Regal Doorpod Glassin' (pics)

[EFFENDI 0]

Well, this Monday I started my first ever fiberglass project. I am making doorpods for my DLS 6.3 3-way component set.

I started the back half fiberglass enclosures. These will be part of the the sealed enclosure for the midbass. I utilized the factory 5.25" mounting cup, and filled it to create half of a sealed enclosure. This mount/enclosure used to bolt to the sheetmetal of the door, and the plastic doorpanel is mounted in front of it. Since this mount is being replaced with the rear fiberglass enclosure, I am guaranteed a perfect fit, dont have to cut any sheetmetal, eliminate depth concerns, and will seriously increase the imaging, depth, etc..

I removed the OEM speaker grilles from the doorpanels, the rear half of the fiberglass enclosure will be portruding through these holes, thtough to the surface of the doorpanel, where the baffle will be glassed/molded into both the rear half fiberglass enclosure and the surface of te doorpanel itself. In the end the midbasses will be completely sealed, and the finished product will look as OEM as possible. The actual MDF speaker mounting baffle, which will hold the midbass and the 3" midrange will actually be in front of the plastic doorpanel, and the surface of it will be glassed, and molded. Basically, this is the least intrusive, but most tedious and hardest way to attack this. More pics located here.

*note

Those OEM grilles in the doorpanels probably throw off the mental picture you will get. The baffles will actually be mounted parallel to the bottom ledge in the doorpanel, the midbass closer to the firewall. They will also be pointed up at an agle vs. firing at my ankles. I will take another pic and update tomorrow with the cardboard templates I made showing what the mounting will look like.

Keep in mind that this is my FIRST EVER fiberglass project. I read a lot of tutorials, so I think I got most everything down pat. The mat I have is pretty thick, and I had a hard time getting it to lie flat around some of the edges. I will probably lay down another layer tomorrow...then cut my baffles out (you can see the preliminary design lined ou on that sheet of MDF in the background in some of the pics) and then blend this enclosure to the baffle with more glass.

[Supa_c 1]

Resin= pure rankage !

Foo didnt even have a heart and did it where i was studying

[jntar 15]

Looks good man. Really good for your first time. Keep the pics coming

You know how us big brothers are, we do anything just to piss you off cause we know....you wont do chit

[req 0]

can you explain how you are going to connect the front\back? and are you going to remove the stock grille?

and will your DLS (6.5 AND 4's?) fit under there?

[ngsm13 1]

USE MORE RESIN!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHH!!!!

Lol, but for real, take the strips....DIP THEM in the resin...completely submerse them! The drag them against the edge of the container to get the excess off...then lay down. You shouldn't be able to see the fibers at all

But yeah...I like how people are seeing the light...and going with the "add-ons" that protrude into the door panel! It's the correct way to go, and adds volume!

Oh and remember, enlcosures that are sealed and TOO small are worse for mid-bass than IB

NG

[CBFryman 2]

noah, stfu...

submersing is a pain in the ass for noobs with mat, it does nothing but make a mess, just make the next few layres a lot more saturated and you will be fine.

but what you should have done to make them confom better is frayed the edges of the pieces after cutting them...this makes mat conform to tight crevices and intricate surfaces a lot better.

also, get some smaller pain brushes dude, for small projects i like the hobby paint brushes, they come in like 50 packs, or the little ones for cleaning computers or applying cleaning solutions, its easy for me to obtain thoes because my dad owns a computer business.

and also, trim the hairs back a little bit, it makes dabbing a lot easier. and you can also use a little square of balsa wood to scoop resin and spread it or drizzle it. it also works well for body filler, actually its what you have to have for bdy filler when working on small projects.

other than that they look great, keep us updated with lots of pics.

[EFFENDI 0]

Thanks for the dipping tip ngsm13, I might try that next time. I did tear the strips, and cut back the frayed edges, it made things very messy, and I didnt really like doing it thwat way. I am sure that the reason they stand up like that is because the angle was so sharp, and the pieces weren't saturated. As you can probably tell, a lot of the resin dripped down into the bottom (which is not really a bad thing).

I started out by laying the strips down, inside the hole, then just globbing the resin on them with a 1" brush (which worked fine, I dont need smaller brushes). I had too much hardener the first batch, so the resin that was on the brush was slightly lifting the strips up as I went along. I just worked as quickly as possible, and everything except those edges taht portrude over the edge laid flat. I thinned out my resin with some acetone for the second encl. and it went very easily. Like I said, getting those edges to lay flat on the edge was very difficult, but my main focus was to get the bottom and sides well sealed. The stuff that is hanging out from the edges will be cut off, and I'll probably do another layer today, then I'll cut my baffles and glass these enclosures to the back of them.

