wakeboardfusion

this thread will be the whole process of my fiberglassing

well i started fiberglassing today



i got one side done...woohooo
i think this whole project will take about 25-40 hours to finish, thats a lot more work than i thought, but it will be worth it

tomorrow i will do the other side, and maybe put the 2nd coat on the side i did today

Hobo

it will take longer, i did the back of an suv + 4 kick panels and it took 3 months of 3 hours a day with 3 people.... it was our first time but still its so mcuh work, allow a ton of time for sanding the more you wand the better it will look.

wakeboardfusion

i think im going to put carpet on it first so i wont have to sand much, but l8er i plan to sand when i have more time

Hobo

this might be a good plan, but make sure you get back to it, well sanded glass + good paint is simply amazing

wakeboardfusion

yeah i wanna have it done for the seattle meet in 2 weeks so i am just carpeting it, then after that im sandin and painting it

athlonxp

The race is on.... Actually, I've been planning to do this but never had the time to. I was gonna do it after I finished painting my car, but all these frickin' hurricanes are driving me nuts. It's always fucking raining and I haven't been able to put to more coats of clear on my car. But anyways, good luck on it! Ultimately, it should be enlightening and enjoyable for you!! A great learning experience, then you could fabricate your own body kits!

Laters,
James

Hobo

body work and sub boxes are different things entirely

athlonxp

Uh, no shit!!! In your aspect...true. However, I'm focusing more on the fiberglassing aspect. Once you get your hand at it, you acquire the skill that can be used towards other things. It's a matter of having a mold, fiberglassing, sanding, and finishing. Not different there is it?

Honestly Hobo, which direction were you heading with that statement anyway? I might be taking it in the wrong way. I'm seeing it as if I'm being called a "dumb-ass." I'm not instigating here just wanted some clarification.

Thanks,
James

d5c5b

hey, hobo's just being the pesimist.... you always need those types of guys... they bring us all back to reality.... and if youre a first timer wakeboard... on one hand, mad props... you got it goin on... on the other hand, what you just did is the easy part.... have fun finishing it! awsome to see you doin it tho...

wakeboardfusion

should i leave the trunk open over night, or close it at like 11 or 12 cuz i dont want my car to smell

Blenz

Are you making the custom box for your JL 10s?

Hobo

all im saying is that a sub box can have deformities and is generally sever layers thick etc...

body kits have to be perfect or they are called

if you do it good for you but because you can glass a box doesnt mean you can glass a kit, just pointing that out.

wakeboardfusion

thanks!! i know thats the easy part, even my local audio shops give me mad props, i hope by friday i will have all 7 layers and the frame for the subs to be done so i can pull the cloth on saturday or sunday

Hobo

leave it open as much as you can that smell sucks...

maybe put a fan in your car it will help the dryign time too.

wakeboardfusion

i have 2 mtx 7500's 10 inch

99CL

I hope you're doing 6+ layers of fiberglass on that if it's for a sub. Another way to make it stronger is to put a layer of carpet and put resin on it. That would help too and you won't need to put as much layers of fiberglass..

99CL

Just saw your post, 7 layers is good. But try that carpet thing as well...

99CL

check out my setup, its on my homepage. But i had my installer to it, i was too lazy too, even though i helped figerglass my cousins trunk. LoL

wakeboardfusion

i just finished taping the other side

wakeboardfusion

thats a nice job

Hobo

rofl 6+

a competition box holding 2 15's and 2 10's (midbass) that was made 6 months ago has 3 layers plus 1 of bondo and it gets played nearly everyday, oh and its 300watts per 10 and 1000 per 15 RMS power


you need to remember that fiberglass is stron when curved, but brittle when there are large flat area's so use mdf for the large flat sections and glass the curves, this saves you a lot of work

wakeboardfusion

i heard that u need 7 layers too

wakeboardfusion

in that pic with my fan, the fan is on, i would have thought there would have been a blur...

Hobo

the guy i learned to glass with is now working for HiFiFoFum (a local audio shop) hes designing the trunk for the Miller suv. ill ask him, but i know we used 3-4 layers on his box.

wakeboardfusion

ok ill ask my audio place too and see what they say

athlonxp

Hey d5c5b, thanks for the positive reinforcement! Yes it does bring us back to reality but pessimistic is my everyday life...therefore, optimism takes over when I'm on the boards. It's in a sense stress relief.

Hobo, I could go on but ultimately it'll probably end up as a continuing clash of opinions, so I rest my case.

Wakeboardfusion, you can go at it with a blow dryer or a low heat gun, it'll dry it and harden it in a much shorter amount of time. The catalyst that you added to the resin is temperature dependent, hence the higher the heat the faster the catalyst acts to cure the resin. However, overdoing the heat may lead to cracking of the fiberglass. So use heat in moderation.

I don't know if others have attempted this method but I'm simply tying chemistry into the field and I've had great results...basically cutting my time down by 50%.

Again, good luck!
James

wakeboardfusion

well i guess ill go out with a hair dryer now...

wakeboardfusion

should i add some cool led/neon lighting effects?

d5c5b

dont over do it my firend.... and re: the smell....that shits gonna be curing for a long time... sure, itll dry by tomorrow and be hard... but those chemicals will work for weeks... so youre just gonna have to deal wth the smell...but good news, in about a week or so itll go.... but leaving the trunk/windows open always helps! just a heads up!

wakeboardfusion

good... im gunna have to get a strong air freshner, i got some of that shit on my hand just a sec ago and no matter how much i wash it it wont come off, so i just sprayed it with AXE a few times and it doesnt smell ne more...just smells like axe

d5c5b

you got resin on ya? jut use acetone ( nail polish remover)... thats a garage must anyway... that shit takes everything off

wakeboardfusion

yeah just a little bit...ill go ask my sis for nail polish remover

racersky

i wanna learn how to fiberglass a sub box. Anyone in the PA area that could help me with this?

wakeboardfusion

today i molded the other side, and put a 2nd layer on half of the side i did yesterday and im tired now so i quit

Blenz

If you got a digital camera you should post a pic for each layer you do.

99CL

if you mix more harder in it will dry faster and u'll be able to put a few layers in one day..just have to work quick. Have someone else helping you

C-Cook

1. fiberglass mat should be atleast 3/16's thick that's about 5 or 6 layers, you can ad more than one layer at a time, I reinforced a custom fit bumper on a conquest with probaly 10 or 11 layers at once, it's actually easier to add mat while the resin is still wet and be sure to cut the mat up into 4"x4" pieces or smaller, don't use a full sheet it won't be as strong

2. do not over do it on the hardener, the more hardener means higher heat when the resin and hardener activate, which will lead to cracking and warping

3. high heats such as heat guns will lead to cracking and warping

4. before you remove the pieces you may want to run a coat of duraglass or tigerhair (fiber fillers) over them while still in the car, they're not very big so you may not have to but it's just a precaution to stop warping

5. the only resin that should be in high heat or hot sunlight for that matter is UV resin, it is actually activated by UV rays and is fully hardened in about 5 mins. Have no idea where to get it, the only time I've ever used it was in school. Works good on fiber mat and thin cloth but don't use it on carpet or fleece.

If you have any questions just ask, I do this stuff all day every day, ceritified for fiberglass techniques, advanced acoustics, and a few others from IIT Audio in Orlando, FL, and MECP certified.

And don't worry about the resin smell, a few days and you'll get used to it, I can't smell anything anymore