did you cover the console or paint it? that was a...one off...it was what it was when finished. fenders have to mate with several other parts and the outside finish has to be sweet. look at the aftermarket fiberglass companys that make no fitting junk parts...and they do it for a living...JMO
And that is the BEST they can do using all the right equipment and facilities. How good can a rookie do it? If you have made a console before....I suppose you know what is involved. P.S. You should have came down here and got one of my cheap fenders that need minor work. I'm just saying....
Hey I'm new here and haven't really introduced myself.... I have an idea. I'm an engineering student, not to say that I know what I'm doing but i have a pretty good idea of what methods are possible/plausible "in the garage". If you were to start by doing a wet lay up of carbon fiber on your "original" fender you would end up with a "stiffer than fiberglass" mold that you could then lay your fiberglass in. You would obviously want some experience with resins and also a lazer straight fender to start with. Wet carbon fiber is an inferior product even to good quality fiberglass, but it's gonna be the best bet for holding it's shape. One problem, and one problem that is kind of major actually. If you were to do a reverse mold of a car fender it may not stick if you prep it well with release agents, but you may have just made a permanent carbon fiber shell that has a mechanical hold on your fender(that wouldn't be good). This all depends on how complex the shape is and how much of the fender you actually include in the mold. I'm not gonna quote anyone but molding a hood is different because of it's size and relatively flat shape, you can't necessarily apply those principles to a fender or other body panels.
Hi I'm an engineering student, so I atleast know some theory behind these processes. If you were to do a reverse mold of anything "in the garage" you would probably want to do a wet-layup of carbon fiber on a lazer straight fender. "Wet" carbon fiber is costly and maybe even inferior to good fiberglass, but it's stiff and that's what makes it good for a mold. You would need experience with laying cloth and resin, and of course that lazer straight fender I mentioned. There is a catch though. Let's just say you did an awesome job on prepping the fender with release agents and the application of your materials went flawlessly (this process works great for making hoods, I've seen it). The mold may not "stick" to the fender but can you imagine what you'll have to do to remove it if it actually has a mechanical "hold" on your fender. You can get by with a more flexible material but don't expect the finished product to look like a show quality piece once installed. Fenders are hard to do period.
