batbuilder's LP640 called "No Mercie"

[batbuilder]

I like to use a clean piece of cardboard to saturate the resin onto the mat with. after I'm done its easy clean up. Try to avoid a crease in the cardboard as it will sometimes bend and drop your saturated strip at the most unoportune times. If you drop a piece LET IT GO....The goal is to do little batches and work with small goals so you have plenty of time to work with. Haste makes waste. The materials are relatively cheap its your time to redo things that costs.

[batbuilder]

Made me think of a funny story. When I was in the Navy as an electronics technician we would always have the Newbie's grab some acetone (acid...joke) out of a 55 gallon drum. We'd give them a syrafoam cup and tell them to be very careful not to spill any of it on themselves. Halfway back we would hear this blood hurtling scream as the acetone ate through the bottom of the cup and spilled acetone all over them. That's what we were doing with your hard earned taxes in the Navy.
Now gatorade containers are the best throw away containers for acetone(input brush) and resin. Just cut the top off, clean out the gatorade and swish a little acetone in there to remove contaminates.

[batbuilder]

Next thing I like is acetone now you can buy it at Lowes or walmart I do but I was told it sometimes is recycled. The guy who told me that worked at AutoIndustrial paint so maybe a conflict or a way to justify his exotic first time used virgin squeezed acetone. I did buy one gallon when I painted the Crimefighter but I regularly buy it from Walmart or Lowes. I do brush it on and don't use rags in my shop just like the Ferrari Shop but that's about the only thing we have in common. No Rags Its weird with acetone it just evaporates so not a good thing to inhale or wash your hands with.

[batbuilder]

Next thing we need is good disposable gloves. Last Sunday I used like 10 pairs. Their cheap. But these are the best brand. Walmarts gloves suck....cheap gloves will drive you crazy, Don't be driven crazy. I do buy the cheappie $1 paint brushes that are in the bins from Lowes. Don't buy them if they don't have plastic sleeves over the bristles. that just means some kid may have brushed their oily face with it. Remember "adhesion"

[batbuilder]

Resin... we are looking for polyester resin. Epoxy resin is used for carbonfiber. Walmart sells it and so does Lowes and Home depot but don't buy it there. The resin is very thick like honey and its harder to saturate the mesh. I used it for a year before someone told me that one. Tap Plastic has polyester resin and it flows like pancake syrup. SOOOOO much easier to work with. Plus the little tube of catalyst they give you at Lowes is so little its made to frustrate the crap out of you. You notice how they have so many tubes of catalyst for sale. Get the 3 inch tall container that comes from Tap Plastic. Already has a hole it it so you just squeeze and go.

[batbuilder]

Thank you autopro really appreciate the kind words. So here's the most important thing about fiberglass "adhesion". Its got to hold. The worst thing in the world is to finish days of work on a panel. Sand and paint it.... attach it and its done. Then suddenly while showing off your car in the hot sun at a major car show the fiberglass starts to delaminate. Its sickening. There's nothing you can do. Its happen to me a number of times. The saddest part is its preventable. You got to have good adhesion. Fiberglass is a wonderful product. Its made up of three major thing, Fiberglass mesh, resin and catalyst. that's it!!  The most common mesh to us is the random pattern mesh. Right away someone is going to suggest multipul plies, woven mesh, carbon fiber, kelvar mesh....no no no. Start out with random or unoriented fiberglass mat. Start out simple its easier to get the resin to saturate it. Tap Plastics. You can buy it by the yard

[batbuilder]

Last comment I got on Youtube about the Crimefighter was  "red sucks!!!" I was cracking up laughing. 2 years of building, hours of research and working for free (cause I'm Never going to sell It ) and it all comes down to that. Its still funny to me....
The Tribute Rumbler was built as a tribute to the men and women in the armed forces. It wasnt always that way. It took a year of research and 3 1/2 years to build. Many times along the way I wanted to just quit. One Sunday when I was telling my pastor I definitely was going to quit he's the one that suggested I make it a tribute vehicle. He said we are all willing to work harder for others than we will for ourselves. That suggestion gave me the strength to finish what I started. So dedicate your car to your son, daughter, breast cancer awareness something you care about. Tell everyone what your doing. You will not fail. You will work with new vigor to complete your project. Make a tribute to something or someone you really care. My motto went from I'm going to quit to "build it or die trying"!!! again my humble suggestion...dave
Tribute Rumbler
 

[autopro]

Dave keep it up, please don't stop.  Your pictures are giving me so many ideas and useful information on how to do thing you just can't imagine.  If it weren't for people like you not many people would finish their projects or get the motivation to work on them.

