One off aero kit, how to ?

has anyone made a one off areo kit using foam, like the one in the pics below?

if so,

1. what is used the secure the foam to the bumper?
2. does the foam remain secured to the bumper as part of the finished product?
3. What makes this process secure that foam and fiberglass won't separate from the bumper and fly down the highway?

any tips from those who actually have done this and are experienced would be appreciated. 

steps, instuctions, etc..

I hope that guy isnt leaving that as the 'finished product'.

The foam is SUPPOSED to be for the mold mock-up. 

It should be shaped and sanded a million times over. Then remove and cast a mold. 

From there, you lay up your part (or bag it) and you're done  8)

then you can put your lil name on it and sell copies :coolsmiley:

I made my front lip.  I used the spray foam (Great Stuff), in the general shape. I then used a jigsaw to cut it to the shape i liked, then fiberglassed over it.  Kept fiberglassing away, bondoed it smooth, and its good as gold.  Then again, Im not making my kit to be reproduced, so I just left my foam there since no mold was to be made.  No removing it or anything. 

Thats just the way I did it. Theres probably a lot better ways to do it, but thats what I did and its worked fine.  Ill be intersted to see how other people have done it!

Scotty

[quote=DriftGirl ]
I hope that guy isnt leaving that as the 'finished product'.

The foam is SUPPOSED to be for the mold mock-up. 

It should be shaped and sanded a million times over. Then remove and cast a mold. 

From there, you lay up your part (or bag it) and you're done  8)

then you can put your lil name on it and sell copies :coolsmiley:


[/quote]

from the pics, it looks like it was the final product.. 

[quote=scottyxb ]
I made my front lip.  I used the spray foam (Great Stuff), in the general shape. I then used a jigsaw to cut it to the shape i liked, then fiberglassed over it.  Kept fiberglassing away, bondoed it smooth, and its good as gold.  Then again, Im not making my kit to be reproduced, so I just left my foam there since no mold was to be made.  No removing it or anything. 

Thats just the way I did it. Theres probably a lot better ways to do it, but thats what I did and its worked fine.  Ill be intersted to see how other people have done it!

Scotty
[/quote]

how well did your font lip hold? (to weather, wind, bumps, etc..)

Holds just fine. I ride about an inch off the ground daily, if not a touch lower on coilovers. I catch ground every once in a while, and its okay.  It has sustained Nebraska weather so far. Went from 80 to 40 to 20 to 50 to 60 these past 2 weeks.  No cracking. No breaking.  Ive taken it on interstate at 85. Still nothing wrong.   :)  Also, Im just using Walmart fiberglass stuff.  

[quote=DriftGirl ]
I hope that guy isnt leaving that as the 'finished product'.

The foam is SUPPOSED to be for the mold mock-up. 

It should be shaped and sanded a million times over. Then remove and cast a mold. 

From there, you lay up your part (or bag it) and you're done  8)

then you can put your lil name on it and sell copies :coolsmiley:


[/quote]
Common aeroparts production, to me looks like was for mold. Pictures not completed stages.

What are those foam blocks that they are using?

I'd love to try this myself using a spare bumper or something...

very interesting. i like the finished product.

me and two buddies made this out of fiberglass layed over cardboard and foam. it was a shell to cover a go-kart like chassis. about 3 feet tall without the roof wings. we never finished it yet, but its been sitting in my friend's bakyard for about 3 years now and still holds its shape

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v469/vice2/van1.jpg[/img]
in retrospect, i don't know what we were thinking. it ended up costing us about $1,000 :idiot2:

[url]www.fibreglast.com[/url]
They have high-density polyurethane foam, which is the ultimate stuff to use for shaping and prototyping... but very pricey, and honestly probably not worth using for a DIY application. It's also carcinogenic, so you gotta be very careful working with the stuff... but it sands and works like wood, and the end product needs very little touch-up as it is almost perfect. Oh yah, another major benefit vs. other foams: polyurethane foams can withstand bondo and resins, unlike other foams that basically melt. But if you're just messing around diy style, you could get away with most anything, including the green florist foam you can find in most crafts stores, as it's super cheap and works super easy (you can mold it with your fingers), but you'll want to avoid using bondo or polyester resin on it. Whatever you do, avoid foams with large cells... like the white packing foams with the big circular bubbles... cuz they just crumble apart as you sand them

Im doing another how to for ZT to show how I made the wide body for this Z I just did.  Here are a few teaser pix.

[img]http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y182/DXJP/IMG_1186copy.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y182/DXJP/Z3.jpg[/img]

Here is some of the parts I made off the mold I took
[img]http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y182/DXJP/kit.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y182/DXJP/kit1.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y182/DXJP/A%20to%20Z/ATOZ147.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y182/DXJP/A%20to%20Z/ATOZ148.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y182/DXJP/A%20to%20Z/ATOZ149.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y182/DXJP/A%20to%20Z/ATOZ166.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y182/DXJP/A%20to%20Z/ATOZ169.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y182/DXJP/A%20to%20Z/ATOZ174.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y182/DXJP/A%20to%20Z/ATOZ186.jpg[/img]

See the full build here
[url]http://www.ziptied.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10701&start=0[/url]

