[Toyman]

I've seen the guys making custom speaker boxes on the different car shows. They make a wood frame and then wrap it in a material before applying the fiberglass resin. On one of the shows, they mentioned that it was not fiberglass mat, since it doesn't give, but I didn't hear what the actual material was. I am assuming it has to flex in all directions to get the compound curves etc. Can anyone name that material?

[gahi]

I know what your talking about but can't remeber the name either, It is made of more random fibers instead of being woven, then you rip it into peces and lay it down in a patch-work type way. I originally was going to reply because I thought you were asking what to use to get the desired shape.

Gary

[302 Z28]

I think what you are refering to is polyester batting. It is available in fabric shops. It is non directional and can be had in thicknesses up to about 1/4". It forms and molds around corners well and absorbs fiberglass resin like a sponge. If you were building a console you would first make it out of MDF. Cover it with plastic packaging tape. Stretch the polyester batting over it and staple it all around the inside. Cover the polyester batting with catalyzed resin. Once it has cured the MDF console can be removed because the resin will not stick to the plastic tape.

Vince

[Toyman]

302/Z28 - Thanks. That is a great idea with the packing tape. All the shows/articles show that you bury the wood framework in the polyester/resin mixture.

[302 Z28]

Originally Posted by Toyman

302/Z28 - Thanks. That is a great idea with the packing tape. All the shows/articles show that you bury the wood framework in the polyester/resin mixture.

Thanks, but I cannot claim the credit. Kristkustoms has detailed the process.

Vince

[JhnBrackett]

Also called "chopmat". I switch between layers of sweatshirt fleece, tshirts, and mat. My outer later is T-Shirt for the smoothest appearance.

[Toyman]

JoAnn fabric t-shirt material, or actual used t-shirts/sweatshirts?

[creativeinteriors]

love to use the FLEECE works excellent. Suggest using white or a light color so that you can SEE where resin has been applied. T-shirt idea is new to me, but it makes sense. In my experiance with this. If you are careful and the Fleece is supported well, not too far of a span between structural ribbing. I recommend not spanning more than 4 inches in any direction if possible. Fleece, a good soaking application of resin followed by a generous coat of high quality body filler sanded to a decent finish and followed by a skim coat of "green" spot filler should be sufficient for a paintable finish. If you intend to "wrap" the body filler should be sufficient.

[JhnBrackett]

Plain, nasty, dirty, old t-shirts that you wear/wore. I just got in from 9 hours in the 90-100 degree New Hampshire weather and applied a coat to the outer layer of my dash which is t-shirt. FOr the inside I used a blanket (ghetto fleece), 2 layers of fiberglass mat, then a t-shirt. Pretty darn strong so far, just gotta do the final mounting and sanding.

[jeeptuff]

Fleece, kitty hair, sand kitty hair, then even coat of evercoat maxim gold.. Sand to perfection, paint as desired.

[lowdown99]

ok I do this kind of stuff on a daily basis at my stereo shop for lots of customers and have found a few well working and time saving tips you may appreciate , first if at all possible use the fleece or if you can come across it there is a fleece like product called fish fabric its from a company called the fish man (who is one of the first to use these type of enclosures in the auto industry) second when you apply a second layer of the fleece knock off all high spots with 36-40 grit paper on a da sander then when you mix your resin just before adding the mekp hardner mix one part resin to one part lightweight body filler or if you can obtian it use the dry form of 3m glass bubbles , either will lighten the total project and ease sandind characteristics, typically two layers completely saturated with this will support most any subwoofer or other component you may want . (unless you are building a spl eardrum death vehicle ) after a quick sanding with a good grade of sandpaper and filling dips and voids with lightweight filler apply a good high build epoxy primer , dont cheat here with the cheap laquer stuff , it will undoubtablly shrink and screw up the whole project ! its worth the cash if you want a first class product when you are done . 2 -3 coats will suffice and sand with 320 grit paper after applying a check coat of a dark colored quick dry spray bomb paint to make sure you havent missed anything , if you are good at this point paint as usual and enjoy , i hope this helps someone cause i wish i had some tips when i was starting this stuff 10 years ago ( god how much time and money i would have saved! ) feel free to ask any other questions like this kind of stuff I've been doing alot of this stuff for quite some time , jay

[lowdown99]

i added a few pics of some of my recent projects with the materials i suggested . also one good source for alot of the needed supplies is www.shopmaninc.com they supply all the fiberglass supplies and tools needed for most projects . just check my gallery to see photos

[gothrod87]

how would i go about makinbg a sub box with 3d flames in it? and how hard you thuik it would be
?
Thanks,
GOTH

[Toyman]

Lowdown & creative - I just checked back and saw the replies. I ended up making my guage pod out of 1/4" luan plywood with (4) 2 1/2" x 1/2" pvc pipe rings for my autometer guages. Perfect fit for 2 1/16" guages for anyone who's interested. Found some yellow fleece in the remnant bin at Jo Anns and doused with resin. The shape turned out nice, but I needed to get the guages installed to break in the new cam, and I think I shot the color a little early. It needs buffed, but looks pretty cool. Thanks for all the info. Next project is going to be custom kick panels with speakers.