Interior project: need fiberglass or composites shop

[kedawerx]

I am working on the interior of my XJ and am in need of some custom fabrication work to create an inlay piece for the dash. I’ve watched enough YouTube videos about making carbon fiber or fiberglass parts to know that I need someone who knows what they’re doing.

Can anyone here recommend a shop that does custom CF/fiberglass/other work? The piece will be painted, so I don’t care what it’s made of.


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[dakine]

CF is pretty straight forward. Made bits and pieces for my CBR 929 and sailboat. I would start by making a template of your panel. Cardboard will give you a dimensional outline. Cover it with aluminum wrap and you have a flat pattern to mold on. Cut out the CF to pattern with fiber overlap of the template edges. Brush CF with epoxy on the fabric, making sure good saturation with no excess. Add layers for thickness and add while epoxy is wet. If you need a 3d template, you can use high density foam. Best to use 2-part epoxy resin to set the CF. Trim you pattern to size when your epoxy sets. Watch surfboard videos and sailboat restorations.

 

[kedawerx]

Here is a picture of the piece with some notes. I’m trying to have a piece made that will fit over the existing dash panel, inside the red shape I’ve drawn.

This piece will need finishing on the edges to look good and needs to be applied after some underlying work is done. So it needs to be made then applied, not simply wrapped. This seems like a pretty involved project, especially considering the curves and details (lip around the edge) that I need. Probably more than I want to bite off right now.


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[dakine]

Do an overlay on the part itself? I'm also thinking 3-D printing...

 

[kedawerx]

I have two of these dash parts (one installed and this one), plus there is another dash at a local yard. One of these could be used as a mold.

I thought about 3D printing, but thought the size was limited to smaller things. This is over 2’ long. Maybe two smaller parts could be joined. I’ll investigate the option.


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