Editing Make a fiberglass fan shroud (section)
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===Finishing the part=== After the part has been trimmed and the surface has been lightly ground, with any high spots ground down, and any air bubbles opened up, a skim coat of body filler can be applied. Any decent body filler that will stick to fiberglass will work. Scrub a light coat into the surface in 3 or 4 directions before applying the fill coat, this will get the filler into the pores better. The part is still left on the foam and plywood buck because it is easier to handle during the bodywork phase. As this is a one-off fan shroud, special fairing techniques are not employed in its execution. A DA sander with 80 grit is used in all accessible areas, and hand sanding in the corners is done with 80 grit as well. {| |-valign="top" |[[Image:49even more bondo.JPG|center|thumb|Leave the part on the buck for ease of handling.]] |[[Image:47skim coat of bondo.JPG|center|thumb|Apply a skim coat of bondo.]] |[[Image:48more bondo.JPG|center|thumb|Some areas need another coat to level the surface.]] |} After sanding with 80 grit, a final sanding can be done with 120 grit. {| |-valign="top" |[[Image:50after sanding.JPG|center|thumb|After sanding with 80 grit.]] |[[Image:51after more sanding.JPG|center|thumb|After sanding with 120 grit.]] |} Now the foam buck can be chiseled out. It is very soft and offers little resistance to removal. The wax and PVA that were applied to the buck are making it easy to separate the foam from the part. Most of it just pops right off, but a blow gun can be used to remove the smaller flakes. {| |-valign="top" |[[Image:52chipping out rocks.JPG|center|thumb|Chiseling out the larger pieces of foam.]] |[[Image:53most of the foam out.JPG|center|thumb|Most of the foam is now out.]] |[[Image:55nice and clean.JPG|center|thumb|Nice and clean.]] |[[Image:56clean inside and out.JPG|center|thumb|Clean inside and out.]] |} As mentioned before, this shroud is going to need to enclose the radiator where the fan swings 1" above the top. This will require a secondary lamination to form a return. As the return can be flat, and on the same plane as the mounting surface, a table top will be used for the mold. I simply tape the top off with some masking tape, then wax the tape with some mold release wax. I like [http://www.rexco-usa.com/part3.htm Partall #2], aka "green wax". Just clamp the shroud to the table, and lay up 3 layers of fiberglass mat. {| |-valign="top" |[[Image:57it is hollow.JPG|center|thumb|The shroud requires a secondary lamination.]] |[[Image:58tape off the table.JPG|center|thumb|Taping off the table.]] |[[Image:59lay up the return.JPG|center|thumb|Laying up the return.]] |} Once the laminate has cured, the part can be removed from the table. {| |-valign="top" |[[Image:60pull the part.JPG|center|thumb|Removing the part from the table.]] |[[Image:61return.JPG|center|thumb|The return flange.]] |} Some pics of the final part, ready to prime. {| |-valign="top" |[[Image:62finished part.JPG|center|thumb]] |[[Image:64backside.JPG|center|thumb]] |[[Image:65ready to prime.JPG|center|thumb]] |[[Image:66rack for priming.JPG|center|thumb|The part is placed on a simple priming rack.]] |} I use polyester surfacing primer on all of my plugs and one-offs. Evercoat-Fiberglass Co. makes a material called [http://www.evercoat.com/productDetail.aspx?pID=171 Featherfill], Poly-Lux, Inc. makes a polyester surfacing primer, and [http://www.duratec1.com/ProductList.html Hawkeye Industries] (under their Duratec product line) has a line of primers that are well suited to filling all of the pores and sandscratch marks left by shaping. I like the [http://www.duratec1.com/dp04.html Duratec surfacing primer] the best, because you can build up to 0.040" in a single application. {| |-valign="top" |[[Image:67duratec.JPG|center|thumb|The Duratec polyester surfacing primer.]] |[[Image:68this primer has some solids.JPG|center|thumb|As you can see, this is a high solids primer.]] |} Nothing fancy in the way of spray guns here. The primer was sprayed with a very old Devilbiss that I bought at a garage sale for $1.00. {| |-valign="top" |[[Image:Spraying primer.JPG|center|thumb|Spraying the primer.]] |[[Image:Primered part.JPG|center|thumb|The part is now primed.]] |} Now that this part is primed with the polyester coating, it can be sanded and top coated with whatever paint system you like. Also, if I was going to make several of these parts, I could sand and polish the surface, wax it, and use it to create a mold with which I could duplicate it many times over...
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