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