hai.

Tomorrow im gonna try and start to fibreglass up another parcel shelf, this time i know what im doing (i.e. using a proper material in the first place not super thin cotton sheeting..)

Now i want to incorperate a nice centrepiece.
Im thinking a TUFFTR logo in LED form
Im houseing two 6x9's on a sloped angle but this time its going to ge the WHOLE shelf not just a speaker box of sorts.

Anyone have some photos or ideas of a centrepiece thats pretty easy to do?
Im keen to be inspired and i just havent seen anything so far..

these guys will have everything u need to know or want and then some!!

http://www.fiberglassforums.com/

lots of projects to look thruogh:cool:

yeah mate, i saw you posted that site up earlier and i had a look though it and couldnt beilve some of the stuff they do, like the guy making his civic? into a widebody, absoltly awesome.
its inspired me to do this shelf and also make a rear lip when time permits.
Ill have another look though there mate, thanks

Heres my parcel shelf 4 my centre piece i have a rear centre speaker.

Hehe i wasnt thinking that dramatic though!

I might just stick with putting the 2 speakers in on a nice angle.

Also, did you make a mould of the actuall carpet parcel shelf first and then attach this custom bit to the FG bottom half?

i'm goin to be doin some fg work in the near future, just wondering what you use to make the mold of what your goin to fibreglass and where you can get it from?

i'm goin to be doin some fg work in the near future, just wondering what you use to make the mold of what your goin to fibreglass and where you can get it from?

You make a basic shape out of MDF, stretch Thick fleece across that, and basically just paint the resin misture over that till it drys rock hard.

I made the stupid mistake of adding FG to it and it made the whole job more well crap. The first mistake i did was using a thin cotton sheet instead of thick fleece to absord the resin.

u could just make a mold of the shelf and build off that that way u can return it back to stock. just remove the shelf and take ur time to maske it up with paper masking tape. then use some spray glue all over and put a layer or 2 of foil down. now use some cooking spray like real ease so the mlod will come off quicker. lay down 1 layer of fiber glass matt and wet it out with resign but only enoungh to saturate it no more. once hardened give it a rough sand and lay down say 2 more layers then once that cures gently take it off. air presure works best but a small crew driver around the edge with care will work.
once u have ur mold u can set up the sekleton for the speakers. now fleece is not the best cause it tends to sag when it cure ( dosen't hold the shape well) something polyester like licra (bs, very strechy without much give) or go to a fabric shop and see what they've got. u can even use old shirts if u want. if u want to save prep time soak the material in resign but don't put fiber glass on the outside cause it's like twice the prep, u can build it up from the inside for strenght , that way all u need to do is lightly sand the outside and skim with filler then sand smooth. but for all the tips /short cuts and time savers check out the site i put up. they have a write up for just about every question u have trust me just read through the site:D

Cheers for that mate:D
I'll check out that site now for a good material to use.
And like i said, thats the mistake i made last time, layered FG on the outside, which was stupid but i used cotton as the material, well, we live and learn ey!

cotton is fine for streching over the speaker skeleton but is very brittle thats why u need to re-enforce it on the inside before doing anything to it. don't worry my first project was a disaster then i found that site and haven't had a problem yet:D but the first thing i did wrong was buy a fg kit from bunnings. and the resign and hardener (diggers the brand) is very average and the time it takes to harden isn't very consistant , it all went lumpy before i could finish. so i went to a fg specialist and bought it in bulk, also there resign is alot better quailty and that makes all the difference:shock: don't worry if u buy it in bulk cos once u get the hang of it u start to see more things that u want to make with it, trust me it very addictive cos u can take a mold off anything and or add and modify any exsisting part. sandings not fun and allways wear a mask when sanding fiber glass dust will cut up the inside of ur lungs bad!! anyhow just get to it and u'll start to see what i mean by addictive, now im gonna make a fish pond for something different than fg on cars:cool:

In Melbourne best place i've found for GRP supplies is
Solid Solutions
19 Ardena Court
East Bentleigh
Vic.
ph # 03 9579 2044
I've been a customer 10+ years, Glass Cloth, Matt and Tissue by the metre or part there of.
If making a mould Glass tissue gives the bast surface, or if covering MDF 6/10th oz cloth gives good results.
When using Polyester resins with Glass or fabric the secret is only enough resin to wet the cloth/glass, any excess than this makes it brittle and prone to cracks or breaks.
Cheers Damien.

Thanks for that smooth! Shame i just came back from bunnings with a kilo of that resin:doubt:

I'll try and start something soon, just been knackered lately.
Ive got a great idea in my head which is gonna incorporate some LED's behind some perspex so im gonna stick to that.
Found some flannelette bedsheets so im gonna use those, they seem thick enough.

Off the top of your head smooth....would 1 kilo of this stuff be enough to make a WHOLe parcel shelf?
Also what kind of prices do you pay for resin?

