New Hatch

[tiqueman]

Hey guys. Just wanna know what you think. I rolled my BJ last week and finally lost a canopy. I never liked the stock look anyway and always thought of learning how to make a new one. Ive worked w/ fiberglass quite a bit, but have never tackled a "plug/ mold/ part" job. I finally dove in. Plugs about done. Im also going to fabricate one w/ no scoop. Just going to fill a mold to delete it... we'll see.

I know Kintec has one but to me it looks.. not right

[Diesel6401]

Hey guys. Just wanna know what you think. I rolled my BJ last week and finally lost a canopy. I never liked the stock look anyway and always thought of learning how to make a new one. Ive worked w/ fiberglass quite a bit, but have never tackled a "plug/ mold/ part" job. I fianlly dove in. Plugs about done. IM alsop going to fabricate one w/ no scoop. Just going to fill a mold to delete it... we'll see.

I know Kintec has one but to me it looks.. not right

WOW that looks good.

I like the kintec one better then the stock that is for sure lol. I like your too though, you do good work man. Awesome, nice paint job on that as well.

[tiqueman]

Thanks Dale. Thats just the plug, not the final part. I just applied the first coat of wax. Have to wait about an hour (times 5 times) then it will be ready to lay up for the mold. Then after a few days of curing I can pop multiple hatches out. My neighbor got a BJ a couple months ago and lost one of his canopies as well. So I know Im pulling at least two. If they work out well, I may offer them on the forum?

[tiqueman]

Popped my first part this morning. Came out very well. I didnt have white epoxy coat to lay down first (similar to a gel coat), as I layed it up in epoxy resin. White epoxy-coats in the mail though. I will sand it hopefully tomorrow and paint it up to match the UFLEX paint scheme this week. The boat its on in this pic is my neighbors. It will be getting a new hatch as well. I think Im going to delete the airscoop on the next one just for something different between the two.

For my first experience w/ part making, it was quite easy. It was harder to get all the right supplies (locally) than actually doing it. And making the plug seems like it takes fooooreverrrrrrrr. But it was worth all the work.

[domwilson]

Looks Good. So when do you think you might start offering them up?

[Diesel6401]

Came out AWESOME man!!!!!

[tiqueman]

Looks Good. So when do you think you might start offering them up?

Thanks Dom! Soon perhaps? I will let you know.

Came out AWESOME man!!!!!

Thanks Dale! Im quite pleased, not only w/ the part, but learning how to do it.


Ive really opened a can now... Theres so much I want to do. Im thinking about details next. I want to cast side mirrors. Its that little kinda stuff and attention to detail that gets me. Then maybe some of those snorkle like intakes, similar to that of the KOS hull.

[domwilson]

Thanks Dom! Soon perhaps? I will let you know.




Thanks Dale! Im quite pleased, not only w/ the part, but learning how to do it.


Ive really opened a can now... Theres so much I want to do. Im thinking about details next. I want to cast side mirrors. Its that little kinda stuff and attention to detail that gets me. Then maybe some of those snorkle like intakes, similar to that of the KOS hull.

Can't wait to see what you come up with. If it's anything like the hatch; I know it will be great.

[tiqueman]

Prototype is done. Theres a couple things Im going to change. I want to slope the back of the hatch to follow the slope on the back of the hull and Im going to remove the windshield frame from being in the mold and add it afterwards as a seperate piece. Its just not quite right.

I shot it this am real quick just to get a feel for it. Paints not perfect but Im liking it a lot.

[domwilson]

Makes it look like a totally different boat...Looks great. Have one question tho'...Where's mine? Or am I?

[tiqueman]

Makes it look like a totally different boat...Looks great. Have one question tho'...Where's mine? Or am I?

It does change the look quite a bit. I love the single canopy look a lot more.

Where is yours..? I mailed it.. what happened??? Patience my friend... patience. I didnt know you had a BJ. I thought you HAD one.



