To fibreglass, it is best to have a well ventilated and warm area. It stinks real bad (respirator is needed) and needs a warm environment to properly cure. To start, do some (actually lots) of research into materials and methods. Alot of the various car audio sites have forums for this topic. http://www.the12volt.com is one and I'm pretty sure this site has one as well (new member, so do not know for sure).
A good way to start and get an idea how to do this is to make a mold of something. Take your kick panel out of the vehicle. Cover the entire kick panel (front and back) with aluminum foil or a plastic bag, masking tape whatever. You need to make a solid but smooth barriere between the panel and your mold. Fibreglass and resin generally does not stick to plastic bags or masking tape, this is why you see it being used in the pictures that you saw. Get your fibreglass mat and cut it into smaller easy to work with pieces. Mix your resin with the appropriate catalyst (hardener). The more catalyst you use, the hotter (literally) the mixture will become, the tradeoff is you must work way faster. Once the resin has started to gel it is pretty much useless. A way hot mixture can gel in 1 minute. Not enough catalyst and the mold will not set up. Do not mix the resin/hardener in styrofoam or paper cups, it will eat right through. Mix it in a plastic pepsi bottle bottom or a tin can. Use rubber gloves. You will need acetone to clean things. Lay the first layer of matting over your covered panel, pour some mixed resin onto it. Spread it and force it into the matting with a paint brush, you will see the matting change color and start to weigh down against the panel. Work any air bubbles out towards the edge. Apply a second layer of mattting and work it into the first. Let the mold setup for 1/2 hr or more and then check on it's progress. It may be hot, but it should be solid enough to release from the panel.
It can be trimmed with a really sharp knife or a dremel tool. I would not try this on a car panel first, try it on a piece of wood or something else, remember that you are only going to work on one side and maybe the tops or bottoms where it bends around something, do not try and do the back at the same time. It is covered so that your mold does not (and it will if it not covered) adhere to it. Go give it a try but be ready for sticker shock when it comes to resin, acetone and all the other materials. And again, do lots of reading first.
A good way to start and get an idea how to do this is to make a mold of something. Take your kick panel out of the vehicle. Cover the entire kick panel (front and back) with aluminum foil or a plastic bag, masking tape whatever. You need to make a solid but smooth barriere between the panel and your mold. Fibreglass and resin generally does not stick to plastic bags or masking tape, this is why you see it being used in the pictures that you saw. Get your fibreglass mat and cut it into smaller easy to work with pieces. Mix your resin with the appropriate catalyst (hardener). The more catalyst you use, the hotter (literally) the mixture will become, the tradeoff is you must work way faster. Once the resin has started to gel it is pretty much useless. A way hot mixture can gel in 1 minute. Not enough catalyst and the mold will not set up. Do not mix the resin/hardener in styrofoam or paper cups, it will eat right through. Mix it in a plastic pepsi bottle bottom or a tin can. Use rubber gloves. You will need acetone to clean things. Lay the first layer of matting over your covered panel, pour some mixed resin onto it. Spread it and force it into the matting with a paint brush, you will see the matting change color and start to weigh down against the panel. Work any air bubbles out towards the edge. Apply a second layer of mattting and work it into the first. Let the mold setup for 1/2 hr or more and then check on it's progress. It may be hot, but it should be solid enough to release from the panel.
It can be trimmed with a really sharp knife or a dremel tool. I would not try this on a car panel first, try it on a piece of wood or something else, remember that you are only going to work on one side and maybe the tops or bottoms where it bends around something, do not try and do the back at the same time. It is covered so that your mold does not (and it will if it not covered) adhere to it. Go give it a try but be ready for sticker shock when it comes to resin, acetone and all the other materials. And again, do lots of reading first.
