Fiberglassing a box
 

Ok so heres the deal...I don't want my standard box anymore. It's too square and plain for me. Now here's what I am looking for. Any advice as far as what I can do, be it taking my old box and glassing over it and just shaping it, or what? Where is a good place to get the supplies i will need and just general info that would be usefull to me.

most of the stuff youll need you can get at the hardware store. its gets pricey if you buy online because of hazmat shipping on some things.

you could use your box you have now. remove of get rid of as much of the baffle as possible , then make two speaker rings, tack them together. use some scraps, glue them to the box to hold up the speaker ring at the angle you want. lay the material over the box and ring, then go to town with the resin and sanding, then a layer of matt, more resin more sanding.

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...9/610885_3.jpg
this is what I would be working with.

you can pull the carpet, sand it with 180, high build primer, wet sand, paint and clear, then buff it out. if you have never used 'glass then you may not have the common tools to do the job and may just be a pain in the ass to you. go to www.caraudio.com and check out the fabrication section of the forum and start taking notes. the best place to get the materials is going to be an auto body and paint store. dont get the home depot or lowes junk. you usually wind up paying to much for stuff thats been on the shelf for a long time. dont use Bondo brand filler use Rage Gold. there are other tips but start with the car audio site and then ask me what you need.

Quest have you glassed a box before? If so just give me a ballpark figure one what I'd be looking at cost wise for mats. I tend to be pretty handy with my tools lol. I do all my own work on my truck and most other peoples too. What glassing tools I don't have I'm sure I can get from my father.

hmm, well i know when i reglassed a 10ft boat i used a metal stir stick (scredriver that was crap anyways), a metal scraper, the actual fiber, and then the resin, sand paper and water for the final sanding. Basically the fiber and resin came in a pack and i bought about 3 containers each about a gallon i wanna say or maybe more, and they were about 9$ each from Home Depot. It Worked great and the boat still floats.

its not a sub box, but its bigger and i did it with little knowledge or tools. i say the best way is to buy some, try it on something to get used to it (mixing the chemicals) getting the right consistancy ect ect, and then just go to town, lay a layer or maybe 2 but dont push it, then sand....alot....not heavy, but alot lightly....then repeat the glassing, and sanding.... shouldnt be too hard

a basic box should take 30-40 hours total. resin about $15, Rage Gold filler $20, sanding paper $20, you will need a good sander i prefer a right angle die grinder with a "roll-lock" disc froma uto body store or harbor freight for about $20, then if you want to paint that can range from 20-60 on average and if you vinyl look at about 20. these are estimates since i tend to use about $100 in materials, but i build solid boxes. let me get some links for you. may take me a day or so. honestly you can pull the carpet on the box and paint it the color of the truck and be done in one day.

I wont just paint the box...why yank it if im just going to do it halfway. 100 Bucks isn't that bad at all. I'd like to round it out some, maybe even extend the speakers from the flush postition to some other shape or something :o/

i did 2 6x9 boxes in a sl500 benz and materials were around 159 from auto zone and walmart. Tape is the most expensive thing. I used about 8 rolls of masking tape.

thats too much! i would trash your box and start from scratch. like i said let me get some links for you to help you out then go from there. its the labor of getting the box as smooth as possible that is the pain. i am in the process of glassing an 8" screen in each rear door of an accord at my new job i may post pics, but its up to the customer.

on a side note why did you spend that much on fabbing up 6x9 boxes for an SL500? pics?

i used alot layers of glass i forget how much. Brushes arent cheap at home depot, drop cloth resin, masks, gloves, 8 rolls of blue masking tape adds up quickly

What would be a good material that I can sink the amp into and glass around it...like foam? I want the amp to look like it was built into that recessed area.

you want something like this?
http://fordtruckworld.tenmagazines.c...n33/642492.jpg

Well now I can't say that I hate that, but not I'm not looking for something quite like that. I just want to rebuild/spruce up the one I have. That one rocks tho. I was originally thinking about taking an explorer center consol and glassing it if I do halfway decent on this one.

whos truck is that?

and foam wont work, resin will eat right thru it

wrap it in like foil or something to coat the foam so it doesnt eat it

what's that in the center? also, is that in 2 pieces, or is all one piece.. looks like there's a seem in the center (at the bottom). anyhow, looks alright.

the only part i like on that is like the TV part the rest is like to much...work the TVs in a pimp explorer center console you will be good to go

i was referring more to teh sub box in the rear, but the console sticks out so much that its more noticble.

thats edgerats truck

and as for countersinkin the amp, id do something similar to flush mounting a sub. build to "rings" one to mount the amp to then one larger than it. build it up, glass it and mount it.

on the plus side I can't really mess it up too bad, because I can always add more glass and just sand it back to where I want it right?

Itz not that hard. I built a kick ass box that is shaped to fit my gf's PT crusier and it sounds and looks great. The "junk" that lowes sells isn't that bad. Thats what I used and the whole box cost me about 30 bucks. That includes resin, hardener, mat, and bondo. I don't like bondo much either, other stuff is better but it worked out pretty good. I say go for it. You won't regret it.

dont use foam use blue masking tape for your base and wood dowels for your shapes

http://web.njit.edu/~cas1383/proj/FAQ/index.htm
http://store.yahoo.com/yourautotrim-...wideozite.html
http://www.jamestowndistributors.com...%5Epage%7EGRID

http://www.shopmaninc.com/
http://chris.pfharlock.com/glass/makerings.htm

u there? i like to build mine strong enough to throw off of a 5 story building. but really you need at least 1/2" in thickness to make a fiberglass box sound good. otherwise the subs will cause the front face to resonate like crazy and will give your box a "tin can" sound. use fleece on the most outer part. and use fiberglass mat on the inside. use 1-3 layers of 1.5 ounce mat and then a good 1-2 layers of 3+ounce mat on top of that will be nice and solid. if you go sealed you may want to use polyfill in the enclosure. use my advice you will thank me later.