I have thought about this, and is there any reason as to why i couldn't make my own body kit?
If i was to take the original bumper off, extend the base with compact foam and shape it to the original contours, add a few holes for the grill.
Add some release agent, and fiber glass coat the whole lot, cut it, paint it, add the grills and work out a way to get it on the car?
Would this be a possible DIY job and do you think it is worth the price reduction? And more to the point, has anyone done it before?
It will be my first time doing fiber glass, and i don't plan to jump straight into the body, i would work on a small scale test at first.
Its possible, just takes a lot of work. Ive heard fiberglass is tough to get right.
I, personally, just modified my plastic bumper how i wanted it
I'm instantly reminded of all those shitty [I]"unique"[/I] bodykits made with expandable foam, fibreglass bondo and lack of braincells.
[editline]12th June 2013[/editline]
[url]http://www.barryboys.co.uk/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=12[/url]
[QUOTE=Van-man;41010004]I'm instantly reminded of all those shitty [I]"unique"[/I] bodykits made with expandable foam, fibreglass bondo and lack of braincells.
[editline]12th June 2013[/editline]
[url]http://www.barryboys.co.uk/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=12[/url][/QUOTE]Oh dear god. What have you just shown me.
If it doesnt look decent. Ill instantly put the old panels back on.
[QUOTE=Science;41010304]Oh dear god. What have you just shown me.
If it doesnt look decent. Ill instantly put the old panels back on.[/QUOTE]
Then my work here is done.
Use professional sculpting clay.
I've seen people do it, it comes out rad.
Expanding foam is very much an OK medium to do this with!
The basic idea is you take your factory bumper, and use cardboard and foam to build up the base, then shape the foam with a hot knife, rasp, etc. You need to measure and use levels/ lasers to make sure it's all straight and symmetrical.
Once that's OK you lay fiberglass resin and chop mat over it to give it structure.. then sand that a bit, then lay body filler, and sand it smooth. Lots and lots and lots of bodywork later you end up with what LOOKS like a finished product, but full of garbage like foam and stuff.
THEN, you need to set it up to pull a mold off of it. This is the tough part, you're gonna want to read up on this A LOT. I've never pulled a mold, so I can't offer my expertise.
Once you have a 100% legit mold, you lay down gelcoat, then fiberglass until it's thick enough. Then you remove the mold, finish some extra bodywork, and paint.
Fiberglassforums.com > exterior modification forum has a TON of good info and writeups.
The main thing you need to remember is that, unless you start with an aftermarket fiberglass bumper, you need to pull that mold and make a new one, because fiberglass WONT stick to a plastic bumper; no matter what you do it'll crack eventually. 100% fiberglass or nothing.
With enough work, fiberglass mat/resin, and sanding, you'll be OK. Do some small fiberglass projects first to get the idea of how it works. Once you know fiberglass the sky's the limit when it comes to automotive fabrication!!
[QUOTE=Science;41010304]Oh dear god. What have you just shown me.
If it doesnt look decent. Ill instantly put the old panels back on.[/QUOTE]
Also, pick a solid theme or direction, so that the body-kit doesn't look "confused"
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