Fiberglass Kick Panels for Boston Z6's in 96 Explorer Worklog

[AllStar1500bd 5,000+ posts]

First and foremost, thanks to gauntlet for that incredible newbie guide to kick paneling, as I have never made kicks or even worked with fiberglass before. Huge help! //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/clap.gif.178cba2c538c68e720c727fcb024b19c.gif

Anyhow, here are the bad boys that need a new home in some new kick panels. The only way I wanted to mount these in some kicks and get imaging to my liking was to mount the tweeters on-axis, which saves foot space also.



My ghetto baffles are below (will definetly have to rework them once the underside dries). I cut them diamond-shape for a better fit, and still decided to keep my on-axis tweeter mount to save space and keep imaging to my liking...



So, to start it off, I purchased some extra glassing materials from Wal-Mart ($33 total for resin, 2 pkgs mat, 1 sq yd fleece, duct tape, sand-paper kit, brushes, extra tube hardener) and picked up some disp. gloves and dixie cups at the Dollar Store.



First, I made sure I taped down a nice double amount of tape to start glassing on...



Then set up my work area, like so...

*NOTE* Do Not Use Styrofoam cups to mix up your batch of resin/hardener - they will melt!!! (learned that after I got a huge gunk of fiberglass on my driveway //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif)



I sprayed non-stick cooking spray and started glassing.





As of right now, they are drying and will start again tomorrow morning. Let's hope the non-stick cooking spray was enough to get these off of my floor.

Click to read more...

 

[PV Audio 5,000+ posts]

nice

 

[Starky 10+ year member]

Can i have your speakers? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

btw, what amp you got for those beasts?

and how much did you those Z6's for?

 

[AllStar1500bd 5,000+ posts]

Can i have your speakers? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

No //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

btw, what amp you got for those beasts?

Fosgate 551x

and how much did you those Z6's for?

$525 shipped new in box (eBay //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif)

 

[ruckus]

*NOTE* Do Not Use Styrofoam cups to mix up your batch of resin/hardener - they will melt!!! (learned that after I got a huge gunk of fiberglass on my driveway //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif)

could of known it sooner by reading other kick panel logs. I did the same d*mn thing a couple months ago LOL

Also you should of marked on the tape with a marker your layout its a b*tch to eye out your cuts after it is removed from the car. made that mistake too.

 

[JAZN 5,000+ posts]

nice speakers. hope everything turns out well.

 

[ramos 5,000+ posts]

If that's celophane ( plastic ) packing tape, your allrght with pam. Just use liberal doses. Nice work brother man //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[ramos 5,000+ posts]

could of known it sooner by reading other kick panel logs. I did the same d*mn thing a couple months ago LOL
Also you should of marked on the tape with a marker your layout its a b*tch to eye out your cuts after it is removed from the car. made that mistake too.

I use these el' cheapo plastic cups from wal mart that have graduated markings on the side. Easy clean up, when the resin dries bend the cup and it pops right out.

I usually mark the glass itself after I have layed my base layers. Don't know why really. It's just easier for my old eyes to see I guess //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[AllStar1500bd 5,000+ posts]

All dry, and I added another layer of fiberglass to the inside because I found a few air bubbles. It's better to do something right the first time rather than go back and re-do it!



A pic of our new mercedes 2.6L 190e. Was thinking about putting some kicks in there, so lets see my Explorer turns out first.

 

[Alpineinstaller 10+ year member]

its looking nice, im thinking about doing some kicks for my R's also

 

[AllStar1500bd 5,000+ posts]

I got to cutting with my dremel today. **** fiberglass cutting but (#542) cost me $15.97 at Lowe's!! Oh well, well worth it.



Got the dowel's in place and got the baffle braced (sorry too much in a hurry and forgot to take a pic of the bracing). A word of advice to people who have trouble with their dowels staying put: just drill a small hole in the back of the fiberglass mold and run a small screw or nail to hold the dowel in place while the glue dries. I just left my screws there, but you could probably also remove them. The screws will be "fleeced" over and will also be on the underside, so no real problems there. Just make sure the screw or nail isn't sticking out more than 2 screw-head lengths or else you may have problems getting the kicks to fit correctly in their housing in your car.

Next, I covered them in fleece. I know I could have cut the back more careful then I did, but this was really the best I could do.

 

[AllStar1500bd 5,000+ posts]

The panels are now fleeced over and fiberglassed. I should have taken better care of the making the back fit perfectly, because I am going to have a lot of sanding to do tomorrow when they dry. Time to get out the grinder...





I found a small hole in between the fleece and had to cover it with another layer of fiberglass.



Tomorrow I will be putting another layer of fiberglass on after I give it a light sand.

 

[req 5,000+ posts]

**** dude. i was gonna tell you, it would be a good idea to get the baffles as ROUNDED as you possibly could.

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif

 

[AllStar1500bd 5,000+ posts]

Lightly sanded, then added another layer of fiberglass

 

[DOHCrazy 10+ year member]

Why dont more people mold them into factory kicks?

Factory replacement kicks for my 95 tahoe were only ~$28 bucks, so if you mess up you dont lose much.

You have a nice car, on nice rims, with a very expensive system, why are you skimping out on the install?