Custom fiberglass dash board???

[gbaaron]

I want to build a custom dash for my Chevy, El camino prodject & also a 20' Baja I'm working on. I would like to have some shape to it & contour around the guages, not just be a flat panel.
Looking for some advice as to what to use for a mould to start with. also I have only used poly. resin. Is there something better?

Any info would be greaty appreciated.

[marshmat]

Wood works surprisingly well for this kind of thing. (Lumber, not plywood- ply has the oils cooked out of it as it's made and so the fibreglass sticks more.) A few boards laminated together gives you something you can carve to the desired shape. Sand smooth, varnish a few times, get it good and smooth, and wax it up. It works, usually. Better options are aluminum (only good for flat stuff, really) and polyboard (can't really work it easily by hand though, works better on a CNC mill). If you can find a closed-cell foam that doesn't dissolve in your resin, that would be an easily workable choice. Most foams dissolve in poly and vinyl resins though. Epoxy's somewhat better than poly or vinyl; more expensive, but a lot easier to mix properly, and stronger. Probably not a concern on your dash though. Think about coring the flatter areas at least to get the thing stiff enough so it doesn't bend when you lean on it.

[gbaaron]

Thanks for the reply. Another thing I'm not to sure about is what to use to make it smooth on the surface, something sandable & paintable. The only fiberglass work I'm familiar with is structural, not cosmetic. I want this to look like glass when it's done.
Thanks again for all the ideas, Keep em coming.

[yipster]

Ummmmm... made a cardash once from 2 tilted washbowls...

[Corpus Skipper]

Once you achieve your basic shape, you can fill in low spots with more glass or any kind of fairing putty (Bondo) unless you use epoxy, then use microballoons in epoxy for fairing. I would then put one more layer of light (say 4 oz.) cloth over the whole works, then hot coat it with resin mixed with surfacing agent (wax). Then you can wet sand the thing to perfection with no pinholes.

[gbaaron]

Thanks for the reply. Do you think I should use just one or multiple layers of cloth. Also is there any type of styrefoam that I could buy in a big block to carve into shape, something that the resin wouldnt melt.
Thanks.

[jehardiman]

You can always use clay like the hot rodders. Make exactly what you want, including holes for the guages, and as smooth as possible. Wax it and splash a female using plaster or glass, then wax the mold and make the part. They make whole bodies this way.