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Thread: Pouring foam on side panels

  1. #1
    Registered Member chevynut's Avatar
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    Pouring foam on side panels

    I thought I'd try to keep moving on my interior so I started pouring the urethane foam today. This is a lot harder than I thought it would be, and a lot harder than it looks in videos of the process. You have to mix the two parts in a cup, stir for 30 seconds, then pour it. It starts to foam up almost immediately, so it's hard to cover a large area with it.

    I need to pour about a 1" thick layer on the removable panel that's attached to my rear side panel. I built a "dam" around the removable section with cardboard (drywall shims) and tape, and screwed it to the side panel. Then I mixed the foam and poured it. The area is about 6" wide and 30" long, and the foam increases about 30 times in volume. It's hard to get it spread out on that large of an area so I ended up doing two pours back to back, and it came out way thicker than I needed it. I tried it on both rear panels with the same results. Looks like the gallon of chemicals I bought isn't going to be enough.

    Here's some pics showing the dams installed, and then after attaching it to the side panel, pouring and allowing it to rise.


    20140619_003.jpg20140619_001.jpg

    Next I have to remove the dams and shave the foam down some. After that I will pour the next section of the panel which is not removable, by putting another piece of cardboard along the edge of the removable piece. There is also another small rectangular removable section down lower that will get a little foam but that should be easy. Once I get everything poured, I will sculpt the final shape of the entire panel. In front I have two removable sections and three stationary sections to pour.

    Once I get the sculpted shapes I want, I will cover the foam with polyester resin, then with fiberglass and resin. I need to compensate for the thickness of the fiberglass, soft foam sheet, and leather by making the foam smaller than the final size. My interior guy also says he wants .110" between the sections when finished and ready for leather.
    Last edited by chevynut; 06-19-2014 at 10:47 PM.
    56 Nomad, Ramjet 502, Viper 6-speed T56, C4 Corvette front and rear suspension


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  2. #2
    Registered Member carls 56 (RIP 11/24/2021)'s Avatar
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    they don't sell sheets that you could just cut to size?
    ARMY NAM VET, very proud!

    56 210 4dr

    drive and enjoy them while you work on them, life is to short.

  3. #3
    Registered Member chevynut's Avatar
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    Carl, yes they do sell sheets of polyisocyanurate foam and I have one 1" thick. I was going to glue pieces on and build up the layers to the thickness I needed. But the problem is these side panels are not flat...nowhere near flat. Notice in the pic on the right the bend that I would have to go over. I need to build up that area too, and a flat sheet would not work well at all. Also, gluing the sheets on would be a real PITA and I'm not sure it could even be done.

    Pouring the foam eliminates all the problems with the curvature. It's not that expensive....about $50 for a gallon that makes 30 gallons of foam. It is kind of a messy process but it shapes well too.
    56 Nomad, Ramjet 502, Viper 6-speed T56, C4 Corvette front and rear suspension


    Other vehicles:

    56 Chevy 2-door BelAir sedan
    56 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
    57 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
    1962 327/340HP Corvette
    1961 Willys CJ3B Jeep
    2001 Porsche Boxster S
    2003 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD Duramax
    2019 GMC Sierra Denali Duramax

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    Sure looks like laminating some sheets would be quicker.

  5. #5
    Registered Member chevynut's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rick_L View Post
    Sure looks like laminating some sheets would be quicker.
    With what glue? What about the compound curves? I've looked at laminating sheets (even bought one) and I believe it's a lot harder than you think. You also have to peel the aluminum off the sheets to get the core out. Plus it could actually distort the panel itself if you could press and adhere a flat panel onto it. That's why pour foam is used so much by guys modifying cars. It's fairly easy to do, it's just not easy to pour a thin layer over a large area....that's what I meant about it being harder than it looks.

    I even thought about spreading the foam as an adhesive and leveling layer and laying a sheet on it. I just think that would make a mess.
    56 Nomad, Ramjet 502, Viper 6-speed T56, C4 Corvette front and rear suspension


    Other vehicles:

    56 Chevy 2-door BelAir sedan
    56 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
    57 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
    1962 327/340HP Corvette
    1961 Willys CJ3B Jeep
    2001 Porsche Boxster S
    2003 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD Duramax
    2019 GMC Sierra Denali Duramax

  6. #6
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    Why would you want aluminum foil on your foam sheet? I was just suggesting using plain foam sheet, and if you need extra thickness, just glue as many sheets together as you need.

