• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

Not exactly a case mod

S

SacLANd

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Sep 16, 2002
Messages
1,769
Hope the mods aren't mad, this has to do with some of the same stuff as case modding:

So heres the scoop, i bought an airsoft gun about a year ago, and the front grip for it wouldn't hold the battery i wanted. after wasting 50$ on some lame replacement grip that still didnt fit, i decided to make my own:
gun1.jpg


how i did it: Its all made out of fibreglass. i started out with a styrafoam mold. i basically guessed for the size and stuff, doing minor measurements and mimicing some of the mesurements of the grip that was already on the gun.
the fun part was actually placing the fiberglass. this stuff is a pain. i put foil on the mold to keep it from sticking, though it didnt work too well because the resin gets within all the cracks. I completely covered the mold with fiberglass. i did about 4-6 layers (i cant remember, this was a while ago.) i wish i had pics of the process.
after it cured. i busted out the dremel. cutting the hole on the top and back. then i sanded it a lot to sharpen the edges. after that i added another layer of fiberglass. this went on for a bit until i got the shape and thickness i wanted. it sat for about 8 months (got lazy because i bought a stock for the gun and no longer needed the foregrip).
i picked it up today and decided to finish it. a lot of dremeling to get it to fit, now it fits perfectly on the gun. however, i'll most likely do another coat of resin or bondo to finish it off.
after that, i'll paint it, then its all ready to go.

end result:
grip2.jpg

grip1.jpg

gun2.jpg


lesson learned: With fibreglass, it is messy, but you can make ANYTHING. very strong if done properly. next up is making a case outa fibreglass.
 
Very nice. :) I'm really into learning about fiberglass right now, do you by any chance have any pictures of the progress?
 
check this thread, near the end there is some talk about fibreglass:
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=762442

sorry i dont have any pictures of the process. its very messy anyways. its basically you paint on some resin, then lay down the cloth, then pain on more resin. you do that for however layers you desire (but not too many or it may crack while cureing)

I might try another thing outa fiberglass though, like a holster for my gun or a case or something.

if you're gonna use this stuff, may SURE you wear eye protection and get a painters mask or something. those fumes will kill your braincells and such, and the last thing you want is fibreglass in your eyes.
 
after lots of bondo work, filing, sanding, ect, i got it finished and painted.
grip3.jpg


it feels very nice, looks quite real, and fits the large battery perfectly.
Actually turned out to be quite sturdy. with a one piece design i dont think i'll need to worry about it breaking.
 
I'm confused on why you didn't just buy the stock when it probably costs the same amount as the fiberglass resin/jelly/whatever
 
Qtip42 said:
I'm confused on why you didn't just buy the stock when it probably costs the same amount as the fiberglass resin/jelly/whatever
Click to expand...
......Ahem!
So heres the scoop, i bought an airsoft gun about a year ago, and the front grip for it wouldn't hold the battery i wanted. after wasting 50$ on some lame replacement grip that still didnt fit, i decided to make my own
Click to expand...
At this point I'd probably say something about maybe reading the thread next time but I think you know that already. ;)
 
You and your tricky reading stuffs........Someday I'll unlock the mystery of this so called "reading" you speak of.........


:p

Well then he didn't buy the correct one now did he? :D
 
actually, i did buy the correct one, it was the ONLY one besides some 80$ front grip that was olmost exactly the same.
anyways, the cost was relatively cheap:
10$ for resin, 5$ for cloth, 2$ for brushes, 8$ for bondo, and 3$ for paint
so for about 30$ i made my own customized grip that fit the way i wanted, and it looks better then the aftermarket grips.

I also bought the Full stock for the gun for about 50$ but it makes it very hard to manauver. now i got the retractable stock back on, and it totally rocks.

this was my first time using fiberglass and bondo. the fiberglass part is really hard and messy, it didn't turn out exactly the way i wanted but thats why i got the bondo (bondo is MUCH easier to work with then the resin, but the resin is 20x stronger)

I'd really like to make more things outa fiberglass, but the question is what i should make...
 
