Spoiler

I have completed the first layup of my rain catching van "spoiler". I still need a few more layers of fiberglass to get the height and strength that I want, then a good bit of grinding and fairing to make it look halfway decent. But already the van leaks less and rattles less. She grows stronger by the day.

I used a piece of the steel trim that holds up the interior ceiling panels as support for my new gutter. I applied blue tape and spray-on cooking oil to the trim first, to keep it from becoming a permanent part of my fiberglass artwork.

As it begins to cure and solidify I squish air bubbles out of it and encourage it into the shape I desire. When it starts to get fairly stiff I will add another layer to "hot batch" it all together.

If the epoxy is allowed to cure completely, it is necessary to give it a light sanding and wipe it down with acetone to remove the 'amine blush' that will prevent the next layer from making a good bond.

I didn't think it was possible, but my van is even uglier than it used to be. Nothing says classy like uneven patches of gray primer, and strings of fiberglass flying in the wind....

I actually enjoy the fact that it is so ugly as to be offensive to all the sheeple in their Hummers and Escalades. It's sort of fun to watch pedestrians tremble in fear when they consider crossing in front of me. If I didn't anticipate stealth parking I wouldn't even paint it, but anyone who sees it parked on their street now is definitely going to think a serial killer lives in it and call the cops.

Eventually it will get painted 'Desert-ed tan' which is a flat paint the color of dust in the desert. It will still look scary, just not serial killer scary.

I've got to get the interior liveable first though.

"Count down, America, where are you now? Minuteman, please show me how, to wash this blood from my hands, make it go away. The evils of my forefathers pale to those today."

Clutch - 'Arcadia'