My kickpanel enclosure project has taken a backseat lately due to a number of factors (rain, Black Eyed Peas concert, Six Flags trip, etc.) but I have been able to work on them a bit the last 2 days. Yesterday I was able to position them in such a way that I feel they sound the best. That took about an hour of listening to setup discs and program material I am VERY familiar with. After that I wrapped the panels in a stretchy material I got from my local fabric store. Here's some pics of that:
The pair:
You will also notice that I didn't attach material to the very front of the panel so that I could maintain as close to factory fit as possible.

The next two are of the panels being coated with the first layer of resin.

There's a few more wrinkles in the fabric than I would like but fortunately they are in areas that won't be visible and I'm hoping the filling process will take care of them. I would say that so far I am pretty happy with the outcome of the project considering this is my first attempt at fabrication from beginning to end. I can't wait to finish. Mark

 

I hate you...... not really, I'm just jealous that I've never worked with any fiberglass materials before and am skiddish of having a trial and error on my tC..... suppose I'll have to wait untill Chris fabb's up some kicks for the tC.....

 

It's actually a lot easier than you'd think. Based on what I've noticed you've got plenty of knowhow in terms of audio and listening skills to make a set. The easiest way I've found is to make the baffles, then secure them with plumbers' tape (radio backstraps) and hot glue, then position them the way they sound best to you, remove the speakers, wrap with material, and fiberglass. I actually used the factory panels so they would fit correctly. If I don't like them or when I sell the car I'll just order another set of panels and presto OEM-o. Mark

EDIT: Dude, just take the plunge and fiberglass something. Heck do a custom box for your EU-700s. Don't wait for Mandos to fab some, I don't think you'll live to be that old. J/K Chris the tC looks awesome. Mark

 

Looking good Mark, cant wait to see them completed and in the car. Keep up the good work.

 

looks good but you could you have got a tighter stretch to pull out some of the wrinkels. what are u going to finish them in carpet, paint ,vinel?

 

Yeah, I know the wrinkles bug me. As I had mentioned earlier this was my first real fab. job and I've learned a lot. If I had it to do again I would have used a single radio backstrap secured to the panel and baffle by a bolt and nut combo. That way I would have more adjustability in the positioning. Once I had the angle determined I would use wooden dowels and hot glue/screw them to the baffle and panel. I feel that would give me enough structural integrity to pull the material as tight as necessary to eliminate any wrinkles. As it stands I was willing to sacrifice some wrinkles to not compromise the listening position by accidentally pulling too hard and messing it up. Plus, I figure between chop mat and Bondo I can smooth it out enough. I plan on vinyling them if I can get them to a point where I feel they're smooth enough but if not I'll just carpet them. Mark

UPDATES: Here are 2 pictures of chop mat added to the rear of the panels.


The next picture is something that I feel absolutely invaluable when doing a fiberglass project. It's a paint bucket from Wal-Mart.

They have markings for level of fluid and the best part? Let the resin dry and then hit the bottom of the cup with the back end of a screwdriver and the dried resin comes out. Awesome!!! I can't remember who and on what forum recommended them but they're excellent. Mark

 

It was Black300zx on ICIX

Ingenious

And if you leave the paint brush in it, you have a nifty handle.

You get my stamp of approval too:

 

Aha! I have been leaving the brushes in and it's working great. I am really having a blast with this project. Glad I've got your stamp of approval, though, it appears to be Will Ferrell in the "Cowbell" skit. Mark

 

I've almost got the beard back

Btw, make sure you wear a respirator when dealing w/ glass fumes/sanding...even if it's the cheap disposable one. Trust me on that one

And I'll eventually have kicks....eventually.

 

yes, and so will I.....