']Thanks for that smooth! Shame i just came back from bunnings with a kilo of that resin:doubt:

I'll try and start something soon, just been knackered lately.
Ive got a great idea in my head which is gonna incorporate some LED's behind some perspex so im gonna stick to that.
Found some flannelette bedsheets so im gonna use those, they seem thick enough.

Off the top of your head smooth....would 1 kilo of this stuff be enough to make a WHOLe parcel shelf?
Also what kind of prices do you pay for resin?


being the first project and learning as u go u might not have enough.depends if u intend to make the base fg or use the original shelf. buy some acetone (bs) cause it cleans up any spills and make ur brushes last longer( dissolves the resign). another tip is cut the bristles (bs) of the brush buy half will make it stiffer and easyer to push out the air bubbles. also buy a good flexible container (like a plastic paint mixing tub, solvent proof so it doesn't melt) to mix in , so if there's any left over res u can squeese the container and the res will fall out instead of wasting acetone on cleaning it out. just do small areas at a time untill ur confident on the mixing ratio's. and if it starts to set to fast don't try to slap it all on or u'll get big lumps that will be a pain to sand and it will premote air bubles. so if it sets to fast just throw it out and start again, but if u do it in smaller amounts u won't waste much. if u do run out it's no biggy , just wait for it to harden then hit it with 36 grit paper so the next layer will stick to it. the bunnings stuff is ok just take ur time with it. as for price on bulk stuff , well that will vary on how big the place is and where is austraila u buy it. u'd be looking a twice the amount than what bunning sell it for but the reuslts are worth it.:D if uve got anymore question just ask and i'll answer them the best i can:cool:

I did some yellow pagesing but all the FG stores are ages away.
I just quickly slapped together a FG base and now its drying out in the sun, Ill give it 30 minutes to see how it turns out, Ill just be using that as the base.
Covered it in sticky tape, then foil, sprayed cooking oil on it and then FG'd on top of that.
Its an expensive hobby which is why i just wanna stick with small projects.
Well, at least ive started it
Also sound deadnened the rear parecel shelf while everything was out

Any material can be used for a stretch mold, but the stretchier it is the better. You can use thin stuff, you just need to put a few very light coats to get it firm instead of going thick first causing it to sag, when it can hold its shape, start with the matting, 1 litre will not be enough for this job, I would buy a 4 ltr tub to start. I get 20L tubs of poly resin from Fiberglass International for $100 inc delivered, that a trade price but generally they are cheapest in Australia hands down.

Damn, I'll look elsewhere for the resin then. Think i paid $26 for a litre from bunnings.
I have some old bed sheets as they are thickER but you recommend using strechy stuff? like spandex and the like? if thats the best option ill do that then!

']Damn, I'll look elsewhere for the resin then. Think i paid $26 for a litre from bunnings.
I have some old bed sheets as they are thickER but you recommend using strechy stuff? like spandex and the like? if thats the best option ill do that then!


im sure u can find some spandex stuff in ur closet paul

im sure u can find some spandex stuff in ur closet paul

Your probably wearing it now :badgrin:

No dont use Spandex, need to use a polyester/cotton fibre base. Go to spotlight, go to the material roll section and look for anything with elastic in the name. It would be labeled something like "cotton/polyester fabric 20% Elastan". Its about $8 a meter and should be able to easy stretch to double length.

Thanks for the tip biggs
Any more input on this material debate from other members?

no probs,

I think you should consider having a polished coloured finish with same colour as your car as apposed to carpet. You can do this using a mix of body filler mixed with resin, you brush it on like paint and can be sanded back smooth with with wet&dry then paint with polish or gloss. Comes out shmick.

Like this picture...

http://bigs.omfg.net.au/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/panelesdeaerio29.jpg

Ahhhh is this this "milkshake" ive been hearing about?
I was planning on painting it gloss black becuase of my perspex panel im going to incorporate

So with this, is it sort of like an all in one coat? where you can just lather this on, sand it back (more easily then the resin itself) and go from there?

Yes, I use 'Rage Gold' by Evercoat, its primary ingredient is resin, but it adds alot of other stuff to make it easy to sand and get super smooth that normal resin cant do. It will also stick to almost anything... bare metals even. The reason why you mix with more resin is mainly to increase the volume which reduces the cost it also helps to bond with the pure resin undercoat. There is no set ratio, I wouldn't go over the 50/50 mark, you must use the rage gold hardener and the resin hardener.

so let me get this right.
after i have my basic mould done, i mix half Body filler (any hardener?) and half resin (any catylyst?) and just layer it on?

if its that simple, thats good cause i have 3kg of body filler lol

hardener and catalyst is same thing. They differ in content for body filler and resins, so you need to apply the right amounts of both. After the basic mold, you need to lay matting with the resin, about 3-5 layers. I would apply a layer of cloth over the matting layers to smooth everything out a bit. after the matt/cloth strength layers you can make a 'milkshake' which give it a very smooth finish after sanding. If you still have holes or cracks, use an oil based high build primer or spray putty in an aerosol and sand that back. The trick is to get the surface flawless before paint, otherwise the cracks/pin holes will stick out like dogs balls on the final product.

