879 replies to this topic

[Nossedout]

what a transformation! looking good!

[malcs_miniturbo]

nice work mate

[jagman.2003]

Brilliant progress! Loving it!

As for carbon wrapping, use water with abit of washing up liquid on the item being wrapped, preferably out of a spray bottle, mist it 1st and a filler spreader helps to smooth any air bubbles, the water/washing up liquid helps the wrap slide without sticking until the water evaporates! use a heat gun to soften it a little as you wrap, and keep it tight, less wrinkles, better finish!

Thanks for the tips. The wrap didn't come with any instructions. I did try some water but because I was impatient & hadn't painted the mdf it just soaked straight in. Will try that on the next piece, cheers.

[jagman.2003]

Still a fantastic read keep going -love the colour!!

Thanks, the white really does look nice..!

[jagman.2003]

what a transformation! looking good!

Thanks, it certainly isn't the same floppy box of rust.

[jagman.2003]

nice work mate

Cheers, light at the end of the tunnel as well....

[PNL629G]

Brilliant progress! Loving it!

As for carbon wrapping, use water with abit of washing up liquid on the item being wrapped, preferably out of a spray bottle, mist it 1st and a filler spreader helps to smooth any air bubbles, the water/washing up liquid helps the wrap slide without sticking until the water evaporates! use a heat gun to soften it a little as you wrap, and keep it tight, less wrinkles, better finish!

Thanks for the tips. The wrap didn't come with any instructions. I did try some water but because I was impatient & hadn't painted the mdf it just soaked straight in. Will try that on the next piece, cheers.

One thing to think about if you're wrapping the MDF is that it is incredibly porous. Any flat surface that you haven't sanded will be fine, but cut edges and any surface that you sanded will soak up water and adhesive like nobodies business. It would be worth sealing the MDF with some MDF sealer first. May need a couple of coats and a very fine sand/ wirewool before wrapping. HTH

[markje]

Well its not my taste the carbon bit,Sorrry but i am still liking the classic style hover its a great job you ve done

[jagman.2003]

Well its not my taste the carbon bit,Sorrry but i am still liking the classic style hover its a great job you ve done

No problem, all opinions taken on board. I agree the carbon wasn't my first choice. Although I didn't want to just paint the MDF. Thought it would definitely look home made. I tried wrinkle finish paint, which would have been a bit more of a classic look. But I couldn't get a very consistent finish with it. I'm just trying the carbon for now. All other ideas welcome

[rally515]

Hmm not sure of what else you can do to mdf apart from wrap it,because as you said the finish would look rough.
Maybe a disctreet purple or similar wrap to break up the theme abit.

[PipeNslippers]

Hmm not sure of what else you can do to mdf apart from wrap it,because as you said the finish would look rough.
Maybe a disctreet purple or similar wrap to break up the theme abit.

How about machine finished aluminium plate with some crinkle finish portions?

Edited by PipeNslippers, 16 January 2013 - 03:23 PM.

[markje]

Well you can how does it calle in the uk Verneer it.. just use a thing piece of wood an glue or ironing it it on the MDF

http://www.restaurat.../fineerwerk.htm

on this site unfortuante its Dutch but you can see if you scroll down a dashbord wich is at firts from normal wood and the second photo the same but with a walnut layer on it< I hope i made things clear :)

[Yoda]

When we made a dash for my sons first car, we built with MDF and used an old trick from the sixties. in those days vinyl roofs were popular but the cheap look worked well. all we did was run two lines of thick masking tape to create the look of sewn seams and sprayed over with textured paint such as stone chip and then overpainted this with satin black enamel. the finish was durable and looked brilliant. When we did Michaels dash for his mini, i used a similar technique but instead of overpainting with enamel, we ragged off the stonechip and it finished looking like plastic. Cheap, easy and no srface prep required. over a year later, it still looks like a new plastic finish dash.

[jagman.2003]

Hmm not sure of what else you can do to mdf apart from wrap it,because as you said the finish would look rough.
Maybe a disctreet purple or similar wrap to break up the theme abit.

How about machine finished aluminium plate with some crinkle finish portions?

Thankyou for your input Mr.Slippers. I had thought about aluminium. But went for the MDF as it's easier to work with. The shape is very labour intensive. Also I was worried anything too bright & shiny might reflect in the sun. (not that we get much of that).

[jagman.2003]

Well you can how does it calle in the uk Verneer it.. just use a thing piece of wood an glue or ironing it it on the MDF

http://www.restaurat.../fineerwerk.htm

on this site unfortuante its Dutch but you can see if you scroll down a dashbord wich is at firts from normal wood and the second photo the same but with a walnut layer on it< I hope i made things clear :)

Looks very nice.