Making molds

[FXjohn]

I;m attempting to make some molds for some footholds.
They are kind of a copy of Maros or blowsion's bindings for an FX-1.
Should I use glass cloth or tiger hair, what are the differences?
What Epoxy agent should I use? Whatever's cheap locally or something like westwood marine, and what are the differences? What should I use for a release agent?

Thanks everyone.

John

[mudphish]

The West System works the best, which would be cloth and epoxie.. If I were you I would save my self a headache and call 24/7 Wammer or Blowsion and try to get a good deal on set of last years foot holds. I know @ Blowsion you could probably get a set for under $100.. When you have the sides cut open for the foot holds, this would be the best time to install a oneway valve kit.... If you have not seen his web site check him out at www.blowsion.com They have the coolest stuff on the planet for your FX1.. Good Luck!

[mudphish]

KID as for your hand holds, you can make the cup by taking a plastic solo(you can see some in FXJohns picture) cup you will want to leave about 2" of glass on the sides dry, and flexable so you can later mix up some resin and glue them to the inside of your hood..
Lay about 2 or 3 layers of glass and then when its dry you can bend the cup and it will pop out....
FXJOHN, one thing you should know is when you cut the right inside rail open, and start to remove the foam you are going to run into the exhaust tube. So be prepaired to deal with that..

[StandupEd]

Hey John, nice special FX’s, Looks like you are doing a good job with your bindings. I did notice that you are using a polyester resin, Bondo brand, to make the foot holds. This is acceptable for constructing the actual part, especially if these are just practice parts, but it will cause you problems when you try to bond the new foot holds to the hull. What product were you planning to use to make the bond?

[mudphish]

I dont think you will have any problems with that "Bondo" brand resin, it's all in how you prep the surface.. That heavy duty Goo you are seeing is the bonding agent that Yamaha uses to bond the seems on any surface they need to. You can get it at wat-con
http://www.watcon.com/products2a.htm

Hull Adhesive

Fiberglass damage? Hull repairs? Nose replacement? Adding sponsons? Are you looking for a really good adhesive? How about the really cool green stuff the factories use? Don't look any further.

Excellent for repairing composite plastics and metals. This two part epoxy is easy to use and unused material can be stored for future applications. Two 50ml tubes. $39.00

[StandupEd]

There is nothing wrong with the Bondo brand, it is just the fact that it is polyester based. You want to use epoxy resin for the best results. Epoxy resin is very strong, doesn’t shrink the way poly does and provides a superior mechanical bond, i.e. ability to stick. It doesn’t really matter what brand, although the West System brand is by far the best. I have this system and it works great. One cool thing is that they have min- pumps that fit onto the cans and this allows you to mix small batches by just one stroke hardener, one stroke resin. The other thing is that they have additives that allow you to custom make a multitude of adhesives, fillers, and glazing putties, using the Epoxy resin. It sounds a little hard at first but once you get comfortable with it you won’t use anything else. As an example, when you go to bond your finely crafted footholds to the hull you will have some gaps. The way you do it, is initially wet both surfaces with straight catalyzed epoxy mixture to get Max penetration and then the cool thing is you can add either 403 microfibers or 404 High density filler to the mix to make a strong, gap filling glue. You coat the footholds and hull with a bead of the stuff and press into place. This is similar to the goo you asked about that is used on your ski, and arguably stronger than the twin tube dispensed products because you wet out the surfaces first. One thing is for sure once you buy the west system you can buy the additives for a lot less than paying for the tube dispensed glues.

[mudphish]

You aint kidding ED, the West system is the best. I have been using the 5:1 for a long time, the only set back is the initial cost of the product (about $100)other than that you will not find a greater system for working with fiberglass.. The only thing that has ever bothered me about the West system is how long it takes to set up.... As for installing foot holds, what I do is rivit in the units to hold them still(you could screw them in as well), and then do my glass work ...

[SUPERJET-113]

Besides using the West system, you could also use a SMC compatible resin. It will stick reall well, and not peel off like a polyester pancake would. It's 8-10 dollars a quart. It uses the creme type hardener like you would use in bondo or glaze coat. I have used the Evercoat brand many times and once I filled a huge hole in the bottom of a SJ and it has held up for 2 years now. It sets up fast too, in about a half hour. It will be plenty strong in conjunction with riveting or screwing the binders on. I would use fiberglass matting too. good luck

[SUPERJET-113]

Besides using the West system, you could also use a SMC compatible resin. It will stick reall well, and not peel off like a polyester pancake would. It's 8-10 dollars a quart. It uses the creme type hardener like you would use in bondo or glaze coat. I have used the Evercoat brand many times and once I filled a huge hole in the bottom of a SJ and it has held up for 2 years now. It sets up fast too, in about a half hour. It will be plenty strong in conjunction with riveting or screwing the binders on. I would use fiberglass matting too. good luck

[Submarine]

Anyone tried Fiberlay? Johnny at Blowsion recommend them.
I think it's www.fiberlay.com