Pictures of my project

Here are some pictures of my first fiberglass project.

Note I'm still on the bondo stage.
This is the first step. I used two layers of masking tape.

Here's another picture of it.

Partially glassed.

This is a picture of the corner that I cut out later on. I found that if I left it this way I would not be able to seperate the mold from the reproduction.

This is a picture of the 1x2s that I used to mount the wood speaker ring to. They are different heights so as to angle the driver slightly up and towards the cabin.

The fleece is on and resined.

This one best shows the overall form of the baffle(front). Note the white stuff is just fiberglass dust.


These are all the pictures I have right now. I'll take some more later


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Nice job, so far so good!

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Im a fiberglass whore!!

Hey Poormanq45 , I'm building a similar enclosure to yours and I'm at the fleece stage now. Question??What did you use to attach the fleece to the back of the fg piece?? I've heard some people talking about superglue or contact cement, I'm curious as to what you used. This is the first full fg piece I have done and usually just use my power staple gun for MDF pieces. I'd appreciate any info.

Thanks, and your project looks great so far!

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In a world full of copycats, it's great to be an original!

Unfortunately I didn't have any hotglue around, well, I did but I couldn't find the gun.

So I used a very small amount of liquid nails. I applied it to ~8in at a time, then pulled the fleece tight and pressed it into the 'nails. I continued like that until the fleece was pulled tight all the way around.

One thing I forgot to do though was attach the fleece to the MDF ring. I just attached it to one side of the enclosure and pulled it tight. I may have been easier to attach it to the ring first.

Note: For removal of the liquid nails you'll need a grinder.

I personally would recommend that you do NOT use liquid nails though. It holds nicely, but it's too hard to get off.

I would recommend that you use silicone.

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It doesn't look like you used any fiberglass mat in the rear - did you?  If no, can you give me an idea of how the process works w/o using the mat - do you just add layers directly to the tape?  And how many layers ultimately did you use?

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I just glassed right onto the tape.

First I like to apply the resin, then stick the mat to that then stab more resin into it. I think I did like 3 layers before I took it out of the trunk. Then I just kept adding layers until it passed the thumb test. Some areas took like 10 layers, others were good with 4 layers.



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Damn.  You had me thinking it was possible to do that w/o any mat.  I've only done one easy FG project, the biggest challenge was working with the mat & corners.  After seeing your pics I was thinking how easy the sub box I'm going to start would be if I didn't have to deal with the mat!  I guess it's still doable that way, but presents a whole new set of problems.  I'll probably stick w/ the mat.

I'm really working with minimal instruction - can you (or anyone) direct me to any tutorials etc?  I haven't seen anything comprehensive in the forum, but could be missing it.  Sub box looks great so far, good luck with it. 

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What kind of problem are you having with the mat?

The thing I like best about it is that even if it folds over on itself that you can just add a bit more resin and stab it down. YOu can't do that with the weave stuff.

Try my method of applying resin the sticking th emat to that. You'll probably find it alot easier to work with sinse you won't have to hold it in place while you apply resin.

As for the tutorial: Just ask questions about what you'd like to know. Tha'ts the easiest way.

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You just answered the biggest.  I'll try the resin before mat trick. 

Here's one more - using the correct amount of MEKP to resin gives me a working time of about 4 minutes before I get clumps.  Partly due to dry Colorado air, I'm sure.  How can I stretch that time?  I'm thinking less MEKP, but not sure it will cure properly.

Next - now that I have sanded resin particles in a couple places on my skin itching like mad, how can I get it off?  Does it just go away?  Showering helped, but not completely.

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Poormanq45 wrote:

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I just glassed right onto the tape.

First I like to apply the resin, then stick the mat to that then stab more resin into it. I think I did like 3 layers before I took it out of the trunk. Then I just kept adding layers until it passed the thumb test. Some areas took like 10 layers, others were good with 4 layers.

