Preparing the nose cone molds

At present I’m working on the left side wheel pant creation. This is the best time to get that done, before I have wheel wells to work around, and before the nose gets cut off. The right side was made previously.

I’m also working to prepare the nose-cone molds for use. Wet sanded and polished a few weeks back when the weather was a bit warmer outside. I prefer to have a water hose nearby to spray the molds down after the wet sanding and buffing/polishing. I sanded and polished the molds while clipped together, which made it easier to handle the pieces.

After the six coats of release wax, I did what feels so wrong…. drilled holes through the mold!

I started with a small diameter drill bit, and moved up to 0.25″ drill bit, drilling slowly to avoid any chips to the orange gel-coat. The holes are through the bottom of the heel bump, and another off to the side of that. Then I filled the holes with molding clay.

I applied some flash tape to the back side of these holes, to keep the clay from pushing right out the back.

After I lay up the CF in the nose cone and it’s cured, I will dig out the clay and use an air nozzle to blast air through the holes, to aid in releasing the part. It will only leave an inconsequential circle in the gel coat when done, and it’s on the underside of the nose. Drilled four holes total.