Ah ok, so its um not a good idea to just use the basic mould as the final thing?
im sure ive seen somewhere someone making a set of speaker pods and all he did was when he made his basic shape, he just bogged that up and that was it....hmm

sorry for late reply, if you mean just applying coats of resin, with no matting or cloth then no. Its not fiberglass without the woven material, this is what give it its strength and shape holding. Without the matt it will be like a hard plastic, bends, warps and cracks if struck with a hard object. You must buy some matting, fiberglass international sell all diff sizes, you will need a light material, 200-300g matting... a few meters. If you have more Qs pm or msn me, if you ring FI they are always happy to give advice to nubs.

Well the centre logo idea has gone down the crapper. CBF'd :)

So far this is how it looks, spent 4+ hours sanding + bogging this today
Ive still got to figure out this milkshake thingy to smooth out the top coat, its about 95% smooth now but pin pricks galore, might just attack it with some spray putty tomorrow.

anyway, what ya's think?
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/dodgeviper89/Parcelshelf.jpg
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/dodgeviper89/number2.jpg
Tomorrow ill be doing some finishing touches, dont think i'll get a chance to apply color to it but yeah its starting to look real good and im freeken over the moon with it.

was was going to cover it, tried carpet AND vynal and both looked like crap mainly cause it was so curvy so i ripped it off and decided to paint it

Not bad Pauline... not bad at all.

Looks real nice :thumbsup:
It'd look better just painted (than carpet, etc.) anyway. Smooth shiney paint would give it the more custom look.
Will be interesting to see (hear) how the speakers sound now that their angled forward too.

Looks real nice :thumbsup:
It'd look better just painted (than carpet, etc.) anyway. Smooth shiney paint would give it the more custom look.
Will be interesting to see (hear) how the speakers sound now that their angled forward too.

Ive had them angled forward before on my first attempt at a parcel shelf piece, im taking alot more care in this one to make sure its 100% how i want it.
They sound so much better being angled forward....i really love it

This is using a direct mould of the original parcel shelf so this slots straight in :)

any thoughts on making some more of these and selling them. coz id be interested.

good work.

Looks pretty good so far nigga!

Make your next F/g mod, some A pillar mounts... :P Coz u aint gettin mine. lol

Btw, i beat you... mines back on the road! :P

Btw, i beat you... mines back on the road! :P

was there ever any doubt? :bowrofl:

any thoughts on making some more of these and selling them. coz id be interested.

good work.

Its cost me like $200 and taken 8 months
No chance :P
Thanks Fhilly...
tomorrow it'll be getting a good dose of spray putty me thinks :P

'] good dose

Not too much Doseing now uleh.

great thread

this might sound stupid but when i did some fibreglassing last the job turned out "hairy" is that because i didn't put enough resin on? or was i using the wrong matting?

great thread

this might sound stupid but when i did some fibreglassing last the job turned out "hairy" is that because i didn't put enough resin on? or was i using the wrong matting?

hairy?
probably using the cross strand weave stuff, did you sand it back and bog it all up?

**** man, as if your stereo ain't loud enough when the speakers are pointing up!! :bowrofl:

That looks mint as!

off topic, but to all those in doubt, paul's JBL 6x9 and subbie combination works brilliantly, I've heard a few people have knocked the idea of that style setup, but let me tell you it works bloody well, for those in the car and around it in a radius of say 3km lol

can i ask why you used a stretchy material instead of fibre glass matting and laid that over your parcel shelf for a mould?

can i ask why you used a stretchy material instead of fibre glass matting and laid that over your parcel shelf for a mould?

I didnt?
I wrapped the parcel shelf in foil and spray oil and then layed about 4 layers of FG matting down, once that was completly dry i started building this, used some spacers and some spare MDF i had laying around to get the speakers on the angle i wanted, then put a bedsheet on and covered that in resin, when that was dry i put on 2 layers of FG matting.

Shouldnt of used a bedsheet as when resin was applied it sunk and as such Mr.Body filler came into play:cool:

']I didnt?
I wrapped the parcel shelf in foil and spray oil and then layed about 4 layers of FG matting down, once that was completly dry i started building this, used some spacers and some spare MDF i had laying around to get the speakers on the angle i wanted, then put a bedsheet on and covered that in resin, when that was dry i put on 2 layers of FG matting.

