electronics enclosure mold???

I want to fab an electronics enclosure for my center console that will be added to the console, and molded to the console and gelcoated. I know absolutely nothing about the moldmaking process, so where can I get info on making molds, materials, etc? I suppose in lieu off making a mold, I could juust make it out of plywood, glass it, and then attach it to the console, mold it in place with marine putty, and then gelcoat it. Is this the way to go, or is there a better method? When I finish, I want it to look like a factory job, or better. If anyone knows of any articles I could read that would help, I would appreciate it.
Thanks

 

Tja

What are the dementions and do you have a drawing. I could probably make you what you want that you could just glue in place. This will save you time and I would guess agravation. Email me at tayers@neo.rr.com if you are interested.

 

This is a mold I built last weekend for a recessed fiberglass instrument panel. It is 1/2" MDF plywood. All the corners have been rounded. I will wax it 3 coats of release wax and it will be ready for gelcoat and lay-up. I am not concerned with a mirror finish in this case becasue the part will be painted ultimately. But If I was looking for a flawless finish off of the mold, I would spray the mold with Duratec surface primer, wet-sand, buff, and then wax.

 

Ring Leader, how did you make out?? I would love to see the layup pictures if you have any.

 

I haven't yet made the part. I have been inundated with work and honey-do's at the house. I have the mold sitting on my work bench. It needs a sanding and a coat of sealer then a few coats of wax before shes ready for lay-up. I am hopeing that in the next 3 or 4 weeks I can find some time to take care of that. I'll post pixs when I get done.

 

Nice work! Looks well thought out and un-rushed.

 

I finally got around to finishing the recessed instrument pod for the console today. I had built the mold last winter and its been sitting in the garage collecting dust. I took it out and sanded it with 220 and then waxed it 4 coats with Partall #2. Its WAY easier to use than Meguires #8 Release Wax. I'm sold on that for my molds now. I buffed the wax really good and set up shop in the back porch.

I thought I was going to be Mr. Smartguy and just brush on the gelcoat... so I wouldn't have to break out the dump gun and make a big mess of over spray and clean-up for a 1 minute shoot... That was dumb. The waxed surface has NO surface tension. Duh... So every time the bristles of the brush touched anything that had been coated already the gelcoat streaked and there was the mold showing through. So, then I went and got an air hose and the dump gun and sprayed it. I wasted more time fooling with the brush marks than I would have taken to set-up, spray,and clean up. And you have to do something while the gelcoat is kicking anyway! So you might as well clean the dump gun during that time.

I layed down 2 layers of 1.5 oz mat. Then a layer of 18 oz roven that I had been wanting to get rid of from back when I first started fooling with my Mako 21. Then I put down some pieces of 2mm core mat where the instrument cutouts are located. I followed that with 2 layers of 1808. It weighs about 10 lbs. I used about 1 gallon of polyester resin.

I am going to dry fit it on the console this week when I visit the boat, trim the rough edges, and then make the cutouts for the instrument panel Scott made for me. After that I'll have to decide what color I actually want to paint it. I was thinking of a flat black to cut down on glare. Any input?
















This is the electronics panel that will be mounted in this instrument pod.

 

Partall is a great THICK wax. For rough molds its perfect. Cant disagree.

But for a really good finish you'll be doing yourself a favor if you use Mequires #88 (not #8 just incase you think its a typo). It buffs off so much easier and smoother than Partal.

Im slowly making my way down the list of waxes to try. Done TR104, #88, Partal, Semi Perm, #8 Maximum. Gonna try "System 5" next. #88's the best wax ive used yet.....still not as good as semi perm though.

 

I noticed it didn't have the same luster as the parts I've made with Meguires. But in this case, this part is getting painted with Imron along with the rest of the boat anyhow.

I am going to be making a mold for a 50 gal. livewell pretty soon, the finish will be light blue gelcoat, so I'll need it shiny. I still have the Meguires in the garage somewhere. The last livewell I made I used Meguires and then a nice mist coat of PVA. Looking back I don't think the PVA is necessary, but the gelcoat was really nice right out of the mold. But then again, I treated the mold differently. I knew I wanted a nice finish, so I had coated the mold with Duratec surface primer and sanded it up to about 800. Then I waxed. I only leave the molds bare MDF when I am not super worried about the finish.

 

PVA is almost never necessary if the plug/mold is waxed properly. It does give you peace of mind though.

Problem with PVA is that you will never get it to look as good as a polished surface. Lots of finishing is needed to get rid of the small pits (negatives from micro bubbles in the dried PVA).

On a white, or, light colored surface PVA is perfect. Youll never see the defects in the first place......but thats why most boats are white.

Now that you mention it I did have a problem with hazing with meguires #88. Only once though. Its been perfect ever since.