Seat Moulding Process

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Well, that didn’t take quite as long as I expected it to!  After doing a couple of further test runs with the seat mould/vacuum, the actual final mould only took about 45 minutes.

I decided to add some space inhibitors to the bottom of the cockpit. I got them from a Supermarket (they use them at the back of the fridges occasionally). I used it for the same thing here, basically to take up space inside the cockpit, so the seat’s beads could be used for moulding and not wasted filling right to the edges of the cockpit.

I did a test run with these installed and it worked far better than it had done previously. Then I decided to go for the final run.

Firstly, I let all the air out of the bag using the valve, which let the beads completely loose.  I then proceeded to mix the resin. The kit provides the exact amounts of hardener and resin – 400ml and 600ml respectively.  Pour the hardener in first, followed by the resin. This is thicker and will sink to the bottom. Then I mixed it all for 5 minutes. From the point of mixing, you have approximately 1 hour before the seat is too hard to work with.

Next, I removed the valve from the bag by a simple twist and pull. I lifted the hole over the centre of the bag/beads and began pouring in the liquid using the jug and funnel, making sure not to get the resin on the bag itself. This doesn’t matter, but its best to hit the beads directly rather than pouring it down the sides of the bag.

Next, I spent 15 minutes kneading the bag, mixing up the mix right into the beads. I pushed the corners into the middle of the bag to be sure they were all coated. There is a slight colour to the mix – a light grey, so you can clearly see which beads have been coated and which haven’t. The feeling of the beads was now totally different. They felt far more dense.

I placed more beads on the bottom of the bag, and fewer for the back. Then I placed it into the cockpit. I got in, and got comfy. Then, for the final vacuum. It really tightened up this time. I sat in the cockpit for 1 hour and 25 minutes total. After about 25 minutes or so the seat started to get really hot. And after about 45 minutes it was pretty darn hot. Not burning hot, just hot hot.

I got out of the cockpit and the seat looked great. I will now leave it overnight to properly harden and cure. Tomorrow, I will begin sanding, cutting and removing the excess that isn’t needed.

On Monday, I will receive the suede I have ordered to cover it. Black Faux Suede from Ebay, it cost me £9 plus shipping – £13 total. Very reasonable. This will be stuck on with the adhesive spray I have.

I have also ordered some suitcase catches, which will keep the two halves of the cockpit together, and will look really good.

Anyway, enough rambling, check out the pics!