Garry Thomson of Thomson Metalworks stopped by the shop today and continued to take some measurements off the ’32. A logical question would be “why does he need ’32 Ford measurements?” Quick answer: Garry is building an aluminum ’32 coupe. I don’t want to take too much time describing it, because I’m hoping to get some in progress shots in the near future. Other than saying it’s very impressive, there’s not much to say… it’s very impressive.
Garry started with regular low-tack decal paper. It doesn’t stretch at all, and it’s easy to remove.
He covered the area he wanted to create a template from.
After the sign paper, he added a layer of fiberglass tape to hold the shape. It also doesn’t stretch.
With two layers of fiberglass tape over the sign tape, he was able to remove the template. Now he has a perfect reproduction of the corner, and he can lay it over the aluminum as it’s worked so he knows if he has any low spots.
Excellent ideas!!
I have never seen fiberglass tape. Does it require resin and hardener? Looks like a very useful technique.
Gary, fiberglass tape doesn’t require hardener or anything – it’s just sticky on one side. The reason for using it is because it won’t stretch at all. Once the mold is removed from the body, Garry knows it will be exactly the same as it was when he first put it on. Regular tape can stretch and bend, but fiberglass tape won’t.