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Materials question.

Ghostrider 67

Ghostrider 67

Jack Stand Racer #6..and proud of it!
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What material do the pro's use to build/fashion features on door panel cards? Is it a foam, a plastic, wood or what. They shape it, sand it, carve it and glue down leather over it. Looks like a really stiff/dense foam that can be shaped. Thanks . Ghost.
 
Fiberboard? Dunno fer sure Chief.

bart eating popcorn.gif
 
The cards themselves are out of hard board. I mean the "features" that make up the topography of the door, the parts that contour and are raised ...
 
A lot are made of MDF - very easy to cut and shape. Rough cut on a bandsaw then rough shape with a hand grinder and finalize with a sander, sanding block, etc. Then use a sealer so the contact cement doesn't soak into the stuff.
 
Could be 3-d printed these days. If you had something small and complex, that would be the way to go.
 
A lot are made of MDF - very easy to cut and shape. Rough cut on a bandsaw then rough shape with a hand grinder and finalize with a sander, sanding block, etc. Then use a sealer so the contact cement doesn't soak into the stuff.

Could be 3-d printed these days. If you had something small and complex, that would be the way to go.

Both are great suggestions. MDF....is that "particle board"? How thick of a piece does that come in? Would I have to glue several pieces together to build up to, say, a 5" thick chunk? How would the finished item attach to the door card? Particle board isn't known for it's screw holding abilities...
3D printing. Isn't that expensive? If I have already built the piece from which to get a pattern, why do I need to print one? Asking for a friend...
 
3-D printing, like any process, you want to keep the labor down. So, it may too much trouble for one or two pieces, if it's as easy to just make the piece, as opposed to designing the job, but if you needed a bunch, it would become more and more desireable as the count increased. Not only that, the print job is saved, and you could restart new production instantly at any point in the future. But for one or two simple pieces, yeah, you may not want to go to the trouble. You have a pic of what you've made??
 
Ghostrider 67 said:
MDF....is that "particle board"? How thick of a piece does that come in? Would I have to glue several pieces together to build up to, say, a 5" thick chunk? How would the finished item attach to the door card? Particle board isn't known for it's screw holding abilities...
Click to expand...

MDF is "medium density fiberboard" and available in 3/4" sheets at Home Depot, etc. I have some pieces I got dumpster diving at a local manufacturer that are 2" thick but the problem with the thick stuff is its not very dense in the middle so you're better off laminating thinner stuff. To be able to screw into it you could laminate it to a piece of plywood or oak, etc which would be your basic shape that you'd build on.
 
You wonder why high end cars have such a high value ... technology like 3D printing !!!
 
Stanton said:
You wonder why high end cars have such a high value ... technology like 3D printing !!!
Click to expand...
Yeah, that and about a zillion hours in metal work, fabrication and bodywork. Not to mention top end paint and skilled painters.
 
Lefty71 said:
3-D printing, like any process, you want to keep the labor down. So, it may too much trouble for one or two pieces, if it's as easy to just make the piece, as opposed to designing the job, but if you needed a bunch, it would become more and more desirable as the count increased. Not only that, the print job is saved, and you could restart new production instantly at any point in the future. But for one or two simple pieces, yeah, you may not want to go to the trouble. You have a pic of what you've made??
Click to expand...
I do not. Yet. Here's one of the expanding foam design that I have scraped that shows the shape I need to make. And another of the door with the unit installed that curves out towards the dash . So I need something to replace what you see in foam, to go around and under the curved unit on the clean door. You can see that I cut out the portion of the plastic door panel that goes under the curved unit end to mate up against the dash end contour. I used it as a guide to shape the foam. Matched up okay but the foam just isn't solid enough to cover with fabric or leather. So, I need something more solid to shape it out of.
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WP_20171208_09_09_08_Pro.jpg
 
Ahh, I see. so this is almost like a fiberglass job. You need a good one, whatever it may be, to make a mold. Once you've done one, then you can pour as many as you need, even if you wanted to pour (if you can call it that) foam or your material of choice, then pull from the mold and shape it with a electric turkey slicer.
 
Lefty71 said:
Ahh, I see. so this is almost like a fiberglass job. You need a good one, whatever it may be, to make a mold. Once you've done one, then you can pour as many as you need, even if you wanted to pour (if you can call it that) foam or your material of choice, then pull from the mold and shape it with a electric turkey slicer.
Click to expand...
I need two, one in mirror reverse, one for each door.
 
Ghost what about 1/8" Masonite for base of door panels. To hard? It's cheap.
 
Is that Sebring interior, going in a B body?
 
The door hinges. The left has a missing wavy spacer in one of the little gear wheels. The wheel wobbles around. The pin is worn top and bottom. As are the holes. The section with the plate across it is bent.The right side is in much better shape with only a tiny bit of wiggle.
The bottom section of the door is in the second coat of filler after having been sprayed with guide coat twice.

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I have a good set of hinges - pretty sure they're the same '66-'70.

As for your panels, do the foam thing and then 'glass over the foam. Forget making molds - too much trouble for a single part.
 
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