wedgiesaurus

Hey guys,

I was thinking about trying to figure out how to fiberglass stuff in my car, and i stumbled onto this site! This kid seems to give a very easy to follow walkthrough of how to fiberglass a custom enclosure! I think I may give this a whirl, I just need to figure out what to fiberglass. (My subwoofer is a big old bazooka, and I'm not thinking I can swing getting another sub just for the sake of fiberglassing it )

Here it is: LINK

-wayne

riccochetrabbit

Just a few tips:

1. Don't expect the first 10 or so projects to resemble exactly what you wanted.
2. Don't expect perfection for years to come.
3. Don't just right in fiberglassing with your equipment in there.
4. Make sure you mask off lots of extra area outside where you're glassing
5. Latex gloves are your best friend
6. Don't glass existing OEM pieces until you've figured out your technique and mixing of resin to MEKP to keep from potentially having to replace parts.

here's a good site to buy materials from as well..
www.selectproducts.com

wedgiesaurus

Thanks for the tips

ScionDad

Nice post. Would have helped last weekend as I destroyed 2 attempts so far at sub enclosure....but I'm getting better Oh yea, latex gloves, long sleeve shirts, mask, eye wear is all friendly unless you like scratching

riccochetrabbit

Scion dad, this tip might help you, individually, as you're trying to do a sub enclosure.

Don't lay it up in single layers. For your base layer, (after you get the skeleton cut out and framed up of course) stretch fleece (the stuff they make pullovers from) over the frame. You can buy it at prettymuch any fabric store. It's probably on sale right now as it's summer. Also check the remenant bin. I got 5 yards of it from teh remnant bin for about 75% off the regular price (I paid a total of $4.25 for 5 yards). I prefer to start with a mild (not dark, but not light) colored fabric, I'll explain why in a minute. Stretch the fleece and staple it to the frame. (If you have a way to cut a groove to staple into, that's be even better). Once you get it stapled, mix enough resin and MEKP to cover it twice (a lot is necessary). Instead of brushing it on, pour the resin onto the fleece. Let it soak in (the fabric will turn a drak shade of it's original color, see why now?). Make sure to go back and repour on the lighter spots. Let that layer harden (should take about 45 minutes to cure enough). Now you have a nice fairly thick base layer (see why I like fleece -vs- grille cloth now?) From there, lay up your mat on top for about 4 or 5 layers. Lay them all up at once, no need to waste time between coats, plus this helps eliminate bubbles. Once you get that layed up, you can hit the high spots (hair will be sticking upsome) with an orbital sander, da sander, etc with coarse paper (I like 30 grit). Just knock off the real high spots, perfection isn't of major importance on this layer. From there, I like to use kitty hair (bondoglass, tiger hair, whatever you want to call it). It's a putty based body filler with fiberglass strands in it. This helps fill in the low spots quicker. Do yourself a favor and buy a body file (I prefer to buy blades only so I can bend them to contour). When it's almost dry, but not quite ste (it'll be a little pasty still) take the bod file and begin to shape. After about 2 layers of the bondo glass, you can then switch to a lighter weight body filler (I like Rage Gold, or Dynalite) for the more finishing work. Between coats, sand with about 80 grit. Once you get it to what you think is a fairly smooth coat, spray it with a filler primer (I like grey in color, you'll see why). Spray 2 even coats on there (DO NOT SAND YET). Once the second coat is dry, use a darker primer (flat black spray paint will work fine here, it's cheaper). Mist a coat onto the grey. You'll have a misted coat ontop, but the grey will still be visable. Lightly sand with 120 grit (don't remove all of the paint, that's not the goal here). You'll be left with spots where the misted areas still aer. These are your low spots. Reapply body filler and sand, repeat prime and mist process until you get a uniform surface. Go over entire piece with a coat of glazing and spot putty. Sand with 220 grit and repeat. This will fill all of the pores and airholes that you can't see. Finish sand with 250 grit and prime for paint (if you're carpeting, vinyling, etc, you can just prime here and be fine). Finish with covering of your choice.

(Sorry, I've got to find my sub box DIY)

riccochetrabbit

Oh, and please, please, please, do not follow his example on how to aim kicks. A lot (see most) component sets do not perform exceptionallw well off axis. Aiming in this method multiplies that problem.

riccochetrabbit

Here's a few sites:

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...ad.php?t=16804
http://www.garbled.net/tim/fiberglass.html
http://www.carstereo.com/help/index_installation.cfm
(There was a DIY on this guy's SD page, haven't checked to see if it's still there) http://www.sounddomain.com/member_pa...=Honda%20Civic
http://www.rtol.net/scornell/HowTo.htm
(I still haven't found the one I'm looking for)

Oh,and another nice site to buy material from:
http://www.tapplastics.com/