[batbuilder]

Creating build logs is great because guys ask you questions and I got to get the answer. My first car that I ever built was the Crimefighter Extreme. It was not too hard because I bought the body but the fiberglass was Horrid. So bad we had to cut the body apart and restraighten the wheel wells. The front right and left wheel wells were off by 2". We also widen  the rear fenders by 4" on each side so it was exactly the width of the movie car. Well when you do one thing it affects another. I saw one gut on MM that had the right idea build the first one to sell then use his experience to build his own for the second one. Well I can tell you by experience once I built the first ones I"m NEVER selling that car. I've had numerous offers but its easy to turn down when your NEVER going to sell the car. I painted it Blood red as a tribute to 911 first responders and take it to charity events for fire departments, police functions and paramedic fundraisers. Just this morning a Sargent from Los Altos police department asked if he could get some pictures to use for police trading card. Of course no problem and no charge. I just like to thank them for their service. Their appreciation is way more valuable than money.

[batbuilder]

Thank you usmc-butler, your comments give me motivation, This is a freakin love fest...Lol I kid but its like having guys in my garage and we are sharing some ideas. I'm setting up this next section as fiberglassing 101. So if you a master fiberglasser you might want to look away. But these type of info sessions helped me out a lot. I started about 6years ago and the way I learned was I hired really good and expensive guys. Instead of sitting in my house waiting for them to finish I would go out and ask them....Whats you doing? Why are you doing it that way? Whats the name of that tool? why do you use green tape? When your paying them what are they going to say? Get away?. Lol So I learned a lot and some things made sense.

[usmc_butler]

I wanted to say I'm embarassed by the way my post come up on the front page. Usually I can post in my little world over here and if people want to look that's great. I hope something I post may help someone, somewhere. So I post tonight apologizing for the front page domination. That is not my intention. I wanted to post a little info on fiberglassing. Nothing here was invented by me but everything that was shared with me along the way. I truely hope it helps someone, somewhere.....dave

Dave keep it up! Like I said before I enjoy reading on all of your posts every morning. You have no idea how much it motivates us all to see progress being made. I also enjoy seeing the challenges you are overcoming on a daily basis, Im not far behind you (as of now ) and our builds are nearly the same setup... Keep it up, Fantastic Job

[batbuilder]

Here's some of the most important safety items I use everytime. Earplugs for the grinder, safety glasses and a mask to prevent inhaling this fiberglass dust. Please use these and save your lungs. I also always use a fan to get the air blowing in one direction. I open the garage door and sidedoor. Everyday the air is blowing a certain way I let the fan help the wind. please do not take your safety guard off the cutting wheel. I had done that for many years until a friend dropped a cutting wheel it ran over his chest and ended up at his shoulder, the wheel cut all the way to the bone. when his co-workers called 911 they told then to use a tournequet and don't wait for the ambulance, drive him directly to the hospital. Luckily the hospital was having a  luncheon for visiting surgeons. They spent 12 hours in surgery to reconnect the arteries that were severed. The next day I threw away my cutting wheels with no guards and bought new ones. I'll never forget that and never remove a safety guard.

[batbuilder]

There's actually some large holes left in the mirrors

[batbuilder]

The side under dash piece was cut and had a piece removed to like up with the side part of the dash. Then taped to hold it together. I grinded it with a hand grinder to create a rough surface.

[batbuilder]

 But before you can get to taping theres a few step to start. Its all in the preparation. First I sand down the areas to be fiberglassed to create a rough surface. Making sure I knock off any loose stuff.