I did get a call today from the fiberglass shop. They got the epoxy coat in I ordered. So I may get another layed up this week. That one will be my neighbors. And will be my first trial w/ the epoxy coat, so hopefully it will come out a bit better than the straight resin part. When I put the first coat of paint on it a lot of tiny bubbles showed up that you couldnt see when it was straight resin. Also once I washed the PVA off, a few small bubbles showed up. The epoxy coat along w/ the correct weight cloth should solve that problem. I tried laying the first one up using 1.5oz cloth as the first layer to be certain it got in all the nooks and crannies... I wasnt pleased with it. Too light and difficult yo work with. So the next one I will start w/ the epoxy coat, then 4oz cloth, then layer it up and it should be perfect.

[tiqueman]

Decaled it and cleared it.

[domwilson]

That looks good. Wouldn't know it was a BJ26 if you hadn't already said so. How about some full pics of the boat?

[tiqueman]

This is all I have for now. I hope to get some water shots Thursday and/ or Friday.

[johnf]

Looks somewhere around 100 times better than the stock hatch. Nice work!

[tiqueman]

Looks somewhere around 100 times better than the stock hatch. Nice work!

Thanks John. I appreciate it.

[bonewar]

Decaled it and cleared it.

SICK DUDE.


VERY NICE!!!!!!!!!!


Now get building that HPR , and hurry up.



Bonewar

[roadrashracing]

Sweet I would be interested if you start to sell them

[tiqueman]

Thanks Rick. You had a lot to do w/ the inspiration to do this after your "carbon plate lesson" a while back. Really got me off of the "release" scare I used to have. Its on now!!!! Yeah, the HPR.. its not the build that stalling me. Its all those expensive parts that go into it.

Sweet I would be interested if you start to sell them

I will be in the near future. I want to get a few laps and crashes on a few. Do a little R&D to make sure all is right before I offer them. But it will happen. Hopefully w/in the next few weeks.


I layed up the second one today. I started this one w/ the white epoxy coat. My best lay up job yet. It appears to be flawless. Tomorrow night shall reveal all my ponderments.....

[tiqueman]

Second ones out! I popped it a bit premature, but it faired well. I had a heck of a time getting it out. Using plastic wedge spreaders for releasing tools I slightly damaged the finish near the back on one of the sides. No big deal though. She'll buff right out. The epoxy coat seems to have worked extremely well. It also led me to find a few imperfections in the mold that I hope I can fix w/ out sacrificing the finish of the pulled part. Ive heard the glossier your mold, the better the gloss on your finished part, so Im a bit hesitant to take sandpaper to it. I will only need to hit it w/ 400 and up, but none the less, its not going to gloss back out. Perhaps I will just wait until I make the changes to the existing plug and lay up the new mold a bit different to avoid getting bubbles here and there.

Anyway, heres the popped part. I havent cleaned the release agent off it yet so it looks kinda streaky.

#3 getting layed up later today Mr. Wilson.....

[Jeff Wohlt]

Are you using PVA? You can also just paint in the mold and lay up. Check out RC Universe for some really great FG info.

For canopies I think just vac molding is the easiest and cheapest. I yuse my big shop vac and it sucks plenty.

Great job on it. There are other waxes as well that will release easier.

[tiqueman]

Hey Jeff. Combination of Part-all mold release wax and PVA. The first part about fell out of the mold. I dont know why this one was stubbourn.

I hear ya on the expense. Heck, I could have bought a new hull ARTR w/ the amount I have to get all the supplies etc to make this. Definitely not the way to go if you only want to make a part or two. But, I wanted to learn how to mold and produce FG. Besides, I like the strength of it more than the plastic stuff.



Vacu molding may come later.

[domwilson]

Second ones out! I popped it a bit premature, but it faired well. I had a heck of a time getting it out. Using plastic wedge spreaders for releasing tools I slightly damaged the finish near the back on one of the sides. No big deal though. She'll buff right out. The epoxy coat seems to have worked extremely well. It also led me to find a few imperfections in the mold that I hope I can fix w/ out sacrificing the finish of the pulled part. Ive heard the glossier your mold, the better the gloss on your finished part, so Im a bit hesitant to take sandpaper to it. I will only need to hit it w/ 400 and up, but none the less, its not going to gloss back out. Perhaps I will just wait until I make the changes to the existing plug and lay up the new mold a bit different to avoid getting bubbles here and there.

