How to create a fibreglass Hood

How to create a fibreglass chopped strand mat Hood

A fibreglass hood reduces your car's weight whereas increasing it's performance [source: Magnante]. this can be a messy project, thus wear gloves, previous clothes and a smock. you may also would like a lot of patience. Doing a rush job might lead to a hood that appears ugly or does not match properly.

Materials:

14 sheets of fibreglass fabric cut a minimum of three inches (76.2 millimeters) larger than the first hood

Gel coat

Paint roller lined by a PVC pipe and coated with a separating agent.

Resin

Separating agent

Three-to-five-inch (76.2-to-127-millimeter) natural-bristle paintbrushes whose bristles ar connected with adhesive

Prepare the hood molds:

Remove the hood from your automobile.

Spray a regular layer of gel coat on either side of the hood.

Place a fibreglass sheet on high of the hood, overlapping the hood by a minimum of two inches (50.8 millimeters) on all sides.

Smooth the sheet from the middle outward to get rid of air pockets.

Mix the rosin and quickly brush it on the sheet, till it's soaked. Work quickly -- the rosin begins hardening as shortly as you add the catalyst.

Place another sheet on high of the previous one and quickly brush it with rosin. mix up additional rosin if the rosin gets too hard.

Repeat Step 6 another 2 or 3 times.

Smooth the sheets, removing any air bubbles with the roller.

Allow the hood-top mould to cure for a minimum of 2 hours.

Turn the hood over and repeat Steps three through nine to create the hood-frame mould.

Remove each fibreglass molds from the initial hood.

Make the fibreglass hood:

Apply the separating agent to the within of the hood-top mould and also the outside of the hood-frame mould.

Spray a layer of gel coat on each molds.

Place a fibreglass sheet on every mould. Brush rosin on each sheets.

Repeat Step three, adding a second layer.

Smooth the sheets with the roller.

Apply a layer of rosin to the sheet on the hood-frame mould before it's utterly cured.

Join the 2 mould halves fastidiously, matching up the fibreglass layers precisely -- you will not get a second probability.

Allow the fibreglass hood to complete solidification.

Separate the mildew halves fastidiously and take away the new fibreglass hood from the mildew.

Prime and paint the fibreglass hood