Starting on the Primer. Sky-gea Build: Part 26

In this video we'll be finishing the rear overfender so we can make moulds. These are the old sideskirt pieces I printed. They have bulged out and in general do not fit very well. There is also a very large low spot. Because of that it, was easier just to 3D print new ones. Now that I have dialed in my 3D printer, the results require nearly no finishing work. Sanding PLA is 0 / 10. Very loud, very hard, would not recommend. The 3D printed part is still a little flimsy. So we strengthen it with e

xpanding foam. The bolts holding the sideskirt on are hidden underneath the overfender. After a lot of trimming and checking, the new piece was fitting nicely. These 5mm spacers give the correct gap between the door and the sideskirt. A contour gauge is used to check both sides are symmetrical. While the glue is setting, we will work on the door gap. Again a temporary spacer is used for the correct panel gaps. To let the filler flow into the gap, it is thinned with polyester resin. There was a s

ection where it was too tight for the filler to flow, so more was added. Next we work on the door handle. The plastic had to be removed so we could get a nice surface with filler instead. To further bond the sideskirt piece, filler is poured in which acts as a glue. Filler and primer won't stick to the glossy printed surface so it must be sanded. These steps were caused by my printer belts being too loose. I've fixed it now but I didn't see it until this part had finished printing. Filler is app

lied to the few remaining low spots. For most of this shaping we have been sanding with 40 grit, But now we move up to a finer 80 grit paper. Red scotchbrite is used on any remaining areas to help bond with primer. The overfender is then prepped for primer as well. After the whole surface has been sanded it is wiped down with wax and grease remover. We're using a 2 part automotive filler primer, sprayed with a 1.8mm spraygun. This first layer is to help me see any high or low spots that I missed

in the shaping process. For the sideskirt I spray 3 thick coats to fill in any small imperfections on the print. I would once again like to thank my patrons for helping to support this channel and my builds. As expected, there are still some lines visible. Guide coat helps see any low spots. At this step we are using 120 grit. The parts will be getting another layer of primer and so 120 grit is fine for now. I was very surprised with how sharp the lines were straight from the 3D print. It was w

orth the time spent getting the settings right. Thanks to the 3 layers of primer we were able to remove the lines. There was one low spot I couldn't sand out. The finished sideskirt (the rear half at least) There were some faint lines from the petrol cap recess. I noticed a couple spots where the 3D print had warped slightly after the initial shaping I suspect it was the expanding foam contracting and pulling in on the 3D prints, creating low spots. This area I wasn't very happy with. You can ha

rdly see it on camera but the curve wasn't very smooth here. I decided to reshape it with filler to try and smooth it out. The last thing to do was add the bolt holes. The template I made from the other side gave me the rough location for the holes. But for more precision I measured exact positions from the completed fenders. Because there was no filler cap on this side, I had to decide where to place the bolts. Tape is a good way to visualize spacings before drilling holes. After the pilot hole

s were drilled I used a 14mm spade bit to clear out the holes. The plastic left behind was not going to give a nice mould surface. So I cleared out the holes to fill them with bodyfiller. Lastly the sharp edges were rounded over and the whole fender was given a final sanding. This time I built up the full 3 coats. This will let us sand out any remaining imperfections before we apply sealer in the next episode. That is all for this episode. As always, thanks for watching.