Fiberglassing..

[Dpwhitehead1]

I don't know if you guys know how, but I want to do a custom fiberglass enclosure. I want it in the rear deck of the sedan. from the top (holding the speakers out) coming down to where the rear seat WOULD be. and adding 2 10" woofers behind there.

in the trunk, i want 2 12" woofers, and complete fiberglass.


the quesiton is, how much would something like this cost.

 

[neoturner]

Post this in the car audio section. Chyler has a pic of his setup that looks identical to what you have.

As far as cost goes the sky is the limit. Raw material. you can cet a 2ftx4ft pice of mdf at HD for like 6 bucks. Fiberglass gallon bout 40, mat 10, brushes 6, safety gear 15, hardware 15, paint/covering 15, adhesive 10, sanding crap 15.

It can be done. lots of how to's out there but you are in the wrong section.

 

[chuyler1]

Mixing subwoofer sizes is a big no-no. If you want something show-y then I'd just stick with the two 10" subwoofers and build a box with a plexyglass back panel so you can open the trunk and see the backs of them.

Glassing the entire back of your car is a huge project and I would not recommend doing it yourself unless you have years of experience with that sort of thing. There is tons of planning involved to make sure the fiberglass piece sits flush, has a nice curve, and can be removed for maintenance.

Instead of fiberglassing everything, why don't you focus on a smaller project, like a fiberglass front face that fits flush with the pass through hole. The photo below is a competition Protege I saw at Spring Break Nationals in Daytona Beach last month...

Here is what the back looks like...

Instead of putting the amp on the back of the box, you could have a plexy window looking inside the box.

 

[neoturner]

God that is retarded. Every time I see that I want to kick my fiberglass to the curb. Chuyler I wonder how many times I have spelled your name wrong now.

 

[Dpwhitehead1]

Mixing subwoofer sizes is a big no-no. If you want something show-y then I'd just stick with the two 10" subwoofers and build a box with a plexyglass back panel so you can open the trunk and see the backs of them.

Glassing the entire back of your car is a huge project and I would not recommend doing it yourself unless you have years of experience with that sort of thing. There is tons of planning involved to make sure the fiberglass piece sits flush, has a nice curve, and can be removed for maintenance.

Instead of fiberglassing everything, why don't you focus on a smaller project, like a fiberglass front face that fits flush with the pass through hole. The photo below is a competition Protege I saw at Spring Break Nationals in Daytona Beach last month...

Here is what the back looks like...

Instead of putting the amp on the back of the box, you could have a plexy window looking inside the box.

that looks good. what would something like that cost to get glassed? I really like that setup.

 

[neoturner]

Are you trying to compete?

If not it is going to cost you an assload of money to get somebody to do a custom job like that. You could spend a lot less and get the same function.

 

[Dpwhitehead1]

Are you trying to compete?

If not it is going to cost you an assload of money to get somebody to do a custom job like that. You could spend a lot less and get the same function.

compete in car shows...yes. but I'm also going to have an assload of power added for the motor. currently that is where it is, the tuning shop. personally, I just wanted it to look good for my own self. I really had a great idea. just had no idea of cost.

 

[neoturner]

I think you can make something look good without going as far as he did. You can make the pannel out of mdf and find a way to secure it back there and that is low cost. if you like where it is then it's not a big deal to add some contours with fiberglass. if you are trying to get those results with fiberglass alone I think that is a bit ambitious.

I built an amp rack above the back seats to hide those away and i am going to just build a cover and glass it up but all the structure is bolts and wood. Build the illusion.

 

[neoturner]

Oh yeah and that paint job is nothing to look over either. Fiberglass looks nothing like that when you build something. It takes a lot of time and patience to get that thing smooth. Then there is the whole painting thing that I have been working on for 6 months and finally getting comfortable with.

Not to discourage at all I'm just letting you know that it is a huge undertaking. All the advice is good but untill you fuckup you never really understand why the advice was given.

 

[chuyler1]

This is just a wild guess but you are probably talking at least $3-7K in just labor. The box alone (without anything in the trunk) would probaby run about $500-1000.

You obviously can't get this kind of work done at BestBuy, Circuit City, or any other retail chain. You have to go to a custom stereo shop and you have to make sure they have done this kind of work before. If they have, they will have a photo album for you to look through showcasing previous installs. If what you want is above and beyond what they have done in the past...go somewhere else.

Now if you intend to do the work yourself, expect it to take a very long time. Competition quality installs like the one posted often take months to complete start to finish.

 

[Dpwhitehead1]

Oh yeah and that paint job is nothing to look over either. Fiberglass looks nothing like that when you build something. It takes a lot of time and patience to get that thing smooth. Then there is the whole painting thing that I have been working on for 6 months and finally getting comfortable with.

Not to discourage at all I'm just letting you know that it is a huge undertaking. All the advice is good but untill you fuckup you never really understand why the advice was given.

OH i completely agree w/ the advice. I appreciate you guys helping out. I've never glassed, nor would i really think to try it. I wanted to know if anyone would be up for trying to do it. and how much time/cash would it cost for someone like you guys to do it.

