DIY seat cowl

[GAXB9R]

Where did you buy the foam if you don't mind me asking? A hobby store?

 

[snrusnak]

You can also cut foam with a hot wire. Or can sand it away with an electric sander. Just gotta be careful it's easy to go too far with power tools lol.

 

[NwRider]

Yup.. "Michaels" its an arts and crafts store. They have it with the floral arrangement stuff. Not the squishy stuff that holds water. Its rigid. I was originally going to use styro-foam which I think is more common for this type of project but I think this stuff is easier to work with since it is rigid. You have to be careful tho cuz if you drop it or drop a tool on it.. it dents easily. Kind of fragile in that respect.

 

[snrusnak]

Another option is insulation board from lowes or home depot. You can use spray adhesive to stick pieces together to make it thicker. I assume that's what you did as well?

 

[NwRider]

Per recommendation of the little old lady in the floral department I used a hot glue gun. ***Muey Importante*** You must use low temperature glue sticks and a dual temp glue gun. The regular glue is too hot and will melt the foam. Oh and dont over do the glue.. makes it hard to sand at the seams without removing chunks accidentally.

You can also cut foam with a hot wire. Or can sand it away with an electric sander. Just gotta be careful it's easy to go too far with power tools lol.

Tis why I am doing all the final shaping by hand.. as I said.. you cant really put material back on it once you sanded it off!

 

[NwRider]

Hmmm.. spray adhesive may work better with styro-foam since its so smooth. The foam I used has big open cells and spray adhesive wouldnt grab a hold as well as gloopy glue.

 

[snrusnak]

gotcha. Just throwing out ideas in case you didn't know. The spray adhesive works great on most foams. It also drys fast, within a minute so you can handle the piece. Spray too much and it eats it away though. I've even used rattle can spray paint as adhesive when I ran out of spray adhesive. It worked fine(just made the foam hunter green lol).

 

[NwRider]

Nice.. good lookin out!

So in looking for a supplier for abs plastic I found a place 5 miles from me!! They also offer vacuum forming. On my way to have a conversation and buy some material. If they can do it relatively cheap I may let them do it.

Giggity

 

[juGGernaut]

Looks good Mike, gonna have that done by this weekend? Lol just kidding.

 

[snrusnak]

Awesome! Would be even better if they can do it for you cheap lol!

 

[NwRider]

If I did not have a job it would be feasible... damn job gets in the way of everything.

If its cheap enough maybe have em knock out a few extras.

 

[snrusnak]

I can't imagine them charging a lot for the work. Material is little, and it'll take them about 5 minutes to vacuum form it. I have no idea what the markup is on this type of work...

 

[NwRider]

Bwa bwa bwaaaaaaaaa... looks like I will making it out of fiberglass! More of a pain in the ass than I thought. Would be worth it if the plan was to make a bunch but.. not a one off.

 

[snrusnak]

How come? What'd they tell you?

I'm wondering if they gave you discouraging info because they are pro's and you are a "DIY"er.

 

[buellbradski]

I used to build fiberglass pools , when we built molds we had to reshape a little bondo worked well to get it exact. But keep in mind you will have to make a mold off the form your doing now then when you fiberglass that it will be inside out. We also built molds extra thick so after many uses it wouldnt warp , incase you wanted to make several. We then used wax on the mold so it would release. Good luck cant wait to see what you come up with! Your bikes one of my favorites on here.

 

[NwRider]

I was told that the molds or plugs people supply them for forming are either wood, metal or fiberglass that has been reinforced. My foam plug would get crushed and/or melt. They can use a negative or positive mold and recommend negative. I could make a good negative mold out of fiberglass but heres the hitch... the plastic pulls straight down and I cant under cut at all. I would have to make two halves and then stick em together.

OOooooor pay a grip of money to have it injection molded out of poly.

I may make one in fiberglass and if I manage to save the plug I will attempt to make a split fiberglass mold or try a single mold and try heating and rolling the edges under.

Hmmmf. Ill figure something out.

 

[NwRider]

***Question for those of you with seat cowls***

I have an idea how I am going to mount mine that I got from a thread on another forum. Glassing in some L-brackets to screw to the bottom of my seat. I am curious how the cowls I see on Lightings mount.

Can some one post up a couple photos maybe? I am thinking I may not have to wrap the glass under the seat but just flush with the edge. Maybe clean up the edge with a molding so my seat frame doesn't get scratched.

Thanks!

 

[NwRider]

Ok... Got some more shaping done.

Opinions on the lines? I am debating making the top two lines parallel to match the real of the tank but kinda like the taper to the rear.

These lines look good? Just curious of others opinions as ive stared at it so long I need more beer.

 

[williegoat]

The taper looks right. It still flows with the lines of the tank. Lets see a side view.

 

[NwRider]

Bam... It will sit just a bit lower... The lower edge will be shaved when I get the shape I want on top.