anyone working with fiberglass?

[moparpaul]

Hi all rodders....
I am still looking for a Spaceliner headlight trim piece, curently one on ebay but I see another National Debt bid war, but am considering making one out of fiberglass. I have made a templet from medium cardboard and would like some sugestions on types of fiberglass combinations to use. Should I use a kit from an auto store, Home Depot and is using a fiber cloth or a fiber-mixed resin? Has any of our fellow 'rat roders' ever had fiberglass chromed?

Any information on this subject would be very helpful.

MoparPaul

 

[sensor]

no way you could chrome fiberglass.........
the closest you could come is the chrome paint(not talking rattle can) and what youd spend on the materials alone you could buy 5 n.o.s. tanks

 

[UncleKudzu]

well, why we're on the subject of fiberglas, would it be a good material to build a simple tank with? fiberglas strikes me as more doable than metalwork at this point in the trajectory of my abilities.

 

[SSG]

I think fiberglass can be "chromed" in the same way that plastic trim is chromed. edit: the internet says

The process requires painting the non-metallic part with a conductive paint. It is usually a clear lacquer base that is filled with bronze or silver powder. Once this is dry, the surface is conductive and the part is copper/nickle/chrome plated just as it would be if it were metal.

 

[sensor]

well looks like i was wrong.
still im pretty sure thatd be more than just buying the original piece...i bet if you post it in the wanted section someone will have what you need

 

[Lavrente]

Fiberglassing is not that hard, I used to do it when i was in the ricer scene, i made subwoofer enclosers. Tanks would be easy, headlight rims and housings would be easy if there was a way to make a solid mold for them. as for chroming them there are metalic paints specifically for that. one is called zinc clad but it is amazingly expensive. your local auto store should have a more affordable rattle version then find a place that does conductive plating.

 

[stantlin]

Lay one up in carbon fiber and leave it raw for a totally different look!

There are a lot of resources out there for doing motorcycle and small plane parts....why should they have all the fun?

 

[icyuod2]

talk to places that do bronze shoes etc. trophy places and other platers that deal with small parts (door knobs etc)
you can usually get them to plate small pieces pretty cheap.

my friend thats in the biz, actually gold plates a real rose for his wife every year.
but he also plates plastic's and fiberglass

 

[B607]

I collect WW1 German military medals and I have the stuff to do silver plating. A while back I checked into the electrically conductive silver ink and it is pricey...like $120 for a 50 gram jar.http://store.sra-solder.com/product.php?xProd=6140&xSec=8&jssCart=0d34cc32f24937bc414406ab764dcfb0 Gary