Shouldnt of used a bedsheet as when resin was applied it sunk and as such Mr.Body filler came into play:cool:

Has your sister realised theres no sheets on her bed yet? lol

Has your sister realised theres no sheets on her bed yet? lol
Dude they share the same bed anyway :bowrofl:

Dude they share the same bed anyway :bowrofl:

:bowrofl:

And its a 'single' sized bed?

:bowrofl:

And its a 'single' sized bed?
cut him some slack guys its a king sized single

cut him some slack guys its a king sized single

LOL!!

Its gonna be an itchy night tonight... without bed sheets they'll have to sleep on leftover fibreglass matting.

cut him some slack guys its a king sized single

lolz i do have a king single....no incest though, sorry luke :P

Just spent another 4 hours fine sanding it down so its absolutly smooth, just a few more bumps i have to cover and she should be ready for painting.
so far gone through 2 cans of primer, 2 cans of spray putty, and ill sure as hell be going through more then 2 cans of color and clear coat :P

so it will be done by the end of the week :D
Giggity

Well its finished and looks freeken awesome.
some of the paint splattered and i didnt wetsand it down for some reason so after all that *** sanding i still have an odd lump..
ill get pics up soon :D

Well here it is.
30+ hours of sanding + 10 months of "I'll do it later cause its a big job" all up for this.
Got it PERFECTLY smooth for painting and somehow i missed sanding down some of the paint splatter :redface: So, now there are a few lumps here and there.
Overall, already had one person see it and they fell in love with it.
which is rewarding i guess.
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/dodgeviper89/hh.jpg
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/dodgeviper89/hhh.jpg
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/dodgeviper89/hhhhh.jpg
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a52/dodgeviper89/hhhhhhh.jpg

Comments welcome

looks awesome, pretty soon you wont be able to see out of your back window :P

looks awesome, pretty soon you wont be able to see out of your back window :P

Gotta get me some rear fluffy dice:2cool: hehehe

I think that was the last part of your car to be customized! lol

Looks insane man, can't wait to see it in person, and hear the difference! That'd act sort of like a box wouldn't it? Would that make the sound better or worse?

That's a pretty sweet job there man! I have a question about the resin stuff you used. I went to Bunnings today to evaluate expenditure if I wanted to fibreglass some speaker pods, I guess you got the Diggers 1kg tin from bunnings. Did that come with a catalyst, or did you get that seperate, cause I couldn't find seperate catalyst anywhere, and the label on the tin wasn't helping, and it was that, or a $50 kit thing that had everything.

looks pretty smik though have you got a pic of it from the back window wouldn't mind seeing how it looks at the corner of the shelf and window

all in all pretty darn good

That's a pretty sweet job there man! I have a question about the resin stuff you used. I went to Bunnings today to evaluate expenditure if I wanted to fibreglass some speaker pods, I guess you got the Diggers 1kg tin from bunnings. Did that come with a catalyst, or did you get that seperate, cause I couldn't find seperate catalyst anywhere, and the label on the tin wasn't helping, and it was that, or a $50 kit thing that had everything.
try a fibreglassing shop

Yeah you have to buy the resin seperatly.
for some door pods though you'll only need about a litre or two

looks good man!
30hrs of sanding!!

nice work

next up, custom body kit..:cool:


..for me

lets see 30hrs @ $20ph = $600 + materials......

shoulda just paid someone to do it lol

need better looking speakers in there too!


top effort though looks good, I'd be wayyyyyy to lazy to do that lol 30hrs.... OMG lol

lets see 30hrs @ $20ph = $600 + materials......

shoulda just paid someone to do it lol

need better looking speakers in there too!


top effort though looks good, I'd be wayyyyyy to lazy to do that lol 30hrs.... OMG lol

pauls time is not worth $20n hr

unless he is doing his carlisle street rounds :2cool:

pauls time is not worth $20n hr

unless he is doing his carlisle street rounds :2cool:

lol fag.

Nah i love those speakers, no need to change them. I wanna change my fronts to some basic Focal or Hertz's though...
yeah about 30hrs spread over 10 months lol

Looks unreal! Sooooo smooth...but I could never be bothered with that!
Howd you hold it in place?

Looks good Paul.
Do the speakers at least have grilles/covers?

Dare I say it looks like cleavage?:eh:

Dare I say it looks like cleavage?:eh:Oh great!
Why'd you have to go & say that.
Now Tuffy will like it even more and they'll all want one. :P

Oh great!
Why'd you have to go & say that.
Now Tuffy will like it even more and they'll all want one. :P

hehehehe
Since its a direct mould of the shelf it just slots in as the old one did, weights a good 5-6kg so its not moving anywhere anytime soon.
yeah only boobies ill be seeing for a while so i made sure they came out good

dude that looks ****ing fantastic
good job on making it smooth cos if there's one thing i hate seeing is a half assed fibreglass job
very bloody well done :clap:

looking good tufftr.