ORRR come up w/ an alternative, WHICH i maybe doing with the MDF or w/e... I just want it all to look perfect. ya know?

 

[chuyler1]

Oh yeah and that paint job is nothing to look over either. Fiberglass looks nothing like that when you build something.It takes a lot of time and patience to get that thing smooth. Then there is the whole painting thing that I have been working on for 6 months and finally getting comfortable with.

Fiberglassing for begginers takes a very long time and lots of hours. As you get better you learn how to reduce the time it takes to create amazing painted panels. But they don't come out like that over night.

To build a show quality system, you need the skills of an
electrical engineer,
a mechanic,
an apolsterer,
a body shop technician,
a painter,
a carpenter,
and an acoustical engineer.

Most people spend a lifetime getting good at one of those trades...a competition installer has to be good at all of them!

 

[neoturner]

Well if you pay somebody to do it I would imagine it would be at least a few hundred bucks on the low end.

My advice is to mess around with it, read up, google it. Lots of step by step stuff. The technical side of it isn't that bad, it's the execution. but you can fiberglass something as a test for less than 30 bucks. See what it does and what it looks like. Read up on the safety thought. it's not something to take lightly. Fumes are harmfull even the first time. Test it outside and get a disposable resperator at HD with goggles if you are going to sand or cut. I came pretty close to what I was shooting for the first time I did it. Pics attached.

Most enclosures have MDF in them as it is so that is why I am saying if you build that you have the structure. Then you can wrap it, build some baffles (tons of pics of those on the forum) See if you like it. Even if you get close the cost for somebody to finish something like that would be a whole lot less than from scratch.

Pics for rear deck enclosures:

pic1: building the mold
pic2: layout expected
pic3: built enclosure - 1 layer not sanded or anything but after you get the structrue the rest is pretty straight forward.

 

[bazooka joe]

This is just a wild guess but you are probably talking at least $3-7K in just labor. The box alone (without anything in the trunk) would probaby run about $500-1000.

You obviously can't get this kind of work done at BestBuy, Circuit City, or any other retail chain. You have to go to a custom stereo shop and you have to make sure they have done this kind of work before. If they have, they will have a photo album for you to look through showcasing previous installs. If what you want is above and beyond what they have done in the past...go somewhere else.

Now if you intend to do the work yourself, expect it to take a very long time. Competition quality installs like the one posted often take months to complete start to finish.

ya, just ask chris!!

 

[Dpwhitehead1]

Well if you pay somebody to do it I would imagine it would be at least a few hundred bucks on the low end.

My advice is to mess around with it, read up, google it. Lots of step by step stuff. The technical side of it isn't that bad, it's the execution. but you can fiberglass something as a test for less than 30 bucks. See what it does and what it looks like. Read up on the safety thought. it's not something to take lightly. Fumes are harmfull even the first time. Test it outside and get a disposable resperator at HD with goggles if you are going to sand or cut. I came pretty close to what I was shooting for the first time I did it. Pics attached.

Most enclosures have MDF in them as it is so that is why I am saying if you build that you have the structure. Then you can wrap it, build some baffles (tons of pics of those on the forum) See if you like it. Even if you get close the cost for somebody to finish something like that would be a whole lot less than from scratch.

i didn't see any pictures....

 

[neoturner]

added

 

[Dpwhitehead1]

Well if you pay somebody to do it I would imagine it would be at least a few hundred bucks on the low end.

My advice is to mess around with it, read up, google it. Lots of step by step stuff. The technical side of it isn't that bad, it's the execution. but you can fiberglass something as a test for less than 30 bucks. See what it does and what it looks like. Read up on the safety thought. it's not something to take lightly. Fumes are harmfull even the first time. Test it outside and get a disposable resperator at HD with goggles if you are going to sand or cut. I came pretty close to what I was shooting for the first time I did it. Pics attached.

Most enclosures have MDF in them as it is so that is why I am saying if you build that you have the structure. Then you can wrap it, build some baffles (tons of pics of those on the forum) See if you like it. Even if you get close the cost for somebody to finish something like that would be a whole lot less than from scratch.

Pics for rear deck enclosures:

pic1: building the mold
pic2: layout expected
pic3: built enclosure - 1 layer not sanded or anything but after you get the structrue the rest is pretty straight forward.

yea see that's something that I was talking about..something that I would want. I wanted the 2 rear deck speakers pointed like yours, the whole deck glassed, and glassed following down the deck.(i was taking out the rear seats, and putting 2 racing seats in its place) behind each seat would be one 10 inch woofer....so if you get that idea....??

 

[neoturner]

Find a way to secure the subs in that hole behind the seats and have enough room for whatever seat setup you want. build it with mdf, even if you get rid of mdf and go full fiberglass you will save a lot of time and effort and money figuring out the logistics with mdf.

I think you are going to want two seporate pieces cause it is going to be almost impossible to install as one piece. The rear deck has to be lifted up to be taken out and if you have one piece flowing all the way down I don't even know how you get that into the car. It's that kinda crap that you don't think of until you actually are working with the dimensions and templates and all that. Cardboard is another cheap way to map s*** out.

Spend most of your time on design and working that out and you will spend a lot less time on fabrication and stress.