idiot 10+ year member
Senior VIP Member
So I'm having to replace my old speakers, and I decided to start by fabricating an a-pillar mount for my tweeters. Unfortunately, I started before reading about how it's not recommended to apply fiberglass or bondo directly to ABS plastic, so I'm going to ask at the end about how I might best try to prevent any possible splitting in the future. But pictures first:
I used 4" PVC as a tweeter mount, and positioned it by using bondo-glass to elevate one end of the PVC for a more on-axis aim. A little ghetto, I admit, but since I had to do all of this in the bedroom of the apartment I share using only a Dremel and sandpaper, I didn't want to go all-out with the fiberglass. Messy, yeah, but it worked. I want my garage back.
The toilet paper rolls are resting in the little Focal mounts from my old tweeters. I couldn't remove them without tearing them apart, so I just left 'em in place. Cute, aren't they?
Bondo applied after the PVC had been set and the bondo-glass had hardened.
First layer of Bondo applied to whole of a-pillars. There was a fairly deep texturing on the ABS, and I figured it would look weird if I painted and part of the pillar was smooth while the rest wasn't. This is sanded down with 100 grit paper.
I removed the residual bondo-glass from inside the PVC and cut a hole to accomodate the tweeter's depth. It's nasty, but no one will see it once mounted. It had been sanded with 220 grit by this photo.
The tweeter was wider than the PVC opening, so I routed the inside diameter to a depth of ~4mm so that the tweeters sit countersunk. I'm not sure how I'm going to secure them yet, since I can't screw directly into the PVC. I could either hot glue them from the backside or attach four small pieces of wood to the inside of the PVC and screw into those. Still rocking back and forth between those options.
I'll have to pick up the SEM primer and textured spraypaint to finish this off. I hope I can get it locally.
Anyway, now that you've seen what I'm working with, is there some way I can try and prevent the bondo/fiberglass from separating from my panels over time? I'm thinking that there might be some kind of glue/epoxy that I can apply on the inside of the hole I cut, where the PVC and fiberglass contact the plastic. Suggestions here would be appreciated.
I used 4" PVC as a tweeter mount, and positioned it by using bondo-glass to elevate one end of the PVC for a more on-axis aim. A little ghetto, I admit, but since I had to do all of this in the bedroom of the apartment I share using only a Dremel and sandpaper, I didn't want to go all-out with the fiberglass. Messy, yeah, but it worked. I want my garage back.
The toilet paper rolls are resting in the little Focal mounts from my old tweeters. I couldn't remove them without tearing them apart, so I just left 'em in place. Cute, aren't they?
Bondo applied after the PVC had been set and the bondo-glass had hardened.
First layer of Bondo applied to whole of a-pillars. There was a fairly deep texturing on the ABS, and I figured it would look weird if I painted and part of the pillar was smooth while the rest wasn't. This is sanded down with 100 grit paper.
I removed the residual bondo-glass from inside the PVC and cut a hole to accomodate the tweeter's depth. It's nasty, but no one will see it once mounted. It had been sanded with 220 grit by this photo.
The tweeter was wider than the PVC opening, so I routed the inside diameter to a depth of ~4mm so that the tweeters sit countersunk. I'm not sure how I'm going to secure them yet, since I can't screw directly into the PVC. I could either hot glue them from the backside or attach four small pieces of wood to the inside of the PVC and screw into those. Still rocking back and forth between those options.
I'll have to pick up the SEM primer and textured spraypaint to finish this off. I hope I can get it locally.
Anyway, now that you've seen what I'm working with, is there some way I can try and prevent the bondo/fiberglass from separating from my panels over time? I'm thinking that there might be some kind of glue/epoxy that I can apply on the inside of the hole I cut, where the PVC and fiberglass contact the plastic. Suggestions here would be appreciated.
