first time fiberglass

ok i have an ext. cab chevy and i am going to make a box that fills the ext. cab (taking out back seat). now i want to FG the floor of the box so that is contoures to floor instead of just doing it out of mdf and it not fitting all perfect to the floor. any pointers on how to do this and how many layers of glass? there is going to be 4 15" solobarics in the box, fyi.

-------------

badasschevillac wrote:

---

ok i have an ext. cab chevy and i am going to make a box that fills the ext. cab (taking out back seat). now i want to FG the floor of the box so that is contoures to floor instead of just doing it out of mdf and it not fitting all perfect to the floor. any pointers on how to do this and how many layers of glass? there is going to be 4 15" solobarics in the box, fyi.

---

a popular method i have seen is to lay several layers of tin-foil down over your area you wish to fiberglass to.... this will let you mold the fiberglass directly to the floor without (obviously) sticking to it.

-------------
Loving Car Audio since 1992

could you use bisqueen(spelling?), like sheets of plastic used in auto painting? or even a tarp

-------------

I think the visqueen ( I don't know how to spell it either, but I believe it starts with a V) would stick to the fiberglass bc of the heat generated when it is curing... Right now I'm fiberglassing a box to fit in the foot well of a rear facing 3rd row in a 1970 chevelle station wagon. I'm glassing the bottom and sides as one piece so I can maximize the airspace I have. I used a double layer of tin foil and some 3m adhesive to get my mat to stick to the foil. When I pulled the mold out, the foil peeled right off... This so far is my largest fiberglass project and I'm still learning and still using the 12volt when I run into a problem. Good luck and keep us posted. I'd love to see some pics.

-------------
...don't crush the weasel...

thanks, i never thought of the "visqueen" adheering to it cuz of the heat. sounds like the tin foil is the way to go!

one more ?'s. when i glass the bottom, how would i go about attaching it to the sides of the box which i want to do in mdf?

-------------

cut a notch about a 1/4in into the mdf where the fiberglass overlaps the wood and use duraglass to attach it. fairly simple little process... Also your question about how many layers of glass... I saw in a post on the 12volt where a person stated "The rule of Thumb" (thanks to whoever posted that). When the glass doesn't flex under the pressure of your thumb, then it is thick enough (and when I say the pressure of your thumb I do mean to put pressure into it, don't just lay it on there and watch for it to bend, hehehe!).  Anyways, hope that helps..

-------------
...don't crush the weasel...

another option to protect the well is use to use 2" wide 3M masking tape. Use two overlapping layers and then if you want you could use simple cooking spray like PAM and spray it over all the tape. The tape comes off very easily and even easier with the pam. I think foil is harder to work with that masking tape and the tendacy for it to rip in certain areas is greater than the tape.

-------------
JL Audio 10W1v2 (x2)
Alpine Type-S SPS-57C2 (x4)
TMA T500.1
TMA T320.4
Alpine CDA-9851 HU
Audiobahn AEQ8 EQ

I mainly decided to go with the foil over tape bc of the large area I was working with... and yes, I have seen the people that mask off the back end of a vehicle 2" at a time... We were just excited to get working on it... We did however use the heavy duty name brand foil and it didn't rip once, just lucky I guess...

-------------
...don't crush the weasel...

thanks everyone for ur replies, will help out a lot!

-------------