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DIY Custom Fiberglass Enclosure

37K views 149 replies 84 participants last post by  Usnvang 
#1 · (Edited)
DIY Custom Fiberglass Enclosure

A couple of people wanted me to make a write-up on how to make a Fiberglass Enclosure. Here you go…

Materials:

1 Gallon Fiberglass Resin W/ Hardener [Found This At Autozone, $33]
Bondo Filler [Autozone $14]
Sand Paper [Ace Hardware $3]
Dremel [Walmart $29]
Dremel Cutting Blades [Walmart $3.50]
Dremel Sanding Bit [Comes With Dremel Pack]
100 Plastic Cups [Dollar Store]
100 Latex Gloves [Dollar Store]
3M Glue [Walmart $8]
2 Yards Of Carpet [$4 Audio Store]
1 Yard Of Fleece [Walmart $3]
1 Ring For Your Subwoofer [Audio Store $10] Or you can make your own by buying a sheet at Home Depot for 5 bucks.
1 Flush Ring For Sub [Not sure price, probably the same as a reg. ring]
4 Yards Fiberglass Mat $16[Best to use the 2oz thick Mat] Real cheap at this websiteFiberglass Mat Link
20, 1" Painting Brushes [Walmart $10]
Aluminum Foil [Walmart $2]
2 Rolls Of Masking Tape [Walmart 1.50 ea]
Plastic Bags [Steal some from work, jk Walmart $3]
Glue Gun [Walmart $5]
Glue Sticks [Walmart $1]

Now that you have all your materials, we can begin our project.
First start off by masking the side you want to Fiberglass. I chose the left side. Here's what it looks like after it’s masked.





I have a trunk tray so it is a bit more work. My sub’s specs call for a 1.24 cub. ft. enclosure.
So I have to extend the masking over the trunk tray.
After you mask with tape, do the same with Aluminum Foil.







 
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#2 · (Edited)
Foiling continued...






After you’ve put the Aluminum Foil on, prep the rear by placing plastic around it. You don’t want to get any Resin on your car!!! Place plastic on the inside too.







You are ready to apply your first coat of Resin now that you have the plastic on the outside and the inside. It was my first time using Fiberglass Resin. Here’s how I measured my amounts of Resin and Hardener. The Resin is a thick liquid and it has a real strong odor. Please wear a mask while using this. And also have the latex gloves on while working with Resin. The Hardener is a water like liquid. It’s not thick. Here’s how I measured the amounts.

1. In a 16 oz plastic disposable cup I filled the cup halfway with Resin.
2. I poked a hole in the hardener tube and placed 15 drops in the cup filled with Resin.
3. Quickly mix it together with a plastic knife before the hardener starts to harden.
4. After you’ve mixed it together, you are ready to apply it to the Fiberglass Mat.



The way you apply the Resin to the Mat is with dabbing the brush at the Mat. Don’t brush it because the Mat will start to break apart. 4-5 half cups of Resin should be enough for 1 coat depending on how big you decide to make your enclosure. Mine took about 5-6 half cups. Cut the Mat in squares or
6X6 or however small you want. For large areas that don't have corners or edges you can cut the Mat bigger to kill that area off quicker.
Just hold the Mat against the Aluminum Foil and start applying the Resin. Be sure you don’t start to get bubbles. You’ll get the hang of it after the 1st or 2nd coat. BE PATIENT and do a good job or else it’ll come out bad. The 1st coat took like 5 hours to dry for me. The 2nd was less than that.

Here’s the 1st Fiberglass coat:




If you noticed that the Resin was getting hard quick while applying it to the Mat, then use less drops of Hardener. The more Hardener you use the quicker it will harden...so make sure you use just the right amount :thumbsup:
 
#3 ·
Here’s the 2nd coat: Notice how it looks darker.





After you’ve applied 2 coats and it’s got some strength, you can take the mold out of the car.



