constructing kick panels

[pj_chevy03]

i'm planning on making some kick panels for my truck in the near future and have some questions.

Is one layer enough just for kick panels?
After I put the tape down where i'm gonna make the mold, I use something like Pam so it will not stick to the tape, right? The reason I'm asking is beacuse on the container of the resin it said to put a light layer of the resin itself on the surface of where u will lay the fiberglass mat down. I think that method is used for repairs though but I want to be sure.
Point the baffles toward the headrest? In this case the left baffle would be moreso pointed "up" as compared to the left baffle.
Is there a certain type of fleece that is needed to "stretch" over the baffle to form the shape u want?

thanks for any help

[squeak9798]

Well, I'm not an expert 'glasser, so I'll only touch on the ones I know for sure

Is one layer enough just for kick panels?

No

Point the baffles toward the headrest? In this case the left baffle would be moreso pointed "up" as compared to the left baffle.

What you want to do is go ahead and 'glass only the backside of the kickpanel to make a mold of what will be the rear of your kickpanel. Do a few layers to build up strength. Then, you want to use plumber's straps to attach the MDF speaker baffle to the rear mold you just made. Install the speakers in the baffle and hook them up to the amp. Wrap towels around the rear of the mid to minimize backwave interference. Turn 'er on, and start listening and aiming the kicks. This should (will) take time, but will be well worth it. Where they are aimed is going to be speaker/car dependent.

Once you have the aiming down to where it sounds good, install dowl rods (using hot glue) between the baffle and the rear mold to maintain that aiming position and remove the plumber's straps. Then, fleece and finish 'glassing the kicks.

Is there a certain type of fleece that is needed to "stretch" over the baffle to form the shape u want?

Anything really....some people even use old T-shirts.

[pj_chevy03]

thanks for the quick reply. ****, i wasnt expecting a reply that fast.

u dont think it would sound good just point the speakers straight towrds the headrest. iirc that was how guantlet did his in his thread.

how many layers do u think would be sufficient?

[DBfan187]

iirc that was how guantlet did his in his thread.

how many layers do u think would be sufficient?

laser pointer and atleast 3-4 layers.

[squeak9798]

A lot of car audio speakers are designed to work best off-axis; which means they'll end up pointed more towards your feet.

IMO the "easy way out" is to just aim at the opposite headrest. I'm sure it'll sound decent, but not necessarily optimized. And if I were going to be spending the time to build them, I'd spend a lot of time and make **** sure they were built to the absolute best they could be.

[jellyfish420]

mine was 3 layers...and i could jump on them.

[pj_chevy03]

well i was planning on getting re re components. do u know if they are off-axis? also do the re componenets work well in sealed enclosures as compared to ib. i think they were really meant for ib installs, but i think i'll have to give re a call on those questions.

[req]

the reverse mould can be made of ONE SINGLE LAYER OF FIBERGLASS+RESIN. then just get some kittyhair, or if you can find it, some silicia stuff- a name brand is aerosil (or somthing) and put like 1\4" at the most (more like 1\8" would be fine) of it on the INSIDE of the back relief.

aim your baffles until they sound good

stretch some fleece or stretchy material over the baffle and around the back of the kickpanel, cover it in fiberglass resin, and then proceed to put the kittyhair\resinpaste on the inside of that as well.

kickpanels DO NOT need 4~5 layers of bracing. the pressure inside them is not even CLOSE to the amount of pressure a subwoofer releases. they are NOT load bearing structures.

then sand+carpet. YOU DO NOT NEED TO USE BODYFILLER WHEN CARPETING >_<

just sand down the BIG rough spots and your good to carpet. if you paint, you will NEED to sand, fill, sand, fill, sand, lightweight fill, sand, prime, sand, prime, sand, coat1, sand, coat2, sand coat3, sand, clearcoat1, sand, clearcoat2, polish.

then it should come out quite shiny.

if you want the textured look, fill+sand until roughly smooth, all pits gone, then spray MATTE spraypaint (or truck bedliner) 10~20 inches away - test on some wood to get the texture correct - then do a 5~10" coat to fill in all the spots you missed. NEVER put too much paint on at once or it will run.

in summary;

1. kicks dont need so much freggin fiberglass
2. paint is hard a fcuk.
3. bedliner is the way to go

*on a side note* try to stay away from using bondo\kittyhair on plastics. get a liquid ABS filler to mould plastics together. if you need to use bondo\kittyhair, use a adhesion promoter first, and make sure you rough up the area before you even start.

does that clear it all up?

[squeak9798]

But, the kickpanel walls do need to be thick enough that they don't resonate.

[req]

But, the kickpanel walls do need to be thick enough that they don't resonate.

thats what the kittyhair\fiberglass w\ expander is for

trust me, i read so much about this crap. go over to the12volt.com's glassing forum. its all about aerosil. hzemall does it this way - one layer of fleece with thin resin so it soaks all the way thru- just mix in some acetone with the resin - and then 1\4" of aerosil+resin paste on the inside of the form. it saves DAYS of glassing time, and DAYS of sanding time. after that - its a nice thin layer of bondo\kittyhair on the outside, and then a quick skimcoat, and then paint.

i could do a large sized box in 2 days with this method, and it would be as strong as a 10layer box.

saves time AND TONS OF MATERIAL! but you use alot more resin - so buying a 5gallon pail is much more economical.

cmon squeak - you are the equipment man, im the glassing man