Resin really only applies when you can't use metal or acrylic in any way, shape, or form without spending tons of money.

If you want to make a car body for instance (for a mod), you use resins because you can't make the same lines manufacturers do in the metal.
 
nice

seeing how your fiberglassing turns out, its giving me ideas...

i m starting to get into fiberglassing now, is there any specific points i need to know before i make anything in general?

and how did you do that shape?, dont you need a mold?, if you used one, how did you get it out of that cast?
 
I used a mold. took some styrafoam and cut it to the inside dimensions i wanted. then i wrapped the whole thing in alimunim foil. it was kinda hard though because the resin found all the cracks in the alumunim foil and get some bits stuck to it. the thread i link to above gives some ideas on how to keep that from happening.
I coated the ENTIRE thing with resin, then placed the fiberglass on it, then more resin. after about 2 layers of fiberglass, i would let it dry. after it dried i sanded it down to get rid of the sharp edges and stuff, and try to keep the same shape... then i went at it agian, adding another 2 layers.
in all i went through and added about 6 layers. sand paper will get clogged kinda fast so you can try a very course file instead. after the last layer i tried to get it as flat as possible, and get the shape the best i can.

then i used a dremel with a cutoff wheel to cut out the parts i wanted (be carefull not to cut out too much). now i was able to pull out the styrafoam. i just tear it out, use a screwdriver or something. you're not gonna be able to use the mold agian anyways. you'll need to scrape any of the foil out that stuck.

then just add the bondo, do some more sanding, and paint. :)
 
SacLANd said:
I used a mold. took some styrafoam and cut it to the inside dimensions i wanted. then i wrapped the whole thing in alimunim foil. it was kinda hard though because the resin found all the cracks in the alumunim foil and get some bits stuck to it. the thread i link to above gives some ideas on how to keep that from happening.
I coated the ENTIRE thing with resin, then placed the fiberglass on it, then more resin. after about 2 layers of fiberglass, i would let it dry. after it dried i sanded it down to get rid of the sharp edges and stuff, and try to keep the same shape... then i went at it agian, adding another 2 layers.
in all i went through and added about 6 layers. sand paper will get clogged kinda fast so you can try a very course file instead. after the last layer i tried to get it as flat as possible, and get the shape the best i can.

then i used a dremel with a cutoff wheel to cut out the parts i wanted (be carefull not to cut out too much). now i was able to pull out the styrafoam. i just tear it out, use a screwdriver or something. you're not gonna be able to use the mold agian anyways. you'll need to scrape any of the foil out that stuck.

then just add the bondo, do some more sanding, and paint. :)
Click to expand...
how did u get the right dimensions for the mold?... did you measure?, or look and guess and stuff?
 
I have heard that aluminum foil is a bad idea. That it will stick in small pieces and be impossible to remove.
 
I guessed most of it, i just tried to make it a symmetrical as possible, and basically copied the other grip i had, and made it bigger/longer.
the beauty of the bondo is it hides most of the mistakes. i probably should have done measurement buy it turned out fine.

and yeas/no for the aluminum foil. it released quite well, except for the small creases and cracks in the foil. i'm thinking next time perhaps a wax coating or something. someone in the other thread mentioned shoe polish.
i cant think of anything better then foil though, anything else would be too porus.
 
aL Mac said:
I have heard that aluminum foil is a bad idea. That it will stick in small pieces and be impossible to remove.
Click to expand...

ErrOnReq's Project APHEX said:
Ok, I finally uploaded some pics of my progress. I didn't take many pics of the second piece of fiberglass' construction. I snapped some of the cutting and shaping of the foam and then wrapped in aluminum foil. This time I sprayed and spread some cooking spray on top of the mold. It was a little more difficult to get the first layer of fiberglass on though. What I ended up doing was just brushing the resin all over the mold and let that harden and then do the fiberglass cloth layers on top of that. The cloth wouldn't bend well enough due to the non-stick spray.
Click to expand...

Check the thread that SacLANd linked too (page seven or so).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top