Car Audio Central - Ultimate Car Audio Forum and Community

Well i got bored b/c i couldnt sleep... And i was reading through the FAQ's and i found the fiberglassing pages... Well when i got my system installed for the first time the shop guy said fiberglassing is hard,messy, and takes too much time... Well i wouldnt know i have never done it myself... But when i read all this it dosent seem to be that diffcult... I mean yea it takes time, its messy, and you need experience... Well i always wanted to learn how to fiberglass... So i read all of that... And was wondering if fiberglassing is really hard??? Because i know that hand made fiberglass boxes are high priced... So if it isint that hard and just takes time and experience.. Well i got time... So could i learn how to fiberglass from that??? I was thinking if i did even attempt to do it start off small like a small tweeter pod or a 6x9 box... Or should i just not even try its not worth my time.... Because I always wanted to knowq how to do it...

If you want to know, than try it. Yeah its messy, and takes practise, but what doesn't. If you want to learn, try some kickpanels. They don't require alot of material, so it keeps cost down, and they cover about all the main aspects of doing fiberglass work.

go for it dude....the first time i ever did it i saw it on tv and was like yea i could do that....of course i have some body work experience so that helps also....

The key to fiberglassing is to have your design set and viable. In other words, know what you are doing before you even start.

thx for the support you guys... yea when i get some spare money to buy all the parts needed ill try it... Jeremy you said start off with kickpanels well the thing is i have never done it before... and i would want a smaller project... so start off with tweeter pos or 6x9 boxes??? or do you guys have other ideas???

Jeremy reccomended kickpanels because they are pretty small...larger fiberglass projects include subwoofer enclosures, amp racks, and some tricky designs. However, kickpanels are a small, easy to work with, accessible area where it will be most simple to work with. My first fiberglass project was fiberglassin a waffle iron into my trunk, it was a good first because it was small, compact, and easy to work with. My next project went 10x's faster, was much more accurate/nice looking, and just an all around better outcome.

Go for it, just make sure you look up some tutorials and stuff to get the most info. and tips/tricks you can. It's not that hard, really. Don't be intimidated by it. Just start small.

Lotus, we have been on here way to long. Kinda scary when you can read my mind.

Yeah I recomended the kicks cause ther a great starter project. Tweeter pods are so small they can be pretty finicky. Kicks are a little bigger alowing you more of a margine for error, and small mistakes are easly covered with a layer of carpet. Yeah they require more material than pods, but there still small enough that you can trash a set or two, and not rack up the cost. Pods on the other hand, tend to require more interior modification. So if you mess up one set, you might bee looking at replacing some interior trim. That can get expencive pretty fast.

Keep in mind that you don't have to buy fancy chop mat for ALL your fiberglassing. You can use fleece or an old T-shirt for initial shaping, and add chop mat on top of that once you start adding layers.

Another thing, never make too big a batch of resin/hardener. It'll waste less, let you get used to the mix you need according to temperature, and won't be as messy.

i bought some fiberglass stuff back in like november but havn't had a chance to play with it, its been too cold. i'll be playing with some stuff this summer though, can't wait.

Just some personal experience tips:
-Buy a big box of rubber gloves from Home Depot or wherever, you will use them, resin is not fun.
-Make sure you don't get messy with it. Put down newspaper, put down something on the floor of the car because once that resin hardens you will have to cut it to get it off. (Cut whatever it hardens to)
-You will probably have to buy a lot of brushes, unless you wanna get Acetone and soak your brush in Acetone after its been in resin so you can reuse it.
-Cut the brush so the bristels are about 1/2" long, and more stiff and adamant, this way, when you hit the brush to the mat with resin, it sinks in more. For some reason I can't find the right description for this lol
-Buy a lot of cups, and like Jon said, don't make one huge batch of resin. Give yourself time, make 2-3 small batches. That way when you are done with one, you can move to the next batch that is already made up. If you get done with all three fairly quickly, then make 4-5 small batches the next time. Find a point you feel comfortable with.
-MEKP (the resin hardener) reacts with the resin and as a result there is some heat baby. I've had half a dozen cups melt on me, so be careful when you are messing around with the two. My parents deck will never be the same, I still owe them a lot of sanding and a re-paint due to my first fiberglassing experience!
-If you see air bubbles (little bubbles that will be lighter in color than the rest of the mold and will pop out) get them out! Those things will diminish the strength of your mold, you want a firm, solid layered fiberglass mold, the less air bubbles, the stronger.
-A dremel is a useful tool when fiberglassing.