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Fleece has always worked well for me. It stretches well and is strong enough after it sets up that it doesn't warp much when you lay up your reinforcing fiberglass.

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ive used fleece but i never totally absorbs the resin, so the inside still feels soft. Then it wont stick to the subring well. do i need to use microfleece?

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dream it, build it, fiberglass it

i always use the fleece but i would try spraying an adhesive onto the subrings and/or fold the fleece in the sub hole and staple it.. you can still cut the excess of the fleece off.

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"The important thing is not to stop questioning"

Buy mold fabric from select products.

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puresound

sounds wrote:

Buy mold fabric from select products.

have you used mold fabric from them before? was it worth it to get it from there if u have>?

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dream it, build it, fiberglass it

sounds...I'm also interested to know more about the mold fabric since I'm not thrilled with the texture of the fleece after the resin goes on.

pureRF...I had the same prob with getting the resin to fully saturate the fleece. I found(from someone with 20yrs of fiberglassing) that I could thin the resin with up to 10% acetone(I use 2oz in 24oz of resin) and it doesn't affect the set up time or strength...just makes it a bit more liquid so that it soaks through the fleece better. Also, the tighter the fleece is stretched, the easier it is to penetrate. If you still have trouble with it not sticking to the ring, try making the top ring out of particle board instead of MDF...much more porous.

There are tons of different weighted fleece that you can get. I use the lighted weight fleece that I can find. As well there are different types of fleece with more or less stretch in the fabric. As far as sticking to the trim rings, what you can do is take a mini DA sander and use 120 grit sand paper and sand the smooth surface rough to better adhesion.

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Jeff
Velocity Custom Home Theater
Mobile Audio/Video Specialist
Morden, Manitoba CANADA

Velocity...Thanks for the DA idea on the MDF ring. I'll definitely do that on the next one since I much prefer routing on MDF over particle board. Got the particle brd idea off another forum and it worked fine so far(fleeced and resined), but I think I'll add another ring of MDF before I start layering the inside...just to be sure! An inch and a half of mounting surface can't hurt anything. Between my new router and my home made circle cutter, making more rings is not the grief it used to be.

I have used mold fabric before nothing compares, considering it was designed with custom fabrication in mind, now i use it for all applications.

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puresound

I just checked SP's site and they have two mold fabrics. Which one are you using? The lighter 7oz stuff looks just like the polyester fleece I got from Joann's Fabrics. The heavier(14oz) looks like what JF's for quilting(also called fleece) but didn't seem to stretch well at all. If you're using the heavier stuff, do you also use it for kick panels? I've got the bigger trunk parts laid up, but now I'm getting ready to do a couple of kickpanels and I was planning on using either T-shirt or grill cloth to help avoid any warping.

i just got the fleece and it seems thin enough but thick enough for a good start on strength. neways it stretches REALLY well in one direction but not to well in the other. Is this ok if i pull it as tight as possible or will it warp? also whats a good way to secure the fabric to the mold?

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dream it, build it, fiberglass it

try to use grill cloth for the first layer then use the cloth or matting to get your thickness along with bondo to smooth

I didnt mean the fabric i got is good for support i just ment its gonna be strong enough to take fiberglass, but what is grill cloth?

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dream it, build it, fiberglass it

grill cloth as in your home speakers have over the front . it is very stretchable like womens pantyhose and about as thick, so with this you will have to reinforce the mold with other layers of fiberglass matt. or what ever you prefer.

exxotic audio,

are you saying that if you use grill cloth as your first step and then a polyester fleece for the second layer that it will be strong enough without any matt????

I would advise never buying anything from Select Products unless you don't mind being totally ripped off. They charge obscene amounts for products that you can buy locally for 10 to 15 times less. I hate that place. Personally, I would never buy from a place that would charge you $24(yes, really, not a typo) for their catalog. Sure some of there stuff might work better in certain applications(debatable), but to support a place that has such ridiculas pricing is against my beliefs(then again you are talking to someone who will not buy any product from sporting or concert events). Just my two cents.

i agree i wouldnt buy nething from them either

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dream it, build it, fiberglass it

no you are prob. still going to have to make it stronger but for wild forms the grill cloth is alot easier to work with although it is very thin and will need more layers added after. it is just easier to form with.

ok guys i have never used the fleece idea. are you saying to use 100% polyester fleece. and another idea that i have found that woks great is 100% cotton flannel, it is durable to strecthing and is thin. i use this for my molded dashes.