Here's the bottom of the box and where the trunk tray runs through:



I know I skipped a few coats when I had first done this project but here’s coat 5:

 
#4 · (Edited)
Here is the 7th Fiberglass coat: This can be your last coat or you can keep going as thick as you want. I chose this to be my last cause it was the thickness I wanted.





After you have applied your last coat of Resin/Mat, it is time to cut your Mold. I used a Dremel with some cutting wheels. After rounding the Mold you can take off the excess Aluminum Foil still attached to it.



 
#5 · (Edited)
Here's how it looks with the tray in place. And some shots of how it looks inside. The reason I have duct tape is because it's applying pressure to the bottom rods and the top rods so the glue can dry tight on there.








If you're going to flush your sub then place a ring ontop of another ring. This is what it looks like.
06CTtypeS I borrowed your picture :D



Once you have your ring made for your sub you can position it with the dowel rods. I got these rods from some small flags I found at the Dollar store. I just took the flag off and used the rods/sticks whatever you want to call it. Using your glue gun, place a lot of glue to make the rods hold in place.










After you’ve positioned your ring, you can now place the Fleece on. Pull it tight and glue it to the back or sides of the mold.



 
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#6 · (Edited)
After you have put the Fleece on, it’s time to add some Resin to make the Fleece stiff and strong. Mix the Resin and Hardener together again like before and just dab or brush it on the Fleece. The Fleece is going to absorb a lot of Resin. What you want to do is make sure you soak the entire Fleece with Resin. That means you have to apply it to the inside of the Fleece too. Yes, I know it’s going to be a PITA but you want it to come out very strong before you start applying Mat to the Fleece.

APPLY ONLY RESIN TO THE FLEECE. No Mat needed. You want to soak the Fleece as much as possible.

First coat of Resin on Fleece:



2nd coat of Resin on Fleece:







After you’ve soaked the Fleece real well with Resin you can start adding Mat to the outside of the Fleece. After every coat to the outside, place a coat or Mat and Resin to the inside part of the ring inside the enclosure for sturdiness. I noticed on mine that the inside part of ring was kind of loose so I had to add Mat to make it strong and keep it from caving in. Also, brush some resin on the inside edges of the enclosure too.
Here’s the 1st coat:





 
#7 ·
I put 7 coats of Mat on the Fleece too. Here’s the 7th coat. I know I skipped coats 2-6 but you know what to do. Same steps like you did to the mold. Just take your time and dab at the Mat instead of brushing.



After you have applied your last coat you can sand it down and test for fitment.











 
#8 ·
I cut a hole in the back of the enclosure for the connectors:





I sanded it down a bit around the ring area.




Once you have applied all the coats to the Fleece, you can start adding the Bondo Filler to the outside. This adds more strength and makes it easy to sand down for smoothness.
Bondo is real cool to work with. Just read the directions and apply to the enclosure.



 
#9 · (Edited)
After the Bondo hardens, sand it down to make it smooth. Then dust it off and start to carpet it. I got this carpet at Walmart but I really don’t like it. I went to the Audio shop a couple of days after I finished my box and got some speaker box carpet. It’s a bit more thinner than the one I have on now. Use the 3M glue and spray it on the enclosure and place the carpet on.







That’s it. You’re done.:laughing: :thumbsup: :laughing:
 
#12 ·
Freaking Awesome. I have a quick question, after you stretch the fleece, you said do two coats of resin to soak it, that means no mat, just the resin w/hardner right? Then after those two coats then use the mat or just on the inside or what?

And I think the question everyone is thinking..how does it sound? Does it hold up when you have it up? Any ratteling?
 
#15 ·
I will edit it right now. I meant apply the resin to the fleece only, no mat yet. After the two resin coats then you apply mat. I applied the Mat to the outside of the fleece.
 
#22 ·
Great job!
 
#24 ·
This is so cool! I might just have to try it and I couldn't care less about having a system in the car. But I would be proud of it if it came out as good as yours.
+rep:thumbsup:
 
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