Car Audio Classifieds! banner

Fiberglassing Q&A

13K views 121 replies 36 participants last post by  EpicenterDesigns 
#1 ·
This is a section completely devoted to fiberglassing questions people have or helpful tips and tricks. Anybody who has a question about a fiberglass project or anything post it here and somebody will chime in and we will all try and help you out as much as possible. :)
 
#4 ·
caps: get some resin, and fiberglass matt (obvious ones) get some MDF or MDF rings, and cut them to the size of your speakers and tweeters, get some cheap paintbrushes, a tarp or something to do the project over, some wooden dowels (to hold up the speaker rings), some REALLY stretchy fleece (to stretch over everything for the first layer of resin)...... and... thats all i can think of at the moment.
oh yea sanpaper, and bondo and gloves
 
#7 ·
its always nice to get some diff types of mat also. Like rougher bigger chopmat and then the smoother one for more customization and forming(it makes a smoother surface and sanding and painting usually easier). Also a nice little tip is to use a combination of fiberglass resin and bondo. It makes for a nice smooth texture that makes it easier to apply in even coats and makes forming curves and angles and such easier. It also takes less sanding and is still really strong :thumbsup:
 
#18 ·
Lacquer thinner or something similar to clean up with.
Cups with measurements on them.
An assortment of brushes.
A heater/heat lamp.
Small grinder with sanding disk.
Building resin vs finish resin, there is a difference.
Kittyhair filler(has fiberglass strands in it), finish filler(more of a liquid), and regular filler(like paste).
Patience.
 
#22 ·
purchacing the actual fiberglass resin / hardner

I have heard that there are manny diffrent designs to the resin
some have a wax build up when cured ?
and some do not

im assuming that any kind that has a wax finish on it would be bad for adding a second layer on top right ? or do you have to sand in between layers regardless ?

and how do you know when you have built up your fiberglass to be thick / strong enough ?

I plan on doing a back seat build - mostly 80% mdf wood but there are some areas that will have to be formed of fiberglass as the curves of the car are too funky to make wood structure there - and im trying to gain as much cubic airspace as possible. would it be a good idea to use a fiew strips of 1/4" rope dipped in fiberglass resin to lay out a diamond pattern on large flat spans of fiberglass for an subwoofer enclousre and add layers of matt on top of them to help create a more solid structure - resistant to flex more I guess ?
 
#23 ·
purchacing the actual fiberglass resin / hardner

I have heard that there are manny diffrent designs to the resin
some have a wax build up when cured ?
and some do not

im assuming that any kind that has a wax finish on it would be bad for adding a second layer on top right ? or do you have to sand in between layers regardless ?

and how do you know when you have built up your fiberglass to be thick / strong enough ?

I plan on doing a back seat build - mostly 80% mdf wood but there are some areas that will have to be formed of fiberglass as the curves of the car are too funky to make wood structure there - and im trying to gain as much cubic airspace as possible. would it be a good idea to use a fiew strips of 1/4" rope dipped in fiberglass resin to lay out a diamond pattern on large flat spans of fiberglass for an subwoofer enclousre and add layers of matt on top of them to help create a more solid structure - resistant to flex more I guess ?
when its hard and strong you will have a nice smooth surface if you didnt build it up right to be strong you can rub your hand on the resin after it dries and feel that its rough means that you have a light layer

and i fiberglassed the hole inside of my roof and it works ok still needs bracing though...btw i use the all pupose resin from bondo you can get it at home depot
 
#24 ·
Well I have some questions. I'm making a box with rounded edges. I'll model up an example quickly and post it in a second. Basically, I have a mold of what I want to make. I'm using Kevlar to make this. How do I make a perfectly smooth exterior? I figured I could just lay the Kevlar over the mold but I'm a bit concerned with the corners. Obviously when I get to the corners the fabric is going to have excess. Should I cut each corner diagonally towards the center to remove all that excess? I need it to look super professional and I'm struggling with the how to part. Also, how do I make the surface perfectly smooth like a DD composite cone instead of textured? More resin?

 
#25 ·
im building a unique enclosure for a 15".

i've built many FG boxes before and all turned out great. this time i want to do something different.

i need to form the glass over something like a basketball but im not sure how to keep the ball in place while glassing it. 3/4s of the box will be FG and i want this to look as good as all my previous builds.

any tips?
 
#31 ·
#32 ·
Ok so check this out going to make a glass box for practice for a ten I'm going to use bondo resin and filler because I already bought it what's up with the duraglas and ever coat which is better to use and what resin from us composites or at a local store should I get I seen some ppl use duraglas because it has mat in it I just want to know now for when I run out I can order me some good stuff
 
#33 · (Edited)
I use 3m resin I get at lowes. It's like $35. I really have no preference in resin since it will be sanded on I really don't care of differences. For filler I mainly use bondo brand I get at wal-mart for $18/gallon. I have used ever-coat's light weight filler. I like it just for the fact that it was easier sanding. Next I use ever coats "metal glaze". It's a real thin filler that fills pinholes on the lightweight filler. The only time I use dura glass/bondo glass or whatever you want to call it is to fill bigger holes. I try not to use it much cuz its harder than hell to sand.

Here's what I'm working on. All the way around I used bondo lightweight filler and if u look at the bottom corners u can see a little dura glass. I did this in 4 separate pieces to save material and had bigger holes to fill in the corners





 
#36 ·
I get my metal glaze from napa. I have used other products but I like it the best. For dura glass and lightweight filler I use 40 grit. For the glaze I use 120. Then I do one coat of napa high build primer, sand that with 220. Then another coat of high build primer and sand with 800. Then sealer, paint, clear. Then depending on how flat it lays, I will wet sand starting with 1500 grit and go from there
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top