Fiberglass How To's

[taosd 10+ year member]

Do I need to get resin with wax in it? I talked to my cousin, who works at a boat shop, and he mentioned that I would need resin with wax in it. Why is this?

 

[NMBR1SPT 10+ year member]

correct me if I'm wrong to fiberglass my dash and door panels... all I need to do is sand lightly wipe it with acetone and put resin and then a thin layer of fiber sand then resin till smooth..... same for door panels and roof liner????

 

[nYc.kablamO 10+ year member]

I found the easiest way to do a glass job is with rollers. I found them at a marine supply store out here (for you guys that dont like ordering). The fiberglass roller has little bristles that permeate the glass and take out the air bubbles. It kind of makes the layers 'tighter' also. Theyre available in all different sizes and small stuff for contours etc. theyre reusable too.

Witht he right tools youll cut your work time in half and end up with a better quality piece. I used to dab the paint brush and guesstimate by resin/mekp mixture too. Now I use a big plastic pitcher with a lid and spout, mix the resin using one of those harderer bottles so i get the right ratio (cmon who hasnt mixed it too hot and ended up with a cup of jelly and a half done layer i have!)..then pour with one hand and roll with the other. Alot less mess and alot less time.

with the filling part i like to spread on like 1/4" of duraglass (fiberglass putty, short strand). I dont mix it hot because if it hardens right away you cant file it. A putty file is only tool that should be used to knock down the filler. Anything else and the piece will look wavy. for those that dont like ordering you can find them at autozone, pep boys etc.

 

[Frankensuby 10+ year member]

K, I need help.

I'm in the middle of an enclosure build, and I should be ready to fiberglass by tomorrow night. I am building a 75% MDF enclosure, and I need to use fiberglass to allow the rest of the box to sit flush with the walls of my trunk. How do I go about applying the fiberglass to the box? What special things should I do...IE....do I need to sand the edges by the hole I am going to fiberglass, or do I need to use a structure like chicken wiring to make a specific shape? Is it a bad idea to leave air inbetween the box and the fiberglass shell, even when the enclosure is sealed?

Thanks for any help,

~Levi

 

[BassAddictJ 5,000+ posts]

for something simple like some basic kick pods or (what i plan on trying to do with my first fiberglassing project ever) making a case for a 7 inch LCD that the old case vroke for, how much would supplies cost me (ballpark guess)?

 

[krstofer 10+ year member]

http://web.njit.edu/%7Ecas1383/proj/main/ --- bad link

http://www.caraudioresources.net/technical.html --- looks like domain parking

http://web.njit.edu/~cas1383/glassing/--- bad link

http://www.eatel.net/~amptech/elecdisc/fibrglas.htm --- bad link

http://www.geocities.com/stevebang2000/car-audio.html --- Looks like this site only sells custom kits not how to make them.

Out of the links in the first post, it looks like this one is the best.

http://chris.pfharlock.com/glass/

Might want to update the post. Thanks for the links.

 

[PowerNaudio 10+ year member]

http://

http://www.geocities.com/stevebang2000/car-audio.html --- Looks like this site only sells custom kits not how to make them.

 

 

Out of the links in the first post, it looks like this one is the best.

 

http://chris.pfharlock.com/glass/

 

Might want to update the post. Thanks for the links.

 

on this link http://www.geocities.com/stevebang2000/car-audio.html

the guy is also providing a couple steps by steps of the proses he uses to get the enclosure to a finish product so it may provide a source for ideas on how to build enclosures for the more advanced.

 

[phantom240 5,000+ posts]

It doesnt. You need glass to apply glass.

 

[PowerNaudio 10+ year member]

how does applying fiberglass onto an mdf box without mat or clothe work

did you mean "how does applying resin onto an mdf box without mat or cloth works?"

if yes, then you justs mix with the proper ration of hardner to resin, then using a brush or roller, apply it to the enclosure or mdf panel, just like you would on to fiberglass mat or other surfaces or materials.

fiberglass= A material made of extremely fine glass fibers. formed into mat, cloth, power, etc.....

resin= A thermosetting resin that is made of an unsaturated polyester and often used in reinforcing Fiaberglass and laminating

if you mean the string or powder fiberglass, you need a special gun for the string fiberglass that will tear the fiberglass up at the same time it sprayes it on to the work area.

the fiberglass powder or beads, "i forgot the actual name" can be mixed with resin and applyed with a brushed or rolled on the work area. mostly used as a filler to increase density.

"there allot more detailed info on the subject,if you just google your question for more results"

 

[somekook 10+ year member]

http://chris.pfharlock.com/glass/

yea this is the most helpfull link i saw on this thread.

also, in the body shop i work at, and prety much all body shops, they use this plastic sheeting stuff, to protect a window or what have you from dust and sparks and **** flying into the car. that plastic masking works like awesome for laying down on your trunk floor or wherever youre about to apply fiberglass (instead of blue painters tape or masking tape). i dont know if a whole lot of people use this method yet, but theyre about to. test your plastic sheeting first to make sure resin doesnt eat through it.... that would ****.

 

[nate2587 10+ year member]

Since the other one disappeared......Feel free to post links.....no coments needed....just links please....please check for dead links and make sure they have not already been posted....thanks
http://web.njit.edu/%7Ecas1383/proj/main/

http://www.sounddomain.com/id/the1wagsjlguy

http://chris.pfharlock.com/glass/

http://www.caraudioresources.net/technical.html

http://www.sounddomain.com/member_pages/view_page.pl?page_id=338498

http://www.sounddomain.com/id/jeep98

http://web.njit.edu/~cas1383/glassing/

http://www.geocities.com/stevebang2000/car-audio.html

http://www.eatel.net/~amptech/elecdisc/fibrglas.htm

also my site...hope to have some glassing links on there soon...

http://www.sounddomain.com/id/goddyd4me

below is a quick and easy way to make a circle jig for a router.....for perfect circles its a must....

enjoy

lots of links are dead on this thread

 

[Drunkship 10+ year member]

Hello, my buddy wants to put a subwoofer in his car and wants it to be as light as possible while looking hidden.

I suggested fiberglassing the spare tire well and puttin' the sub in there. Are there any links (a lot of links in these 6 pages are dead) showing how to go about doing this, step-by-step?

Also, would doing that be a lot lighter than having a regular sealed/ported enclosure?

The last question I have is, how would we go about giving the subwoofer the right amount of volume? With a regular enclosure you can just measure L x W x H, so we'd have to find the volume of a half circle (4/3 x pi x r³ / 2)?

 

[Zakerid 10+ year member]

don't know if this link was posted but it is a great tutorial

http://www.gadrivers.net/~dwicker/fiberglass.html

 

[UpNCommin 10+ year member]

i got everthing but once u guys said BAFFLE.. i was baffled.. .lol can anyone tell me what A baffle is?? also to fiberglass the dash wouldnt it juss be easy sand the plastic and then juss lay a fleece on top of that, hot glue it to the edges and then fiberglass away???

 

[theycallmecrash 10+ year member]

what is all involved in making a glass dash?