khaosman said:
Looks nice! Can you explain the process of making it? And progress pics would be awesome. I want to make one of these
I was going to do progress pics but the battery on my camerra was messed up and i did not want ot wait....
The prossess...
First off if you dont have patients.... do not try this....
Second if you have never done any kind of molding... Read up on it.
First i removed the bezel.
Snaped off the top molding around the sterring wheel and then removed the two screws on the top of the bezel. Then you just grab the bottom of the bezel and firmly pull back.
Then i got me some pods. Anything from almost any kind of a-pillar will work.
I chopped them up and cut them flush with the front of the pod about half way up the gauge opening.
Then i measured the pods up and cut the bezel were i was going to mount the pods.... this does not have to be perfect but should be close.
I then used a good solid apoxy and fused them all together. After the apoxy dried.... (about 5 minutes) i applyed a thin coat around the outside of the pod.
Here comes the time consuming part.... I took bondo and applyed a light coat around all the seams.... let it dry (about 30 minutes if you mixed it correctly) and sanded it smooth. Wipe the access and did it another 6 times. I sanded with 80 grit paper.... i then took 180 grit and "feather edged the bondo" This is simply making the bondo flush with the surface and smooths it out.
I then let it set for a day and applyed 3 coats of primer and 7 coats of paint.
Its kinda hard to instruct this in words... but this is one way to do it... some peeps use fiberglass and only use the bondo for minor shapping.... i only do this for car audio stuff. The bezel will not hit any major stress levels like a sound system does... The most impotant thing is measure and then measure again.. If you mess up the bondo part it can be fixed easily... The cuts canot and a new bezel from mazda is well over $100.
I would tinker with the bondo for a while so you know how it spreads and you get an idea of how Quickly it starts to cure.... In about 4 minutes it becomes almost unworkable.
I would do this for peeps but i cant see doing it for cheap. But you cant beat the look of this kind of pod.
Good luck and feel free to PM me with any questions....
