Painting Fiberglass

[fasterthanspeed]

I am building a body out of fiberglass for the speed competition RCCA is doing. I was wondering what the best paint is to use for my application.

[EmThreeRC]

you could use car paint on fiberglass if you want ot dish out the money.

[fasterthanspeed]

Will lexan paint work?

[tkcustoms]

Will lexan paint work?

Not really, to do a nice job on fiberglass there is a lot more to it than just painting it. There is a lot of prep work to be done before it's read for paint.

What steps do you plan on taking to build the body?

[fasterthanspeed]

I am starting to make the ruff mold out of foam. Then bondo the mold and sand it to get all the fine lines made. Then glue on foil and spray on silicone lube( so i can get the body off the mold). Lay the fiberglass. And then prep it for paint.

[tkcustoms]

So you are going to make a positive mold and lay the fiberglass up on top?

What ever you do DO NOT use silicone lube. You will have big time paint problems. I would wax the mold really well and don't wipe the wax off before you lay up the glass.

[The King]

House of Color is a great paint to use.

[fasterthanspeed]

So you are going to make a positive mold and lay the fiberglass up on top?

What ever you do DO NOT use silicone lube. You will have big time paint problems. I would wax the mold really well and don't wipe the wax off before you lay up the glass.
Yes I am making a positive mold.

how will it ruin the paint if i wipe it off before i paint it?

[tkcustoms]

You can't "wipe off" silicone, it migrates and will get in to the weave of the glass and you will never get it out.

You don't have to take my advice but I've been painting for 21 years.

[nitroneub]

how about spraying the inside of the mould with white greese . But before you can paint You Must Wash Your Fiberglass With Wax And Greese Remover , Miss that step and you are gonna get a lot of what we Call Fisheyes in your paint If it sticks at all. Fisheyes look like little craters. Can be caused by as little as a speck of dust landing on wet paint....16 years as a licenced Autobody tech with apx 9 years painting

[tkcustoms]

how about spraying the inside of the mould with white greese . But before you can paint You Must Wash Your Fiberglass With Wax And Greese Remover , Miss that step and you are gonna get a lot of what we Call Fisheyes in your paint If it sticks at all. Fisheyes look like little craters. Can be caused by as little as a speck of dust landing on wet paint....16 years as a licenced Autobody tech with apx 9 years painting

If you make the mold right (no heavy under cuts or deep ridges) you don't need silicone or grease for it to release properly. Have you ever seen a boat hull being made? There is certainly no grease or silicone used. The only time you'll see silicone being used is if it is a silicone rubber mold.

[SpamCake]

Dude, you use silicone as a release on a silicone mold and you might as well be using superglue.
I've done it. What an expensive mistake that was. Learned something that day though. :)

Back on topic; as mentioned, a highly polished mold wax would be recommended. You could alternatively spray on Polyvinyl Alcohol (aka PVA) -- this stuff dissolves when exposed to water, thus its release properties.

Once you've got your cast pulled and properly cleaned/de-greased, hit it with a high quality primer. Proceed with the paint of your choice.
Someone mentioned r/c paints.. you could certainly use the acrylics we're mostly using nowadays (Createx/Faskolor), but absolutely not on their own; they need to be properly heat-cured and clearcoated if they're going to withstand any handling. 5 coats of a good urethane clear should do the trick, and leave just enough room for a gentle wet-sand and polish.

All the best; and be sure to give us a look at your results!

[tkcustoms]

Dude, you use silicone as a release on a silicone mold and you might as well be using superglue.
I've done it. What an expensive mistake that was. Learned something that day though. :)

Not silicone on the silicone mold, silicone as the mold materail, period. Silicone spray lube should be not used as a release agent for fiberglass no matter what the mold is made out of.

faster, post some pics when you get your body layed up, I would like to see it!

[hijacker]

Wouldn't fiberglass be really heavy for a body? Especially for a speed competition. To make it rigid enough it would have to be fairly thick and therefore heavy. Seems if you are going to make a positive mold anyway, just get a sheet of lexan and heat it over your mold. Then you can paint the lexan as you would any lexan body shell. Also, you wouldn't have to concern yourself with sanding, sealing and primering the fiberglass.

[fasterthanspeed]

Wouldn't fiberglass be really heavy for a body? Especially for a speed competition. To make it rigid enough it would have to be fairly thick and therefore heavy. Seems if you are going to make a positive mold anyway, just get a sheet of lexan and heat it over your mold. Then you can paint the lexan as you would any lexan body shell. Also, you wouldn't have to concern yourself with sanding, sealing and primering the fiberglass.

Were would I get a lexan sheet 18in.x40in.

How would I heat it up ennough?

I would also need to vacumm the lexan onto the mold to make it perfect. how would i do that?

[ramos]

Could always use automotive paste wax for mold release works quite well :)