 

I just shaved my beard. I grew a HHH (Triple H) style beard for Wrestlemania because my wife and I had tickets and he's my favorite wrestler. I've been wearing one of those thicker 3M dustmasks but will certainly be buying a respirator for any further fiberglass projects. I would hopw that doing this outside has helped a bit too. I have also been wearing gloves and long sleeves. But yeah you're right, especially given my medical history, I should get a respirator. Mark

 

We have a nice respirator in the office...but even those dust masks do a lot for you compared to just inhaling fumes...just make sure you're absolutely using one while sanding.

For gloves, I'd suggest the Nitrile gloves in the auto section at Wal-Mart. Non-latex, and their slightly textured. Work great.

Outside does help a lot. Mines a little different since it required being inside my hatch

 

Allright -

the top 2 audio guys in the same thread - and making stuff with volatile chemicals,

I'm all in for it

What are you making bro? Kickpanels, ya, but what's with the shape? Audio performance? Are the speakers in the lump, or in the stock positions?

Please enlighten me. This project looks fun, and mildly hazardous as a bonus.

- Saylor

 

If you are considering me one of the top 2 audio guys in here, THANK YOU. Yeah I am fabricating speaker enclosures out of the factory kickpanel trim pieces with the help of stretchy fabric, chopped fiberglass mat, MDF, hot glue, 3M High Strength 90 Adhesive, plumbers tape, and volitile chemicals. The speakers will be in the oval-shaped area, tweeter in the smaller part and the mid below it. I'm having a blast with this project and can't wait to work on it tomorrow. Plus I believe I found factory Toyota vinyl http://www.perfectfit.com/product.as...17418&l2=15989 so that should help with the integration of the whole project. The shape is really more of a space consideration than anything. It seemed to me to be the best way to get the size baffle I wanted while taking up the least amount of room. Mark

 

Earlier in this thread I made the comment that if I had to do this again I would use backstrap bolted to the baffle and panel and then use dowels from there, well guess what? Apparently I forgot to take in to account the inch or so that the door pushed the baffles over when I closed the door wouldn't work when fiberglassed. Uh oh. Thanks to Mr. Jig saw and Mr. Utility Knife I managed to cut it apart.

Then I drilled a hole in the baffle for a bolt, washers, and a nut to mount the plumber's tape. I drilled two holes in the factory panel for the same. I shouldn't have said anything. Temporary setback I guess but in the end the results will be worth it. Mark

 

YAY...JIGSAWED!!!

The gray there is the actual stock kick, right? Like you just glassed over it?

 

Yeah I just glassed over it. Done properly it works great. They fit like a glove. I can't wait to get started back on it but I have to wait until the passenger one dries so I can figure our the imaging. Mark

 

Yeah...I'm debating mine...since I've got so much extra crap back there...and I don't have the desire of booting my 6500s...I might just glass to the outer portion of the car(removable this time)

 

little tip make a solid mount for the baffel and the factory kick so it will not warp than stretch with fleese soke the fleese with slow dry mixed resin than mix a 50/50 light filler and resin use resin hardner apply over wet panels very very slow dry time like 24Hr and thay will ba hard as rocks no extra reinforcement this is my method works great as long as u have slow dry times cuz it will warp if not

 

I made a little progress Friday and tonight (Wednesday). I got the kickpanel enclosures fabricated to a point where I feel comfortable with them in terms of sound.

I still need to add another layer of glass to stiffen it up a bit and fill the three holes from the bolts on the driver's baffle. Next I started on the fiberglass panels that will conceal any wiring from sight and protect the amplifier from anyone's feet that rides in the rear passenger seat position. To accomplish this I layed a thick layer of masking tape in an area slightly larger than the finished area. Once I had it masked I took stretchy material (feels like a T-Shirt) and hot glued it to the area I wanted. Then I trimmed off the excess material. Once the shapes were to my liking I laid a layer of resin.

I have since added about another two layers of resin and chop mat to the larger panel and I plan on using some more resin, chop mat, and some wooden dowel rods to stiffen the underside of the structure. Once that is done I will carpet both pieces (ordered the carpet and Toyota vinyl Wednesday) and place some velcro on the undersides to hold them in place. Mark