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"get in where you fit in"

I just used my fabric and used 100% poly but it was real thin. It worked great i just had to slop on resin at the sub ring but it worked really well

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dream it, build it, fiberglass it

we have had no luck with the fleece

i cracks on us any ideas?

we used fishfabric it was a little better but it seems carpet work better.

would like to know how everyone is doing with the fiberglass cracking.

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why am i the only one in the world that has that problem?

if u put enough mat on and make it strong it wont crack

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dream it, build it, fiberglass it

I always start with grill cloth and then put two or three layers of glass CLOTH...not glass mat over the top of the grill cloth.... this builds a VERY sturdy enclosure that is VERY easy to finish... minimal sanding then spray it with 3m sprayable polyester filler and block it out... prime...paint...done

Good Luck
Erik
Manager/Installer
Car Tix
Ogden Utah

Erik,
Got a quick question for ya,
Im doing my first big fiberglass job which entails glassing the whole back end of a yukon. Ive been doing fiberglass for a while just never painted as a finish till now. So im tryin to learn the easiest way to get the smooth finish for the paint. The 3m sprayable polyester filler your talkin about, does it act kind of like a filler primer, filling the small indentations and such? Any other advice would greatly be aprpreciated!
Chris

k... The finish is the fun part... if you build the enclosure and panels the way i described above, you will have a relatively smooth finish to work with. Some minor sanding with 180 & 220 grit paper on a DA sander should knock down any rough or high spots.. spray on the 3m poly with a gun applying a couple of good coats (don't worry about runs... this stuff sands like a dream) let it dry and you're ready to block it out, I use brown primer as a guide to insure all low/high spots get attention and start sanding (use a flexible block with 220 grit paper)DONT USE A D/A OR BARE HANDS! as doing so will cause ripples in the finish... if you need to...do another layer of spray poly and repeat the blocking process then prime and paint...

Good Luck,
Erik
Manager/Installer
Car Trix
Ogden Utah

and the spray poly does fill most imperfections, if there are any left use a glazing putty.. I prefer Evercoat Metal Glaze Blending Putty and if needs be you can finish off the primed box by wet sanding with 400 or 600 grit paper...

=]
Erik

cartrix i pretty much have my whole box done but it was done mostly with mat and some cloth, cloth will probly be the last layer. But after i sand for millions of hours and then bondo and sand more and wetsand how do u suggest i get that professional look, where it looks like a car finish? Would i get it painted at a body shop?

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dream it, build it, fiberglass it

yeah what you would do is just take it to a body shop have them prime it and wetsand again to get all the imperfections out(cause ounce you prime it you find alot more of them) and then choose the color and have them paint it like a regular car.

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"get in where you fit in"

couldnt i prime it then find the imperfections because i heard it would be a ton less if they just have to do the painting and no sanding

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dream it, build it, fiberglass it

yeah if you can do it then it will make the price go way down. but just make sure that you get a good primer nothing cheap or it want stick as good.

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"get in where you fit in"

how exactly do you wetsand?

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dream it, build it, fiberglass it

pretty much you do what it says. you buy the wetsand paper you will proply need about 1000 grit and then you either wet the area or dip the paper into water. then you kind of sand. you will see the grit start to build up on the surface and that is good that is what you want just kind of sand in circluar motions and then once done whip off with a rag.

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"get in where you fit in"

sounds good ill post pics when im done

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dream it, build it, fiberglass it

don't go past 400 grit on primer unless your body shop says

wet sanding with extra fine grits is for color and clear coats

which the body shop will do to get the finish smooth

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why am i the only one in the world that has that problem?

Its going to be painted black to match a Toyota 4Runner

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dream it, build it, fiberglass it

i just got some of the dvd's from selectproducts ive done alot of little work with glass with my bodykit and my dash the videos clear up a whole lot of questions found in this fiberglass forum there a little pricy try to find a friend to split the cost with but all the products are tried and true time savers and the woven stich cloth u can sometimes get on ebay for cheaper in bulk and it does not frey when you put the resin on it and spread with a brush

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N2O dont say it just spray it

I have had a lot of luck with Woll blankets, the cheep kind that are found in emergency road kits for your car. Olny problem is that it soaks up resin like you would not believe! and usually requires 2 coats before sanding. The pluss is that you don't have to put much mat on the inside to make it strong.

best fabric