Vehicles

650 - fiberglassing seat

I knew the profile I wanted the seat to have so I cut that profile out of 1/4" thick project board. I then attached the two profile pieces to the bike using wooden dowel rods and steel wire. I then wrapped the whole thing in wax paper. My plan was to apply the fiberglass matte directly to the form right on the bike. 

The problem I ran into was on those sections that did not have firm support for the matte to sit on. Where the matte had to be stretched across a void, it turned really wavy once the resin was applied. I knew this would happen but I didn't think it would be that bad. Once it cured, I did a little patch work but decided I would not be able to salvage that seat with all its waviness. The only positive thing was that I did verify that the West System resin is super strong. Two coats of that stuff seemed equivelant in strength to 5 coats of the polyester resin I used in the Ford Contour car computer dash piece I made.

I used the failed fiberglass seat as the dimensions for a new seat I sculpted out of excercise floor foam mats. 

Pictures

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SmllMedLrg
I built a form that enclosed the existing rear frame section as I dont want to cut if off
SmllMedLrg
I love the profile, it matches the tank really well I think
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added steel wire to provide some support to the fiberglass.
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I should have put a panel on the face of the seat to prevent sagging
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Let the matte sit overnight like this so it was formed into the correct shape before applying resin
SmllMedLrg
awesome resin. Its about twice the price but will require half as many layers.
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ready for resin
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resin and hardener come with metering pumps so its super easy to mix
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resin applied, rear excess cut off
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some patching done and rear face added. Still too rough. Scrap this one.
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exercise mat that will be cut up and be the new seat mold
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use adhesive to join layers of mat
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for cutting I used a kitchen knife, reciprocating saw, and saws all
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sanded with 40 grit, ready for wax paper, then fiberglass
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