construction weighing 7.3 lbs, stiffer than anything you could imagine no homo. It was a pin on hood though, 4 hood pins, had to remove the whole hood to check the engine. you could lift it off with one hand though, so it wasn't a big deal for me. I'd definitely recommend reading more, and order some epoxy or resin, and fiberglass and start practicing. You will make many mistakes at first, but it is the only way to learn. start making molds of small things and working your way up. It is an expensive habit too, my hood mold cost about ~75-100$ to make, hood cost about $550 in materials.

Zeetah

what was your mold made of that it cost so much? im thinking of using foam or clay, which ever is easier and cheaper to work with.

why did your hood have pins? couldnt you attach it like your OEM hood? im sure its possible and should be fairly simple, no?

absolutely correct about practicing with smaller items first lol, the materials i think i need are
- vac bag pump thingy ( dont know the proper name )
- cf and fg sheets
- the hardener ( called epoxy resin? )
- and the liquid you put over your mold so that you can detach your finish product after so it doesnt stick to the mold itself

right? i know im obviously going to have to do more research, but i just wanted to get an idea of it, still have a couple months of ()@#&@ WINTER....................

Minato

I made a positive mold of the stock hood out of fiberglass mat and polyester resin, it's the cheapest way to make a mold.
I used the hood pins for ease and cost. If I wanted to hook up the hinges, I would need to make a mold of the underside of the hood too, not just the outside, which would double costs of the mold and make it more complicated.
Vacuum pump is a necessity to make sure the CF sucks into the mold without air pockets.
Their are 3 different liquid systems, epoxy is the strongest and most expensive, polyester resin is the cheapest, stinkiest, weakest (This is what you find at lowes)
The most popular mold release agent is called polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). Good stuff.

Mold making is really the hardest part of the whole process, you need it to be thick enough to be stiff, not any big air pockets, and you need to make it bigger than the hood (or whatever you're making). You can do that by gluing plastic or covered cardboard on the underside extending out, then laying the fiberglass over and wetting it all down with the resin.

Here is an excellent resource, which is what inspired and taught me how to make my hood. Warning: you will probably spend the next 6 hours straight reading through everything.
Sub 2500 lbs. 96 Mustang Cobra Project... - Ford Mustang Forums : Corral.net Mustang Forum

Zeetah

6 hours of reading? oh man..... lol
ya i was hoping you wouldnt have to make an inside mold and just attach the hinges anyway possible without doubling the cost....

i bought my cf sample wraps from metrorestyling.com, they forgot to send me something that was suppose to be included in my package, and i emailed them about it, they replied within less than an hour and sent it free of charge, excellent service and i loved the product, anyhow, id LOVE IT if real CF would look like that, not the real cf i see around on car panels and interior trims, they all look greyish...

if i were to go the fb route, what materials would i need?

Zeetah

nice find btw, i know there are alot out there with info, but its pita when you have a virus and the comp shuts off or restarts once evry 5 mins.

Zeetah

i havent heard of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), you say its popular, why? cheaper? which is better PVA or epoxy.

and cant i practically use anything as a mold such as clay and foam which would be the easiest?

and the white thing that looked like a half inch mattress foam was not the honey comb thing you stated, it looks exactly like a mattress just alot thinner, dammit wish i saved it in time before comp crashed.......