Seat project.

[Mongo]

I need to create a seat for my car.  I want to form the seat to my body.  I have found videos demonstrating a couple of methods on YT. 

The first is use expanding foam, from a hardware store, into a trash bag.  
Pros   1.  Cheap   2.  Simple

Cons  1.  Very exothermic reaction.  Could be uncomfortable.

           2.  Sets into shape way fast.  Not very workable before setting.

           3.  Cannot trial fit before pouring in foam.

           4.  Foam can shrink or distort when pulling a mold off of it.

 The second method is using foam beads and epoxy in a bag using a resin transfer method.

Pros   1.  Can preform the seat shape with beads in the bag.

          2.  Takes time to set.  More opportunity to make minor adjustments

          3.   Epoxy retains dimensionality better than expanding foam.

Cons  1.  Very exothermic reaction.  Could be pain.

           2.  Expensive

           3.  More complex.  Need vacuum pump and accessories normally associated with composite work.

Which method do you feel will yield a better outcome?  I think the epoxy and foam beads method is the way to go.  But I have questions.

How do I tackle the resin transfer process and prevent the foam beads from causing problems?  I don't want to draw a vacuum only to see my vacuum pot fill with thousands of beads.  I want complete saturation of the beads.
 

[lo_0l]

42 minutes ago, Mongo said:

I need to create a seat for my car.  I want to form the seat to my body.  I have found videos demonstrating a couple of methods on YT. 

The first is use expanding foam, from a hardware store, into a trash bag.  
Pros   1.  Cheap   2.  Simple

Cons  1.  Very exothermic reaction.  Could be uncomfortable.

           2.  Sets into shape way fast.  Not very workable before setting.

           3.  Cannot trial fit before pouring in foam.

           4.  Foam can shrink or distort when pulling a mold off of it.

 The second method is using foam beads and epoxy in a bag using a resin transfer method.

Pros   1.  Can preform the seat shape with beads in the bag.

          2.  Takes time to set.  More opportunity to make minor adjustments

          3.   Epoxy retains dimensionality better than expanding foam.

Cons  1.  Very exothermic reaction.  Could be pain.

           2.  Expensive

           3.  More complex.  Need vacuum pump and accessories normally associated with composite work.

Which method do you feel will yield a better outcome?  I think the epoxy and foam beads method is the way to go.  But I have questions.

How do I tackle the resin transfer process and prevent the foam beads from causing problems?  I don't want to draw a vacuum only to see my vacuum pot fill with thousands of beads.  I want complete saturation of the beads.
 

 

This sounds like a super cool project! What about something like a large Instapak bag, or doing multiple small bags? I'll think on this some more, but if you were going the foam route and concerned about an exothermic reaction, you may be able to use some sort of heatproof blanket 👍