hey every one.
I saw a neet method on overhalin for making speaker enclosures... of corse they make it look easy on tv when professionals are doing it... but i wish to learn how to make my own. I love and hate shows like overhaling, american hot rod, american chopper ect.. because they give me ideas and a list of stuff i want to try...
ok so this method;
the person used medium density fiber bord to create the rings that will act as the speaker mounts and platforms for amps. he then made risers to elevate and angle the speaker and amp. he then mounted the risers to a common base.
he then used regular cloth (not fiberglass cloth) soaked in fiberglass resin. he streched it over his mounts and staple gunned it all around the edges .

now the part that I hate about shows like this... they didnt show how he finnished it.

I assume he pulled a couple of thin coats of filler over it and then sanded and continued that untill it was smoothed to his likeing, then painted.

has any one made there own speaker boxes like this?
am I on the right track with this method or line of thinking when it comes to finnishing?
this seems like a good method to me because all the curves and lines are flowing and natural.. I would be worried that the resin and just one layer of cloth would be to weak to support itself. and my second consern is that when the bass gets pumping the body filler will chip off.

well lemme know if any one has tried to make there own, what has worked, what hasent, and if you see a good write up please let me know.

 

Check out www.selectproducts.com they sell videos that will show you the whole process. They also sell all the supplies you need. You should also google "Fiberglass speaker boxes" and similar headings.

 

$50+ per video what a ripp...
maby if i cant find any write up or any one that knows about this.

 

http://web.njit.edu/~cas1383/proj/main/


that is where I learned to do mine, not that hard but I read where some people say it took them about a month to do and I said eh, I can do mine in a weekends, and a month later I finished it.

 

looks like my type of supplies

 

yeah I personally drink Rolling Rock, but the bucket is if you have too much to drink, haha or just dont feel like going to the bathroom for a pee break.

 

yeah im more of a pabst man my self..
this is a great resorce!!! thank you so very much.

 

well guys, im trying it out...
here is what i did so far.. i am trying to make an enclosure that fits on the back deck (behind the rear seats) that houses the stock speakers and my cd changer.
I first took the deck cardboard and wraped it in tinfoil then laid 3 layers of fiberglass over that for a base. then i made mdf rings for the changer and speakers. well, from there you guys know what the write up sez...
well my expearences so far.. the only issues i have had so far is the hot glue was not strong enough to hold up the 'wet' cloth the cd changer colapsed so i had to rigg something up so it is not the greatest but it looks decent. and I did the first parts of the project at night when the temp was only around 80degreese. when i tried to lay glass in the day time (temps up to 95 degrees and less humid) the resin jelled way too quick and i wasted 1 full can of resin ($12 a can) trying to get the mix right... I cut it down to 6 drops of hardener per oz. resin and it seemed to work just fine. ...
so where it sits now is i cut out the bottem of the deck board i made and am laying glass on the inside and am now ready to do all the sanding and smoothing (I plan on painting it)..
Even if it turns out like poop I will still post picture of it so you all can laugh but the theorys and every thing in the write up have been working out so far (except for that stupid hot glue)
first pic is of the board i made for a base
second is what it looks like in place (i dig the pattern cloth i found!!)
pic of it in place from the outside
the last one is of the inside.

 

well looks good, you have way too much patience (atleast more than me) I tried to do the putty thing and sanding it to make it smooth but man I just wanted some music back in my ride so I just carpeted it. looks good, keep it up.

 

yeah i know that feeling. I just re-installed the speakers and intirror while i work on this.. i might just set up my changer temprarly in my trunk because im itching to see if my XA-300 Aux-in selector works like i think it will, just untill i finish the box...

the box is looking great except one side of the cd changer... when the supports broke i had to rigg it till it dried, well i must have done it unevin because there are some deep wrinkles on the one side... so im just going to glass over them to smooth them out a bit before i start mudding it. ..

 

well i walked away from it for a bit because i was annoyed about the wrinkled section.. i solved the issue by laying and hot gluing more fabric to the back, pulling that tight and then putting resin on it ... seemed to work well.
I started to use some body filler but mixed it wrong and it dried too quick.... so i will pick up more on my way home tonight and get the first layer of 'mud' on it take some pics and post em.. I hope this looks good when im done.. I already have over $150 invested!!

 

got it smoothed out (best i could) and i got some paint on it... what do ya think?
it looks all lop sided in these pics!!
all thats left to do is clean it, clear coat the poop out of it then start the wet sanding.

 

Its finished but it looks like crap and I dont have the time or desire to try to fix it.. I didnt spend enough time in the priming and sanding stage so there are still some lumps and warps... maby one day i will fix it and get a good paint job on it but not any time soon ... but it is made and it is a good process to use.. im pleased that i could make it but discouraged that i tried to rush it at the end and it fell appart because of it.

 

Good effort, you just picked a more difficult project to be your first. Here's a quick "step by step" of a sub enclosure I'm working on. Haven't had time to finish it though. https://www.i-club.com/forums/stereo-security-70/little-weekend-fiberglassing-fun-102797/. To finish something in paint, expect painful hours of sanding, especially if doing it by hand. Also did you use any hi build primer after you finished sanding?

Dre

 

I think my down fall was i did not color sand things between coats... i looked at it the other day and got sick at the faliure... I went to the store to see what i could find to help out... I found this krilon wrinkle finish I sprayed it with that and it did a wonderfull job at hiding the inperfections and looks great now...
I used a "filling" primer after all my putty work... i sprayed the primer sanded it, sprayed it again then shot a mist coat of black to see my low spots then sanded again... i should have done it one, maby 2 more times..