Nice work! But didnt you say the separate spring/shock combo isnt the best option for rear suspension on these cars?   ;)

that is some nice pictures of the progress on the z. If only I had friends who are local that can hook me up with materials on designing my own front lip... gawd I have a boner just thinking about the things I could design. :-\

[quote=TLontheDL ]
that is some nice pictures of the progress on the z. If only I had friends who are local that can hook me up with materials on designing my own front lip... gawd I have a boner just thinking about the things I could design. :-\
[/quote]

Just go to a boat repair shop, or a body shop supply store. It takes hands on practice to really learn.

leaving the foam is a baddddd idea, especially spray foam. sure it may look fine, but give it time. once moisture gets in there havvve funnn haha

please explain.  im a noob to body work, but ive done a lot of my own fiberglass work, and its never gone wrong so far.  will moisture weaken it from the inside or something if the foam is left in?  like i said, im a noob at this stuff, but its held up so far.  im kinda anxious to know what i should expect if its really that bad.  

scitty

[quote=Dominik ]
Nice work! But didnt you say the separate spring/shock combo isnt the best option for rear suspension on these cars?    ;)
[/quote]

Yes I did but it also isnt my car 

[quote=jonja ]
me and two buddies made this out of fiberglass layed over cardboard and foam. it was a shell to cover a go-kart like chassis. about 3 feet tall without the roof wings. we never finished it yet, but its been sitting in my friend's bakyard for about 3 years now and still holds its shape

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v469/vice2/van1.jpg[/img]
in retrospect, i don't know what we were thinking. it ended up costing us about $1,000 :idiot2:
[/quote]

That is sick. !! :o

Scottyxb, water gets in and soaks into the foam, and doesnt come back out. any metal in that area will likely rust, not to mention the additional weight

[quote=Dominik ]
Scottyxb, water gets in and soaks into the foam, and doesnt come back out. any metal in that area will likely rust, not to mention the additional weight
[/quote]Wouldn't the fg and bondo block the water from coming in? sorry if its a noob question

Maybe for a week, or a month, but not forever!! Well, thats what alot of the guys in Australia are finding with their imported VIP cars. The bodyshops in Japan dont remove the foam and it most of the time it is completely waterlogged

that Z looks like some really quality work man :o and for the guy that did the box cover for the go kart, i wanna see that shit in action!!! but seriously, how difficult is this process, or is it just time consuming?

[quote=Dominik ]
Maybe for a week, or a month, but not forever!! Well, thats what alot of the guys in Australia are finding with their imported VIP cars. The bodyshops in Japan dont remove the foam and it most of the time it is completely waterlogged
[/quote]

exactly. then it can expand/contract and crack the bondo on top of it, especially in more extreme weather conditions. it's just not a very good thing at all.

thanks for the feed back..

i'm sold on remove'n the foam..



i saw this on the alpine website.. 
[img]http://www.alpine-usa.com/images/news/events/demo_cars/05_x5/install/lg/1182_lg.jpg[/img]
[img]http://www.alpine-usa.com/images/news/events/demo_cars/05_x5/install/lg/1184_lg.jpg[/img]
[img]http://www.alpine-usa.com/images/news/events/demo_cars/05_x5/install/lg/1186_lg.jpg[/img]
[img]http://www.alpine-usa.com/images/news/events/demo_cars/05_x5/install/lg/1194_lg.jpg[/img]

damn that's some crazy work on that Z, I wish I could do the same, but I bet I would end up smashing everything b4 I was done lol :tickedoff:

WOW nice work [b]DXJP [/b] 
looks sick!

[quote=scottyxb ]
I made my front lip.    I used the spray foam (Great Stuff), in the general shape.  I then used a jigsaw to cut it to the shape i liked, then fiberglassed over it.    Kept fiberglassing away, bondoed it smooth, and its good as gold.    Then again, Im not making my kit to be reproduced, so I just left my foam there since no mold was to be made.    No removing it or anything.  

Thats just the way I did it.  Theres probably a lot better ways to do it, but thats what I did and its worked fine.   Ill be intersted to see how other people have done it!

Scotty
[/quote]

Hey scotty you should post up a DIY thread w/ your pics.. do you have any .. would love to see them..

no sorry i have no pics in the process.  next time I do a project (most likely be side skirts) ill do a tutorial.  

Yeah that's mad work you've done on that Z there dude, I would love to start making my own body part's and kit's too, you've all helped me understand it better so I thank-you all, and from what I understand ALWAYS pull out the foam.......Good thread ;)

test'en out the suggestions.. 

seems to work well... 

[i](foam was removed.. )[/i]

That look's good, was it a hard process ?? Let us know how you go with fitting and such...........

[quote=boost_me ]
That look's good, was it a hard process ?? Let us know how you go with fitting and such...........
[/quote]

personally, the process doesn't seem hard.. it is, however, messy and time consuming..  i would also say that it is some what of an art form.. since the foam needs to sculptured.. 

for the fit.. i trim'd it, bonded, and riveted it the OE panel. i made the glass part a little smaller than what i wanted the final part to look like... this way i could add bondo and shape it straight and smooth..  (at least thats my plan.. i'll see how that works out later..)

i'm not done yet.. so if it doesn't turn out right, i might just junk it in the end....