Dashboard Kit - OEM Spec Murcielago, LP640, LP670 Dash

[Digibeam]

careful and repetitive preparation.... good gel coat, several coats of wax each and every time the  mould is used, PVA coating and knowing the chemicals/materials you are using in the atmosphere you are in, also pre-heating the moulds is vital.
temperature and humidity even in Canada can play havoc, so in southern parts down there in the USA i know gets mighty warm... usually if the weather is uncomfortable to the average person then its not right for the casting.
adjusting the mix to compensate works, but again familiarity plays a part there.
too hot it boils and can rip the gel coat off the mould, too cold it doesnt expand, over mixed it will not rise... the list goes on...  its one of those things that a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing, unless you have endless supply of chems and nothing to lose... its a matter of trying it out and learning the products through trial and error.

[BigPines]

We should probably start a new thread for this but how do you keep the foam from sticking to your mold? I'd like to see a pressurized foam mold set up. I never considered it until now.

[BigPines]

That actually makes good sense.

[Digibeam]

i can assure you its the same material, the dash and parts are made from this "foam" though in reality it is very dense and there are no air pockets etc. (i dont use as high a pressure to make mine) but it is a 2 part catalysing product.
the reason they dont make the parts from fiberglass or carbon fiber...and sorry to bring this up again..but... in the event of a collision... the foam will break and absorb...  fiberglass will fracture and impale... sorry for the visuals on that... but thats why...

[BigPines]

Interesting. That last pic sort of looks like the stuff the dash is made of. I like how you integrated the threaded nuts into the part. Nice work there.

Maybe I'll take a video of the dash to show people what it is like. It is almost exactly like fiberglass. It is rigid and rock hard (good description) and definitely cannot be dented. It has little or no air in it. In fact, at first I thought it was actually fiberglass. Actually, I don't know why it wasn't made from fiberglass or carbon fiber by Lamborghini.

[Tallon]

Like if it's 16lb density foam, it would be rock hard and not easy to break or dent

[Digibeam]

sure,  here are the raw parts (yellow)  they are both bad pulls for various reasons, and they have not been cleaned up at all but for visual examples they work.
also the black handle is prepped for further processing.

[BigPines]

Wow, I wish I was moving out of a 3,000 sq. ft shop to a BIGGER location. Congratz!

I am interested in your compression molding and foam parts. However, it doesn't sound like this dash is made of the same stuff. This stuff is very much like resin with filler. It is hard, stiff and extremely durable. It definitely could not be damaged simply by handling it. Can you point me to more information on your process? Pics of parts you are duplicating?

[Digibeam]

yes, i would concentrate on the shop and getting that house in order to help you along later,  i am presently moving my shop and man it isnt pretty... 3000 sqft of stuff getting boxed... good news is its all going to a bigger shop
i use the same foam core that lamborghini uses for the knee pad and handle,  but you need to make a compression mould to use it,   the mould is expensive, the prep is long, but the end part comes out identical to OEM in every way, and the cost of the final part is very low.
 these parts have to be covered to protect them from finger impressions and also breaking from excessive handling...
i cant imagine making a compression mould for that dash, its huge... and the failure rate of too little material would make for some long days.... compression moulds are one shot deals, if it didnt work then its garbage.

[BigPines]

uscomposites.com have good prices but they also charge hazmat:

"Because polyester resins are a flammable liquid, we are unable to ship these products by air freight.
Quarts and Gallons can be shipped by Ground with no extra fees with a maximum of one gallon per box.
5 Gallon pails can be shipped by UPS Ground only and require an additional $26.00 Hazardous Fee(charged by UPS).
Orders for multiple 5 GAL pails can be shipped by a common carrier(freight line) but require delivery to a commercial location."

[BigPines]

Yes, I know them. They are even more expensive than where I am getting my stuff. They also charge hazmat: http://www.fibreglast.com/fibreglast_ship_hazards

[Tallon]

Oh I see.
If I could afford it, fibreglast, Digi told me about it
Recently I found my epoxy at uscomposites for a lot cheaper, maybe someone can tell me if it's just lower quality resin. I didn't notice a difference when using it.

[BigPines]

Tallon - yes, if I order 5 gallons at a time I get hit with a hazmat fee. Where do you get your supplies? How much do you order at a time?

[BigPines]

No worries Digibeam.

I know a guy who supposedly gets supplies locally at wholesale. I plan to check with him. I could be wrong but I don't think it will change the situation much (if any).

My two primary concerns are product quality and keeping the cost down for people who buy from me. If I can't do that under these circumstances, I'd rather wait until I can. Don't worry, these parts aren't going anywhere and I will eventually get to doing this at some point.

My other concern is if I can't make any money, it doesn't make sense to do this right now. It just isn't a priority for me. I am trying to set up a shop so I have better working conditions and I would rather invest the money there right now. That is a priority. I'm sure everybody understands how it is.

[Tallon]

I usually get packages via ups ordering this stuff online. Is it that you get charged for very large quantities of resin? :S I guess that would be way out of my league