Working with fiberglass...

"BaconSandwich is tasty." (baconsandwich) 09/10/2013 at 19:16 • Filed to: None

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I'm wondering how difficult it is to work with fiberglass. Anyone here have experience working with the stuff?

For some reason, I had this crazy idea in my head this morning: How hard would it be to built my own Aptera? Of course this is a bit of a hair brained idea, but I spent more thinking about it today than I probably should have. (See: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ). I think the idea behind the Aptera definitely had potential - a very low-drag shaped body with an electric or hybrid system. If I remember correctly, the body was basically a giant egg-shape made of fiberglass. This also got me looking up the prices of electric scooter batteries, and got me wondering how difficult it is to work with fiberglass.

One of the thoughts I've had about working with fiberglass is to use that blue foam they use for house insulation, and to shape the body of the car out of that, then lay the fiberglass on it, and use it as a backing material when forming pieces. I'd think it would be reasonably easy to cut/shape the foam. The thing is, I've never worked with fiberglass before, which got me thinking that I should ask the hive mind collective of the automotive internets (also known as Jalopnik).

Now obviously there'd be a ton of work to do to actually make something like an Aptera, but I'm still quite curious about working with fiberglass, and how difficult/easy it is.

Any thoughts/experiences on the subject?

Squid > BaconSandwich is tasty. 09/10/2013 at 19:17

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Find a boat builder and make him your best friend. . .

Pabuuu, JDM car enthusiast & Italian parts hoarder > BaconSandwich is tasty. 09/10/2013 at 19:21

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HammerheadFistpunch > BaconSandwich is tasty. 09/10/2013 at 19:23

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Fiberglass is easy, gell coats that don't look like crap...less easy.

Bandit > BaconSandwich is tasty. 09/10/2013 at 19:25

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I've always wanted to build the shell of an old F1 car out of fiberglass and have wondered the same thing. I shall stay tuned to these replies.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > HammerheadFistpunch 09/10/2013 at 19:25

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Is it possible to sand things down so that it does look reasonable after coating?

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > BaconSandwich is tasty. 09/10/2013 at 19:26

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They built those directly across from where I am now sitting. It was a pretty big car, egg shaped or not. The first prototypes used 150cc gas engines mounted on a rear swing arm. I'm not sure what kind of driving you had in mind, but if you are planning on going anywhere near a highway, you are going to want something bigger than that. 600cc minimum IMHO.

Telumektar > BaconSandwich is tasty. 09/10/2013 at 19:26

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I don't know how hard it could be, probably not too hard to make some shapes but really hard to make something strong.

Be aware that fibreglass can make a lot of damage to your lungs (fragments of glass fibre will break apart and you could breathe them), you should always wear a mask and gloves when working with it.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Pabuuu, JDM car enthusiast & Italian parts hoarder 09/10/2013 at 19:26

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Hahah. I was thinking the same thing. Really though... there are (or have been) a decent number of kit car manufacturers out there that use the stuff, as well as companies that do things like fiberglass kayaks and boats...

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Squid 09/10/2013 at 19:27

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That certainly is a thought. Unfortunately I live in a land-locked province, so there isn't much in the way of marine manufacturing in these parts.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Telumektar 09/10/2013 at 19:29

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Yeah, taking care of my lungs is definitely a good thing to do. I've done enough woodworking to know that wearing eye/ear protection is also almost always a good idea.

Rows His Own > BaconSandwich is tasty. 09/10/2013 at 19:45

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Fiberglass is easy if you learn how to make plaster moulds. There is a learning curve. Even carbon fiber isn't hard, same concept almost. Just mess up a few times and you'll have it. I've used it to fix bumpers before. Also have lots of sandpaper and a sand ready

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. 09/10/2013 at 19:57

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That's pretty darn cool that you are that close to where they used to be.

My original thought was to do something entirely electric, based off a whole whack-load of batteries mounted in the floor. Rather than rounding off the bottom of the car, I'd give it a flat floor. It probably wouldn't be as aerodynamic, but it would give it plenty of space for batteries. Also, four doors. Here's a crude sketch I hacked up in MS Paint:

It would still have plenty of swoopiness on the tail, and lots of roof area for solar panels. I'd think the lower it could be, the better, as it would allow less air to get underneath the body.

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > BaconSandwich is tasty. 09/10/2013 at 20:00

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Doesn't exactly sound like you are adding lightness. The reverse tricycle stance worked pretty well. If you are going to build one, you may as well just copy the old one. I don't think anyone will sue you, they did go belly up, after all.

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. 09/10/2013 at 20:08

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True enough on both points.

I wouldn't be too concerned about lightness if it is going to be electric. No matter how you cut it, batteries are heavy - even lithium ion/lithium polymer.

Ad Astra > BaconSandwich is tasty. 09/10/2013 at 21:57

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I have some experience working with fiberglass from building a pine strip kayak. In my case, the kayak body was entirely encased in wood. The fiberglass holds everything together and waterproofs it. I think this kind of structure would be needlessly heavy for your project, though. You might be able to make a wire frame (with chicken wire, perhaps) with enough support to enable you to drape a layer of fiberglass over it. A mold would be your best bet, but making one is time consuming and inefficient if you're only going to use it once.

I recommend using West System epoxy with the fiberglass. It is expensive (all epoxy is) but pretty easy to use. After thoroughly soaking a piece of fiberglass in epoxy, it's fairly easy to conform it to an irregular surface. You might have to use vacuum bagging to get a strong enough fiberglass body. Without it, it could be difficult to get multiple layers of fiberglass to adhere to each other uniformly.

You can see a few pictures of the fiberglass process on my kayak build page here .

BaconSandwich is tasty. > Ad Astra 09/10/2013 at 22:37

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That's really cool. Thanks for sharing!