Fiberglassing door panels

[VisceralSound 10+ year member]

So I figured this could count as an "enclosure" for my speakers I'll add to my door panels, but I'm thinking about fiberglassing my door panels if I don't like the idea of just cutting the plastic on the door to fit an 8 or so inch woofer in the door.

What are good brands of fiber glassing materials to buy? I will need everything for it, resin, sheets, etc etc.

I'm not thinking anything too fancy but just to make it look fairly nice?

*bad description is bad*

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[mlstrass 5,000+ posts]

bondo brand stuff works just fine as I used that for my first 2-3 sets of door panels. Now I can get Everlast locally, so that's what I use and it is a little easier to work with and not much more $$$.

 

[fasfocus00 5,000+ posts]

resin - boat supply store

mat - boat supply store

cheap paint brushes - harbor freight

lite weight filler - paint supply store, brand evercoat (i use there entry level stuff, everyone is probably gonna recommend Rage Gold which is good but it's like $70/gallon)

fleece or stretching material - walmart throw blanket can be had for like $5

sand paper - home depot or lowes, you'll need 80, 120, and maybe 200 if you're painting the surface

 

[VisceralSound 10+ year member]

I'm thinking of running to my local junk yard once I have money again and picking up 2 sets of front doors and using them as my mules if anything. How hard is it to put the say fabric or leather/leather alike on a door panel yourself?

 

[fasfocus00 5,000+ posts]

I'm thinking of running to my local junk yard once I have money again and picking up 2 sets of front doors and using them as my mules if anything. How hard is it to put the say fabric or leather/leather alike on a door panel yourself?

you don't need to do that just take a small sheet of wood and make that a template, it's easier cheaper and quicker to learn with.

 

[VisceralSound 10+ year member]

you don't need to do that just take a small sheet of wood and make that a template, it's easier cheaper and quicker to learn with.

Regardless of how dumb he is, would looking at Steve Medes way of doing his door fiber classing be a decent reference point? Like what you were saying with the wood etc.

 

[fasfocus00 5,000+ posts]

Regardless of how dumb he is, would looking at Steve Medes way of doing his door fiber classing be a decent reference point? Like what you were saying with the wood etc.

i'm actually not a SMD hater. i've only seen a little bit of his videos of glass work. if i were you i'd mock up a door panel similar to an older truck door panel and play around with angles and mounting. don't know what kind of tools you have but a router, templates, circle jig, etc... and a few others will be needed.

 

[mlstrass 5,000+ posts]

Hot glue gun for attaching spacers for the baffle and when wrapping the fabric.

fiberglassforums has a lot of good info...

 

[Mitch86 5,000+ posts]

Check out fiberglassforums and do your research. Its really not that hard if you have SOME ability to work with your hand and do the little bit of woodwork. It can be time consuming though. If you can get a few door panels cheap to practice on, go that route...hell they may turn out good and you can use them and save your stock panels incase you sell the car or whatever. Bondo brand is fine for smaller pods but if you're going all out I would use a higher quality resin and filler.

 

[VisceralSound 10+ year member]

Check out fiberglassforums and do your research. Its really not that hard if you have SOME ability to work with your hand and do the little bit of woodwork. It can be time consuming though. If you can get a few door panels cheap to practice on, go that route...hell they may turn out good and you can use them and save your stock panels incase you sell the car or whatever. Bondo brand is fine for smaller pods but if you're going all out I would use a higher quality resin and filler.

Exactly what I was thinking, alright I'll check out the forums thanks.

 

[Moble Enclosurs 10+ year member]

my vehicle is a year newer than yours, so they might have the same door construction. So, regarding that, I will let you know that the depth in those doors are pretty limited, so make sure your components are around a 3 inch depth and not much more if possible. So, if you are thinking 8s, try some shallow guitar style drivers....they will work very well for that with the included high sensitivity as well. Just some thoughts because I am in the process of doing mine right now also. Hit me up with any questions regarding limitations that I have encountered so far. They may help in visualizing a design pattern to use. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif