Hi All
After finishing my roof rack build I fancied doing something else to the truck that I would be able to build myself ..
I’ve always liked the look of these.
.jpg "Click to enlarge")
However I don’t like the price !!!
I had four spare ring spots off the old roof bar so all I needed was the pod itself.
So I decided to have a go at making one from fibre glass…
I did some research ont tinterweb and watched a few vids on youtube , then made a start…
The plan in short is to make a plug that a mould can be made from then use the mould to produce finished pods from…
The Plug
First I got a piece of old 6mm ply and drew around the lights to make sure I had enough of a rim around them I put two pieces of ply together then cut the shape out.
Two are needed because I then cut the top half off the back one and put blocks between them to allow for the depth of the lights .then I added another piece shaped to fit flat on the front of the bonnet just deep enough to reach the crease line on the bonnet but not foul the checker plate I will be fitting later.
All of these were then braced and stapled together at the right angle (did it on the car) so the lights will be vertical.
Next I put a few bits of scrap timber onto the base of the ply and stapled some old fabric over the frame to minimise how much filling I would need.
The filler for the plug is white universal plaster from B&Q (cheap)
I mixed a bit to cover the fabric , it was put on in a thin coat and ruffed up to make the next lot bind with it.
The next stage was to bring the plaster up to finished height then use a straight edge to scrape the spare plaster off the frame then it was left to set for a week.
After the top had set the next stage was to fill the bottom of the plug in the same way the curve on the bonnet was copied with a cardboard template and transferred to the plug and a sheet of cling film was used to smooth it all out .
After this had set the whole thing was sanded smooth and given a coat of resin to seal the plaster .
the Next stage involved putting a thin layer of body filler over the whole thing and sanding for days (boring) until it was smooth , remember that the finished pod will have a better finish if the plug is smooth…
It was then given a few coats of black gloss the t cut . This is as far as I have got to date as the weather is a bit too cold for fibre glass but that will come soon .
Hopefully the finished pod will look as good…
Please remember this is the first time I have done anything like this and I am not a professional so and advise greatly received …
I have ordered the pva to coat the plug and the gel coat so it should move quite quickly when the arrive I am now flanging the plug ready and will post more pictures when I have them.
