Cafe seat build...

[byrdman76]

Cover it with blue painters tape if you still can. This will keep the resin from eating the mold. The tail looks great BTW. Don't worry - where ever you get any sags you can fill with Dynaglass. I would recommend skim coating it with Dynaglass anyway and then a final light coat of Bondo (Bondo is easier to sand and finish). Also, use the fiberglass mat instead of the woven stuff on the bends and angles - it lays down better. Getting the woven stuff to conform to compound angles with out getting a wrinkle can be a pain.

That tail section is going to set that bike off man :-D

BTW if your worried about fumes igniting, watch out for when your sanding that thing in an enclosed area with flames present. It will look like a dust bomb went off if you use any kind of power tool to sand down the form. Dust can be flammable...:shock:

[Go Mifune]

I know of guys on other forums who have used PAM cooking spray as a release agent. They used it on fiberglass subwoofer enclosures they built. Also I saw Lou from Muscle Car tv on spike use aluminum foil for some custom fender flares they made for a mustang.

[Ironriot]

I know of guys on other forums who have used PAM cooking spray as a release agent. They used it on fiberglass subwoofer enclosures they built. Also I saw Lou from Muscle Car tv on spike use aluminum foil for some custom fender flares they made for a mustang.

Those fender flares looked horrible. That car was absolutely b!tchin' right up until they put those on. I think I prefered the look of the wheels sticking so far out past the rear quarters

[fat_sac]

Yeah I've never heard of using elmer's before. I know I've seen alu foil used and the end result is pretty good. Just got to be careful not to rip it when applying it. Also look online for a good release agent. I'd like to think petroleum jelly would work but that's just crazy thinking. Hell maybe KY would work lol. Either way something just to help keep that resin from sticking to the alum foil

I used foil a couple of weeks ago and it didn't even need a release agent. Once the resin cured the foil just peeled right off. Just don't wrinkle it and get that stuck in the resin. Won't be able to get that out. Just have to sand it down I guess.

[TheCafeKid]

Ok so she's glassed. Ok let me preface this with stating the obvious. This **** is MESSY. Not just messy, but nasty smelly sticky gooey god awfull. BUT its pretty easy to work with. A look at n1elkyfan's hands whilst dealing with this slop

First i covered the whole foam model in painters tape. Then waxed the tape multiple times with car paste, (couple of guys said this works just as good as anything else, so why not?) Next, we cut the fibre mat into 5 inch wide long strips, and started with the pan.

Then we cut some 5x5 squares. Had i to do over again, i would have used the squares from the start. It conforms much better to the complex curves.
After 3 layers (and some places have four, simply becausewe thought they'd need more structural stability, especially where there would be no frame to support it) we did one more layer in fibre woven cloth, and then a heavy over coat of resin, to give more sanding surface...
and here she is...



a thought occured to us. Why couldnt i leave the foam IN the form?? It could only help to add strength. Any thoughts??

[tkent02]

Why couldnt i leave the foam IN the form?? It could only help to add strength. Any thoughts??

I think that will look damned nice, excellent work. Perhaps cut a little trunk or glovebox out and leave the rest of the foam in there?

[TheCafeKid]

SAY! thats a hell of an idea man! Pure genious! Dont think it would be too tough either. Thanks for the compliments as well!

[byrdman76]

I wouldn't leave the foam in there. Unless you cover it or enclose the bottom the foam will gradually brake down and drop down onto the bike like snow - ask me how I know :-D. Some people use paint thinner to get it out "lost foam method" i believe its called. I just broke mine free and sanded the inside smooth.

That is going to be bad ass.

[TheCafeKid]

Thanks byrdman Forgive my ignorance, but you spoke of filling in with Duraglass. What is that exactly, and where can i get it? Is it like that Bondo Hair stuff??

[spyug]

Definitely leave the foam in. It adds rigidity and doesn't add to the wieght. I've done a few tracker seats like this. Just glass in the bottom side to encapsulate the foam:





I can stand on these seats (180 pounds) with no problem so they are plenty tough.

Cheers,
Spyug.

[Mark M]

I can stand on these seats (180 pounds) with no problem so they are plenty tough.