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Wow, 10 layers?  I normally don't go above 5-6 layers of 1.5 oz mat.  One suggestion is to add ribs on the flat areas to give it strength.  I did this on my dash mold by taping down pieces of 16 awg wire like a # sign and fiberglassing over it.  This produced ribs in the mold that added strength.  Or on a larger project I made them out of wood and fiberglassed them in.   This technique should save you some money on fiberglass materials.  Here's a picture to give you a visual:

 

BTW, that enclosure looks great.  I can't wait to see it done.  How are you planning on finishing it?

 

Steven Kephart

Adire Audio

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Thinking this would be helpful to a lot of folks, I just made a new thread called "tips & tricks."  Anything else y'all want to add there would be great.  And thanks for the bit about strengthing ribs, that makes a lot of sense.

https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=59591&PN=1&tpn=1

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steven wrote:

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BTW, that enclosure looks great. I can't wait to see it done. How are you planning on finishing it?

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I was originally planning on finishing it with an automotive Gloss black, but I talked to the customer(s) and they want it to be carpeted to match the trunk liner.

I think I miscounted the number of layers I used. It was probably closer to 5~7 layers on that bottom part where it's pretty much flat.

I like your idea of adding ribs. I'll try that next time.

Note that this is going to be reproduced and sold

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Note: I'm still planning on finishing it with the automotive black just to see how good I can get it too look. That will also make it easier to release the reproduction(s) also.

I'll post more pictures probably tonight.

I just finished part of the bondo stage. I've got the bondo on and the shape made and rough sanded. Next I'll wet sand up to 800 then primer and wet sand again.

Also, unfortunately my MDF ring warped and I didn't notice it. So when I added 2~3 layers of fiberglass to it one section ended up about a 1/4in low. So I had to use bondo to fill and shape that. It sucked up quite a bit.

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Update: Bondo is done. Three coats of primer on on and sanded. I may put on one more layer of primer before I paint it.




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update. I put the enclosure in the Q45 and installed a sub that I had lying around. I didn't actually hook it up as I was just seeing how it looks.





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It looks like they need to worry about the car a little more before the sub, lol a busted ass speaker hanging down... rust, you may want to prime that to, lol! But looks good! Maybe add a little bit on the bottom left to make it have a snugger fit!

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Duke Duke

duke]I wrote:

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looks like they need to worry about the car a little more before the sub, lol a busted ass speaker hanging down... rust, you may want to prime that to, lol! But looks good! Maybe add a little bit on the bottom left to make it have a snugger fit!

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That's a bose amplifier hanging down there. It's fastened.

WHere do you see rust?

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I'd recommend more time spent on the body filler stage.  The surface doesn't look to be very smooth having those bumps in it.  What I recommend is using 36 grit paper till it's perfect.  You can use a palm sander, but I find that doing it by hand for the last bit just seems to work better as you have so much more control.  Anyway, durring the body filler step, you might not see those valleys and hills.  But they will show up once you paint them.  I find that the best way to find them is by closing my eyes, and running my hand over the surface.  You can feel them and know where you need to build up or take down more.  Once you have the shape perfect, then use 110 grit to get rid of any sanding marks, primer, then use 220 to sand that smooth.  A light mist of black spray paint on the primer will help you see where any remaining surface flaws are.  At least these are the tips that I've learned. 

Also, as a tip to get that snugger fit like what DukeDuke says, try taping off the area around the enclosures edge, and mixing up some fiberglass reinforced body filler like Duraglass.  Now apply it to the edge of the enclosure, making sure it fills all the way to the taped off carpet.  Do this with the whole enclosure and you will end up with something that molds perfectly in the vehicle.  Here's a picture of a couple projects where I did this:

That last picture I learned the hard way that Rage Gold doesn't work well in thin areas (you can see the chips).  That's why I suggest, and use Duraglass for thinner edge work.

Please forgive me if I am being overly critical.  But the people who you want to buy those pieces will be even more critical, and putting your best foot forward is always well worth it if you are planning on selling more of these.  Otherwise you are doing a fantastic job.

 

Steven Kephart

Adire Audio

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THanks for the input everyone.

I think I screwed up on the bondo stage by starting at 120grit and going up from there. Liek you said, I should have started lower.

Anyways, this is just the first one. I'll copy it and then this particular one is getting carpeted. So that small gap will be filled with carpet.



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