    You would achieve compound curves with things think saws, files, grinders, and sandpaper. Maybe an electric knife. It should go really fast with the foam.

    I would think that the same spray adhesive that upholsterers use would work. 3M #77 is one like that.

  7. #7
    Registered Member chevynut's Avatar
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    Rick, the only urethane sheet I can find locally is isocyanurate and it has aluminum on each side. I could order urethane online but it costs a lot and is expensive to ship due to the bulk. I only need the foam to make the shape so I can cover it with fiberglass.

    If you use blue foam which is cheap and easily available, you have to use epoxy resin, which is about 3X the cost of polyester.

    I think shaping a sheet of foam to match the panel is a lot harder than you believe. You can't have any air gaps with adhesives. I've looked into urethane adhesives to laminate them and it's not as easy as it seems, and a lot of people have had problems getting good adhesion. Apparently Gorilla Glue works well, but again there's the gaps to deal with. With the pour foam you don't have to mess with it at all since it conforms to the surface. It sticks to the aluminum panel just fine. I roughed it up with scotchbrite and cleaned it with acetone.

    Pour foam makes stuff like this a lot easier, that's why people use it so often. I will use the saws, files grinders, and sandpaper to shape it. There are lots of ways to skin a cat, I just chose this way. If you saw the panels you might agree with the approach.
    56 Nomad, Ramjet 502, Viper 6-speed T56, C4 Corvette front and rear suspension


    Other vehicles:

    56 Chevy 2-door BelAir sedan
    56 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
    57 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
    1962 327/340HP Corvette
    1961 Willys CJ3B Jeep
    2001 Porsche Boxster S
    2003 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD Duramax
    2019 GMC Sierra Denali Duramax

  8. #8
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    Where would the gaps come from? If you had them, what about using pour foam or spray foam on gaps?

    Why do you need fiberglass over the foam? I'm guessing you don't think the pour foam is strong enough to resist compression damage. If you had a denser, stronger foam could you do away with that too? It would seem that might warrant spending a lot more on sheet foam because you'd save a lot of labor. You might also be able to use some kind of filler on mistakes or to make the contour nicer.

    Just thinking out loud here. I have little experience at this other than making some relatively high end stuff at work 40 years ago. On some nice molds with prepreg epoxy and honeycomb.

  9. #9
    Registered Member chevynut's Avatar
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    Rick, the gaps I spoke about would be between the foam sheets and the non-flat panels. You can't bend the rigid urethane foam very easily and I have some obvious bends in the aluminum panels. And no, I don't think ANY foam is strong enough to resist dents from knees, butts, etc. That's why I'm covering it with fiberglass. I have some chopped strand fiberglass and I plan to cover that with cloth for strength. To make sure the foam doesn't delaminate I plan to wrap it over the foam and around the edges of the panels. I can also use filler or put glass microspheres in the polyester as filler for smoothing. I plan to spray slicksand as a final layer to smooth everything out then spray epoxy.

    The foam I'm using actually works out very nicely, once you get it shaved down to where you need it. Here's one of the rear panels roughed out to near net shape. I still have to figure the setback for the fiberglass, 1/8" foam, and leather. It's going to be about 1/4" on the top surfaces. The gaps between panels need to end up at .110".

    Here's a couple of pics of one of the rear side panels partially completed. Notice the bends in the aluminum. The gap in front will be filled with another removable piece. That's the way my interior guy wants it.

    20140626_018.jpg20140626_019.jpg
    56 Nomad, Ramjet 502, Viper 6-speed T56, C4 Corvette front and rear suspension


    Other vehicles:

    56 Chevy 2-door BelAir sedan
    56 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
    57 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
    1962 327/340HP Corvette
    1961 Willys CJ3B Jeep
    2001 Porsche Boxster S
    2003 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD Duramax
    2019 GMC Sierra Denali Duramax

  10. #10
    Registered Member chevynut's Avatar
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    By the way, the armrest goes up to the rear of the side trim you see in the pic and the seat cushion covers some of the armrest.

    20140323_031.jpg
    56 Nomad, Ramjet 502, Viper 6-speed T56, C4 Corvette front and rear suspension


    Other vehicles:

    56 Chevy 2-door BelAir sedan
    56 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
    57 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
    1962 327/340HP Corvette
    1961 Willys CJ3B Jeep
    2001 Porsche Boxster S
    2003 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD Duramax
    2019 GMC Sierra Denali Duramax

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