Fiberglass Question

[DartMan360]

Got my seat for my go cart today. The back of is not finshed. You can still see the netting or what ever you call it. What is used to finsh it to make it smooth like the front of it? I have heard you can primer it and sand it..then repat several times. But their must be a resin out or a gel coat out to make it smooth. Let me know. Thanks

[67Dart]

If you want it like the front you got to have it gel coated.
I dont think you primer or paint enough to have it smooth.
Why do you need the back smooth?

[DartMan360]

So it can be painted. This is all going to be custom and dont want that to stick out oun it also. Have you ever seen the Goldberg Monster trucK? Where is says Who's Next on the back? That is going on the back of the seat. What is the best gel coat to get? How easy is it to apply. I was watching Randy build a dash with fiberglass sheet a while ago and he was using Resin. It was brushed on but once you used the paint brush and let it set for more than 20 mins that was it. How much money are we talking for this? Im amost out of money for this project and motor is only about half way done. Guess I will have to get one of those signs that say "Will work for go cart parts".

[dewme5]

gel coat is about $60 for a gallon, but you won't need much at all. a pint at the most I would think.

you can get it from any fiberglass place in town, they will sell supplies, any boat dealer should carry it too.

now for the problem. gel coat is normally applied to the mold, so it goes on a super smooth, waxed surface. then, it dries, and you build up the fiberglass layers inside of that. so, if you are putting gel coat on a product already made, I don't know how well it's goign to sand, but that is probably what you are going to have to do. pour it on a little thick, and then sand it smooth. but it's going to take some finesse.

make sure the surface is really clean before you start, or it will peel and crack.

bummer, gel coat is the first step, not the last.

[DartMan360]

What is the pourpose of the resin? A guy from another board said that I could brush the resin on and sand it. It will make it smooth that away or at least that is what he said. You guys are saying the Gel Coat is what makes it smooth. Hmm. hopefully i can figure something out to make it work. I called 4 differnt cart shops and they all said that none makes a seat where the back is finshed.

[The Dartman]

Has anyone suggested doing small areas at a time using resin that has waxed paper set on it? I've done a lot of 'glass work here and there (even attempted a 'glass bumper once) and it seems to me that you could brush the straight resin onto a clean, dry surface and then use the wax paper to try to arrive at a smoother finish. Yet, this is not perfect either. You will need to go over the back with some small amounts of bondo to arrive at the perfect finish.

However, since this is a seat, it is probably not a good idea to put the bondo on (or a lot of resin for that matter) since the flexing of the seat back may cause it to come loose.

Would it be easier to custom fabricate a metal of 'glass insert to arrive at the smooth back your looking for?

[dewme5]

do some prep work on it, take it to a fiberglass shop, and pick it up in 2 days with a shiny/smooth finish on the back

[DartMan360]

Just got back from Randys. He said he has some resin/gel coat. He said he will just prep it and pour it over it and let it set up. So hopefully this will work. Hopefully next week we will get started on the chasiss. Thanks guys. Your the best.

[ram50rocket]

I'm building new door panels and a center console from resin for my ram50. I plan on just using BONDO and sandpaper to smooth for a paintable finish. The door panels are for my rockford fosgate door speaker componets. I just finished building the frames for the shape I wanted. tomorrow I will stretch the fiberglass material and paint it in resin, probably a couple coats. Then light bondo and a lot of sanding should do the trick. I am mostly covering the panels in tweed, but some parts will be painted to match.

[DartMan360]

Randy. The guy i refer to sometimes on here is the one who is helping my with this project. He is basicly my second dad. I was their when he and my dad built the dragster and we are building a AMC Sprit Pro Mod car now. He has built many things, most are with metal but has done some work with fiber glass. If you look at the thread POst your car and go to the last page and look at the dragster he painted all of those graphix on it. No stickers on the car. When it got done he said it was to much and did not like it. He was going to buff it all off till i finally talked him into it. We are going with the same idea for the cart. I started sanding the chasiss down today and the body. Ill post pics when it all gets done.I also have a friend that build custom low riders. He covers and boxes in most of the dashes he does with fiber glass. Also a very person at what he does.