Fiberglass Mat??

[95F150 10+ year member]

Ok guys, there is a portion on my lower door where the bottom door panel comes off, map pocket, etc. And I am going to fiberglass a piece for an 8" in each door. The base will be MDF and I will build from that.

Some tutorials use Fiberglass Mat, and some don't, in my case, the enclosure will be kind of small and would be real hard to get fiberglass mat on the inside of the fleece.

Is many many layers of resin on the fleece enough, or is fiberglass mat a must?

Thanks guys. Hopefully getting the subs in next week so I can start my project!

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[req 5,000+ posts]

no its not a must. the more curves there are mean the stronger it will be. honestly - for a midrange, you dont need it to be super strong, but i suggest getting as much resin on it [and inside it] as you can. what you do is coat the front with TONS of it first, let it dry, then pour a mixed batch of resin inside and 'twirl' the enclosure around so it coats the whole interior. there is usually a thin layer of non-soaked fleece on the inside that will act as another layer //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

but no, my speakerpods do have glass on the outside, but i used REAL thin material and i covered them so it didnt matter.

ive done pods that did NOT use glass because they were strong enough as is. if you do it right - you wont need to. just make sure and keep us posted with progress pictures //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[Buckshot 10+ year member]

I agree with req. It isn't always required, but it will never hurt. There's no reason that you would have to put the mat on the inside of the enclosure either... Mat can lay on the outside, over your fleece or whatever, but that just makes the surface less uniform and hard to finish.

Since these are for 8's I would probably add some mat anyways...

 

[ramos 5,000+ posts]

And I'll throw in a third opinion //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif I wouldn't use mat at all . Once your done resining the inside and outside. If it still flexes enough to make you want to add more strength. I would use some fiberglass cloth. It's very conforming, and quite easy to smooth over the exterior surface. Added plus is the fact it gives you a uniform surface to lay the filler on . //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[negativezeroz 5,000+ posts]

You can do it w/o mat at all. Mat was made a bigger mess than fleece with me.

 

[95F150 10+ year member]

And I'll throw in a third opinion //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif I wouldn't use mat at all . Once your done resining the inside and outside. If it still flexes enough to make you want to add more strength. I would use some fiberglass cloth. It's very conforming, and quite easy to smooth over the exterior surface. Added plus is the fact it gives you a uniform surface to lay the filler on . //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

I may try that! Its just that the mat looks to be so messy, and I have an OLD Select Products tape on how to make door panels, and he didn't use any at all.

Thanks for all the help guys!!!

 

[req 5,000+ posts]

well, lay the fleec\fabric on, and let it dry and see if its strong enough. you could always try and use fiberglass filler [fumed silicia or similar] to make it into a paste so you can scoop it with your hands and apply that to the inside for more strength.

but first see if its strong enough. and if its not - then figure somthing out, if it is, then dont worry about it, your finish [bodyfiller, ect] will smooth it out and strengthen it a little more [thats if you arent carpeting it].

honestly man, an 8 will have very little pressure behind it, and obviously the structure is non-load-bearing. so i wouldnt worry about it too much.