Anyway, heres the popped part. I havent cleaned the release agent off it yet so it looks kinda streaky.

#3 getting layed up later today Mr. Wilson.....

Drool....That looks sweeeet! Next project....Your logo.

[Steven Vaccaro]

Nice looking hatch

[Jeff Wohlt]

Well...you have some of the best stuff then. Be sure the wax layers dry before the next one and do about 5-6.

[tiqueman]

Drool....That looks sweeeet! Next project....Your logo.

Yeah I though about that. Then print it on that translucent paper and set it on before the last layer of cloth.

Nice looking hatch

Thank you Steven.

Well...you have some of the best stuff then. Be sure the wax layers dry before the next one and do about 5-6.

Oh yes, it took 6 hours to prep it w/ wax for the first pull. I think I figured out why I had an issue. The epoxy top coat I used requires a 1% hardner ratio. I do not have a digital scale and could not do it by volume as the epoxy by itself is thicker than bondo, so its not like you can pour it into a measuring cup etc. So, I guessed. The first layer didnt have enough hardner. The work time is supposed to be 15 min. It took almost an hour for it to kick. The second coat I mixed a bit more and it kicked in about 20 minutes. So, now that its out of the mold, the topcoat is still pliable w/ your fingernail. So, I think this am it stuck because of that. Now that I washed the PVA off (5 minutes ago) the lid feels kinda tacky. Hopefully over time it will cure. I just finished trimming it and set it on my neighbors boat. I think he will like it.

[Jeff Wohlt]

I assume when you say epoxy top coat that it is GelCoat. That is what you should use. Best to spray it in as well but you may not have the gun for that.

[bonewar]

Scott,

Nice job on that canopy.

I use gel coat or flow coat as the first layer.
Brushed in thick, let it sit for a bit , Then add the glass and resin.
Trick- let it sit for a couple of days and cure.
Makes it easer to get it out of the mold.

Lots of work for just a little canopy. I KNOW!!!!
You got skills brother.



Bonewar

[tiqueman]

I assume when you say epoxy top coat that it is GelCoat. That is what you should use. Best to spray it in as well but you may not have the gun for that.

Nope its a thickened pigmented epoxy. And Im not joking when I say its thicker than bondo. This stuff is no way possible to spray. I used it instead of gelcoat b/c I hate making paint stick to Gel. Only two things bond well to gelcoat, polyurethane and epoxy. Everything sticks to epoxy and thats why I used it.

I also read and was told by a fiberglass distributor that when laying up epoxy parts, you get better adhesion using a thickened epoxy surface coat rather than a normal gelcoat. Im just learning all this, my origianl plan was to use gelcoat. I have gelcoat and have worked w/ it a lot. Plus a quart of gel is under 20 bucks... a qt of thickened epoxy is over $50. But, I got info from 2 different sources recommending the epoxy and one of them didnt carry it and sent me to an online site, so I can be pretty sure he wasnt telling me to make a profit.

Scott,

Nice job on that canopy.

I use gel coat or flow coat as the first layer.
Brushed in thick, let it sit for a bit , Then add the glass and resin.
Trick- let it sit for a couple of days and cure.
Makes it easer to get it out of the mold.

Lots of work for just a little canopy. I KNOW!!!!
You got skills brother.



Bonewar

It is a lot of work. But the reward is well worth it. And yeah, like I said above, I got a little impatient so I popped it 14 hrs after I layed it up. The first part I waited about 24 or 25 hours and as soon as I put a wedge in one side, it was a quiet "pop" and it fell out.

[tiqueman]

Pond was lookin pretty cool this am w/ the steam rolling across so I went out and shot some pics