These enclosures arent too small. The reccomended enclosure size is 0.4 to 0.9 LITER (not cubic feet). These alone are enough, although I should gain some more volume from the second half (you'll see)

req, they are going to be attached to the front section by fiberglass, but executing that will be another challenge . I may have to get crazy with some dowelling on the surface of the doorpanel to get the angles that I want. But for now, I am just going to mount these little enclosures to the back of the doorpanel, and glass through the opening of those OEM grilles. I took the grilles off already, and I will get some more pics for you guys tonight. The 4" and midbass are going to be in front of the doorpanel, not behind it. Its so hard to explain without images. I made some mock-up cardboard templates and Ill take some pics of the plans tonight.

Hopefully everything turns out the way I want. This seems to be the best way to do it, but I am open to suggestions.

[Tirefryr 1,742]

I disagree with soaking. Too much resin will do nothing but weaken the structure. USe the brush and you're fine. I think so far, the project is excellent work for your first time. Looks to me as if you've done it before, so keep it up.

[CBFryman 2]

too much resin yes, but he could use a bit more there. too little and its ecen more weak. soaking and letting the excess drizle IS the best way to insure 100% total saturation but it is also a pain in the ass and can become messy.

[EFFENDI 0]

Note that I said "I might" try Noah's suggestion .

I like the way I did it. I probably wont do it a different way not that I found the groove. I have a pretty good attention to detail, and all the strips got a thorough globbing of fiberglass. The way I did it seems to me to make the most sense, and it was very easy for my first flirt with 'glass.

I may try dipping for the second segment from the enclosure through the doorpanel. We shall see....

But seriously thanks, to everyone. Knowing that I did a good job gives me a lot more confidence...I could glass all day if it wasnt for all the toxins!

[EFFENDI 0]

too much resin yes, but he could use a bit more there.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Where?

[req 0]

you know what, id suggest NOT glassing to the door panel.

tape the front of the panel off, remove the fiberglass pod thingies from the plastic structure thing (if you can - but not really a biggie) and glass over the tape on the door. then connect this (through the hole where the speaker grille was) to the back 'cup' you just made. pop that out, layer it up a bit more - trim it out, then stretch some thin cloth over your baffle. mount to the door with some rivets thru the back of the panel, and also to the frame using the factory locations for the speaker (if you can) and install your door panel back on

this way, if you ever get rid of it, there are only a few rivet holes left on the door, rather than an entire door pod.

[chinny 0]

keep it up man

[Supa_c 1]

REQ, were not that dumb

I thought of that a LONG time ago

[CBFryman 2]

Like noah said, fibers shouldnt be that easily seen, it should be almost completely transparent.

BTW, how old is that resin, it looks sort of brownish like it was begining to age. old resin dosent soak as well as brand new stuff...

[EFFENDI 0]

I dont see much fiber.....not that I'm making an excuse (this is my first glassin' project) but I think the flash exaggerated everything.

Yea the resin was sitting for a while..... I'll probably pick up some fresh supplies this Friday.

Thanks for the tips!

[EFFENDI 0]

UPDATE:

Did some patching on the thinner areas of the enclosures, and started masking out the doorpanel. Hopefully this gives everyone a better picture (literally) of what direction this project is going in. The taping took me 2 hours!!

Enjoy..

[Acidburn 10]

lookin sweet man

git r done!

[ngsm13 1]

Enough pictures of TAPE, I wanna see more glassin!

Also CB, if you ever tell me to STFU...I'm gonna have to hunt your little punk ass down and beat you over the head with my 18XXX...and then smash your skull in with my 15DP

NG

[ngsm13 1]

Also, I never said "soak them" and keep the dripping with massive amounts of resin. I did my pods two layers of mat at a time...dipped each on both sides...then put them together...then layed them down. No bubbles, REAL quick..and STRONG as hell. A 240 pound man can literally stand on my pods...and jump!

Just saying use a "good amount" of resin, glad you said you might take me up on that offer

NG

[CBFryman 2]

Noah...STFU

INTERNET FIGHT...AHHHHHHHHH

[KickinAudio 5]

lookin good, i need to do some one day

[dennisp 0]

Enough pictures of TAPE, I wanna see more glassin!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

lol exactly what i was thinking.

nice work so far isaac. lil elias helping you?

[Supa_c 1]

Nope, he can do it all

[Supa_c 1]

Nah, i just dont want to use your nasty mask