Cheers,
Spyug.

Hey Spybug,

Sweet bikes. How many layers and what weight of glass cloth are you using for seats? Resin type?

Mark

[byrdman76]

Thanks byrdman Forgive my ignorance, but you spoke of filling in with Duraglass. What is that exactly, and where can i get it? Is it like that Bondo Hair stuff??

Exactly - see if this link works. They sell it at Advanced or Autozone. You can use just the dynaglass alone but its pretty tuff to sand down - don't get too carried away. It just makes the form extremely strong in areas where your bolting it down or sitting. I used additional Bondo in other areas to smooth the imperfections out that I couldn't get just right. Also pick up a tube of glazing putty for the small holes that may appear near the final product.

http://www.partsamerica.com/productdetail.aspx?MfrCode=BND&MfrPartNumber=272&CategoryCode=3373B

[spyug]

Mark,
The foam is plain old rigid pink from Home Cheapo but the blue or green stuff works as well. The glass cloth is a light 4 ounce weave applied one layer all over and two layers on the seat pad area. The resin is 2:1 epoxy. I used a product called Cold Cure from Industrial Formulators but any 2 part epoxy should work ( West System, Evercure etc).

As you know, you can't use standard f/glass resin over foam or it will melt it. As epoxy is a bit more expensive you can lessen the cost a bit by painting the foam all over with one coat of epoxy (one ounce or so goes a long way & let it fully cure) then glassing over that with standard resin and cloth. I've been told that you can even paint the foam with white construction glue and glass over that but haven't tried that yet.

Once the glassing is done , you need to skim coat with Bondo to even out any imperfections sand and finish with a primer/surfacer, then paint.

This method is a whole lot easier than mold making for standard fiberglass layup and lends itself well to these kinds of projects. I haven't recorded the building of these seats but I was contemplating making a tank for the tracker so if I do I'll take lots of pictures.

Tank building will be a little different as you use the so called lost foam method whereby you shape the tank, encapsulate it with cloth and resin then drill a hole and pour in acetone to eat away the foam leaving the tank shell.

Hope this helps but feel free to PM me if I can answer any other questions.

Cheers,
Spyug

[TheCafeKid]

Mark,
The foam is plain old rigid pink from Home Cheapo but the blue or green stuff works as well. The glass cloth is a light 4 ounce weave applied one layer all over and two layers on the seat pad area. The resin is 2:1 epoxy. I used a product called Cold Cure from Industrial Formulators but any 2 part epoxy should work ( West System, Evercure etc).

As you know, you can't use standard f/glass resin over foam or it will melt it. As epoxy is a bit more expensive you can lessen the cost a bit by painting the foam all over with one coat of epoxy (one ounce or so goes a long way & let it fully cure) then glassing over that with standard resin and cloth. I've been told that you can even paint the foam with white construction glue and glass over that but haven't tried that yet.

Once the glassing is done , you need to skim coat with Bondo to even out any imperfections sand and finish with a primer/surfacer, then paint.

This method is a whole lot easier than mold making for standard fiberglass layup and lends itself well to these kinds of projects. I haven't recorded the building of these seats but I was contemplating making a tank for the tracker so if I do I'll take lots of pictures.

Tank building will be a little different as you use the so called lost foam method whereby you shape the tank, encapsulate it with cloth and resin then drill a hole and pour in acetone to eat away the foam leaving the tank shell.

Hope this helps but feel free to PM me if I can answer any other questions.

Cheers,
Spyug

All good stuff. I simply covered my foam with painters tape. Worked fantastic. I think i built my seat, excluding bondo and paint, which i already have, for about 60 bucks. That seat would normally go for about 140 on Airtech's site, and mine is custom fit to my GS, so i know it will work.

[GSmadness]

looks great man, i am really diggin that tail section. I am takin alittle different approach to my seat. I cut a 1/4 plywood to fit the bike for the seat base and then put down blue painters tape, then tin foil tape, then car wax. She popped off the bike pretty dang good with some kind words and alot of pullin. Now i am tryin to get the rest sorted out then glass the top onto the bottom. Keep up the good work man.

~Scott