I'm going to be blunt. I think the selection for aftermarket bumpers and lips for our car is pitiful. Theres only 2 or 3 different lips and all of the bumpers are way too outlandish for my tastes (no offense to all of you who have them, I said for MY tastes). Instead of just complaining about it, I've decided to do something about it. I'm going to make my own fiberglass front lip or maybe even an entire front end. I've looked into custom body panel building and I've seen people build entire fiberglass bodies. My plan is to make a mold of the final product in case any one likes it and wants one. The only piece of the puzzle that I'm missing is the gel coat. I've done loads of searching, but I can't find where to purchase any. Any one know some good links and have any tips for applying gel coat? Thanks a lot guys!

Do you mean like a final gel coat? Or are you talking about fiberglass resin?

Originally posted by Shockeclipse
Do you mean like a final gel coat? Or are you talking about fiberglass resin?

I mean the final gel coat. It actually gets sprayed on first and you build behind it.

But if your going to be painting it anyways, why gel coat it? Unless your doing CF. Just wondering. If your lookin for gel coat, try a boat supply shop or maybe even a automotive paint shop.

I'm looking for the gel to use on the inside of the mold, that way when I make a copy, I have a smooth surface to work from. It's ten times easier.

Ok, I gotcha now, good thinkn. :thumbsup Keep us up to date. I dont want one, I just like to see other peoples work so I can laugh at it, lol. Im kiddn man, good luck!!!

hey dood, I'm feeling the same way. I am in the process of finishing up the plug of a new front bumper in my room. I know a lot of the things you need u can get off of a website called fiberglast.com, but I don't know if u can find better deals locally or at a boating website, etc... Good luck, this project has been pretty time consuming for me

Hey thanks! I dont expect this to be easy, but I'd love to have something thats exactly how I want it.

from experience, it gets pretty annoying and is defintely time consuming. I fused the front end of a 99 maxima to the buddy club bumper for our cars. It looks nice, cuz it looks different. People ask me all the time what kind of a kit it is, cuz they can hardly recognize it.

you can get a final gel coat from a boat supply shop. its pricey though, i use it all the time. also, you need a real thick primer gun to spray it, or you can get a actual gel coat gun, but those are way high up in price and nearly the same thing as a thick primer gun. i dont see why your spraying it inside the mold though, your not going to get much stregnth there. the gel coat is mainly used to be sprayed on for smoothness so alot of sanding isnt required...
good luck, if its your first time, trust me, your going to need it, lol...

Originally posted by eclipse982nrRST
you can get a final gel coat from a boat supply shop. its pricey though, i use it all the time. also, you need a real thick primer gun to spray it, or you can get a actual gel coat gun, but those are way high up in price and nearly the same thing as a thick primer gun. i dont see why your spraying it inside the mold though, your not going to get much stregnth there. the gel coat is mainly used to be sprayed on for smoothness so alot of sanding isnt required... good luck, if its your first time, trust me, your going to need it, lol...

from what Im gathering, he is actually making a female mold to make his own front clip, as many times as he wants. I think its a great idea to gel coat it. Ive never seen it done, but I would think using that and the right tools would leave a flawless surface on his front clip he's making.

make your piece = plug
finish it with non porous finishing coat = paint/clear
apply mold release
apply tooling gelcoat = spray type or brush type
apply fiberglass with resin to enforce the gelcoat

let it cure and hope to god you didn't miss any steps, and that the plug doesn't have any weird draft angles. Mold should come right off.

oh and to answer your question. Look into boat building supply store. OR look for composite material supplier in yellow pages. OR order it online.

DON'T FORGET TO PUT ENOUGH HARDNER IN THE GELCOAT OTHERWISE YOU'LL HAVE ONE HUGE MESS ON YOUR HANDS. (been there done that)

Thats exactly what I'm doing, or at least starting to do. Thanks guys, I'll check my local boat shops. When I actually get around to doing this, I'll take pics of the build and keep you all posted.

The gel coat is what gives composites a smooth finish. You build onto it.

www.aircraftspruce.com
www.fibreglast.com

Originally posted by WickedESi
The gel coat is what gives composites a smooth finish. You build onto it. www.aircraftspruce.com www.fibreglast.com

exactly, gel coats dont give a whole lot more strength to the mold, just a nice smoother finish :)

Hey eclipse982nrRST in a different thread you mentioned a type of gun that was inexpensive that can be used to spray the gelcoat...what gun was that and were can I get one? Secondly you mentioned a solvent that you used to clean the gun as well...what is that solvent and were can I get that as well? Thanks!

You can brush on a gel coat, it doesn't have to be sprayed.

you can brush it, but why brush when you can spray it! lol... it goes on alot smoother too if you spray it.
i just a high throughput primer gun with a large tip on the end of it and a different needle in it. its a gravity feed gun. i bought it from a paint shop. i can get you 2 of them for $120 + shipping if you want me to. also, there are a few things you can use to clean it. i use this stuff called RED THUNDER. its actually used to strip clear coat of floors, you can buy it from home deopt, but its pricey. some boat shops sell this other stuff called RED40, you can use that too and its cheaper, but you gotta use it like 2-3 times before its all clean good, the red thunder is real fast, its strong as hell, lol.

also, my name is MIKE, lol

Originally posted by Silv Blt
I'm going to be blunt. I think the selection for aftermarket bumpers and lips for our car is pitiful. Theres only 2 or 3 different lips and all of the bumpers are way too outlandish for my tastes (no offense to all of you who have them, I said for MY tastes). Instead of just complaining about it, I've decided to do something about it. I'm going to make my own fiberglass front lip or maybe even an entire front end. I've looked into custom body panel building and I've seen people build entire fiberglass bodies. My plan is to make a mold of the final product in case any one likes it and wants one. The only piece of the puzzle that I'm missing is the gel coat. I've done loads of searching, but I can't find where to purchase any. Any one know some good links and have any tips for applying gel coat? Thanks a lot guys!

Hehe, you said blunt, lol

Originally posted by DJ420a

Originally posted by Silv Blt I'm going to be blunt. I think the selection for aftermarket bumpers and lips for our car is pitiful. Theres only 2 or 3 different lips and all of the bumpers are way too outlandish for my tastes (no offense to all of you who have them, I said for MY tastes). Instead of just complaining about it, I've decided to do something about it. I'm going to make my own fiberglass front lip or maybe even an entire front end. I've looked into custom body panel building and I've seen people build entire fiberglass bodies. My plan is to make a mold of the final product in case any one likes it and wants one. The only piece of the puzzle that I'm missing is the gel coat. I've done loads of searching, but I can't find where to purchase any. Any one know some good links and have any tips for applying gel coat? Thanks a lot guys!

Hehe, you said blunt, lol

he did, he did say blunt :P