berlinas2k2
12-08-2009, 08:14 AM
So where do ya start... well first thing your going to need is a list of materials and tools you'll need, its kind of a longer list but a complete one:
1. Stitched weave fiberglass or at least tight weave - (stitched weave is much better than the crap at HD or Loews)
2. Mold fabric 7 oz MICRO
3. Fiberglass 4mm Filler mat
4. Polyester grade fiberglass risen
5. Mold release wax <- Very important!!
6. 1/2 inch MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard)
7. Black OEM hot glue (Clear will work if you don't have black)
8. Wood screws 1"
9. Rage Gold bondo or Lightweight bondo (Metal glaze is also great!)
10. Acetone (to remove the fiberglass off the roller)
11. 2 part glue (something very fast acting les than 20sec set time, I recommend
Select products Speed Glue and activator 10 sec)
12. Box of rubber/plastic gloves!! (or you'll be pealing the skin of your hand for about a month)
13. High build primer (gray)(high build primer will fill in all the little pin holes you get in the bondo)
14. Paint or Vinyl for finish
Tools:
1. 10 cheapo 2" Wal-Mart brushes... roughly .29ea. type of thing.
2. Painters tape 2' wide (the blue stuff because it�s not that sticky but seals up to itself pretty good)
3. Cheapo mixing cups (Quart size for the fiberglass risen mixing)
4. Sandpaper from 60 grit up to 1000 grit
5. Glue gun (small but must hold 3/8" OEM glue sticks)
6. A router table is a good idea but you can do it without it. Just buy the ring for the sub.
7. Fiskers to cut the fiberglass... this stuff will dull out regular scissors in like 5 minutes... get the Fiskers.
8. Bondo spreaders 3 pack
9. Sharpie's... never enough http://www.s2ki.com/stor/forumshtml/emoticons/wink.gif
10. Painters mixing sticks... for mixing the risen.
11. Fiberglass roller.(this helps remove bubbles from the fiberglass mat once you brush the resin onto the mat)
12. Dremel/die grinder with cut off wheel. You'll need it trust me, as well as a lot of thick cut-off wheels
13. Breathing mask with replaceable filters (resin will give you one hell of a headache and fiberglass will cut up your insides)
14. Small air nail gun would be good but you can get away without it.
15. Bondo shaver
16. Power/Air hand sander is very helpful but not needed as you can do it by hand but it takes forever http://www.s2ki.com/stor/forumshtml/emoticons/wink.gif
Ok Let's get started:
While working with fiberglass you should try to keep the workshop/area temperature at least 60+ degrees, for the resin to dry properly so it's not sticky.
1. You can use a few different things to make a mold of the trunk well. My personal favorite is painters tape right on the carpet. (You can also use tinfoil sealed with tape, both will work) I used both together in these pictures just to be safe) You should overlap the tape by half. So lay the first piece of tape and the next piece should cover it with the next piece laying piece halfway over the first and so on until the entire well including the top lip and about 6inches all the way around is totally covered. Then do the exact same thing but going parallel to the first set. Once you have 2 full over lapping sets of tape. Next thing you MUST do is put 2-3 coats of mold release wax. Put it on nice and heavy.
2. Next thing I want you to do is cut a nice size section of the stitched fiberglass mat so that you can lay inside the tool well. Take a large section of fiberglass and place it inside the well and cut it so it sits flat and smooth inside the well like this:
http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp29/berlinas2k3/other/d717dac0.jpg
Ok once you have the mat cut to fit without it being bunched up (it should be fairly smooth looking) in the well, you're now ready to mix your first batch of fiberglass resin.
FULLY TAPE OFF AND COVER THE REST OF THE TRUNK AND CAR NOW TO PROTECT IT
3. Mix a small batch of risen and hardener, about half a quart or so. Warning if you mix too much hardener into the risen at once it is possible for it to catch fire and or melt the cup... so be careful the stuff can get very hot. Follow the direction of the manufacturer.
Once mixed, brush the resin onto the mat. Starting at the top edge, because it's going to run down the sides and it will want to pool at the bottom. So continue to do this mixing more resin until the mat is completely soaked all the way through. Work fast pal... http://www.s2ki.com/stor/forumshtml/emoticons/wink.gif Once you've done this your going to have to let it setup nice and hard.
4. While the risen is hardening up you can go ahead and make the ring for the sub if you didn't buy one to fit.
http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp29/berlinas2k3/other/3243d63a.jpg
5.Next you can also start to either draw or at least envision what you have in mind for the box. In this case we decided to make the box ported this time and to also add a "cap holder" into the box...
6. Once the box bottom is dry you need to stiffen it up to make it strong. The best way is to use a 4mm fiberglass filler mat that will suck up a large amount of resin and make it very strong and thick. Now with this mat you really should have an extra set of hands because your going to need someone to mix the resin while you spread it onto the mat. Now you'll need to cut the mat into strips BEFORE you start mixing the resin. You should cut them into strips as long as you can to make it stiffer. Fill in the spaces with smaller sections but you really should fill it in as best as you can. You can soak them in the resin and then lay the strips into the shell of the box, keeping them as close as possible so in the end it will look as if you laid another layer of thick layer of fiberglass down.
Sorry I don't have a picture of this... I deleted it by mistake
7. Once that is dry, lay another section of stitched weave fiberglass mat over the filler mat just like you did in the section 2. This will complete the bottom section of the box.
Let it fully dry between each section; overnight is usually good; remember 60'+ temp
8. Ok so at this point the box bottom should be fully dry and very stiff. Its now time to remove it from the car. This is how you do it, grab the back of the box closest to the gas tank/spare tire well and pull up towards the rear bumper. You kinda have to rotate it out because the inside section under the trunk latch is indented so you can't just pull it straight up and out, so you must pull from the back of the box. Once you pull it out... and it will be kind of a pain, it should look something like this (the inside of my box is painted black)
http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp29/berlinas2k3/other/8692e57b.jpg
Do not trim the top just yet. I know you want to but don't do it just yet. You need to decide what your box is going to look like in the end. However this should be done already. You need to make 2 MDF rings to go on the inside of the base. This will do a few things. 1 keep the shape of the box accurately shaped to the well and 2 it helps to keep the box stiff and adds strength and gives you something to shape to.
Here are a few pictures of the process:
http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp29/berlinas2k3/other/2c2cc20b.jpg
http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp29/berlinas2k3/other/6936b3bf.jpg
http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp29/berlinas2k3/other/6936b3bf.jpg
http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp29/berlinas2k3/other/d2d87cc9.jpg
http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp29/berlinas2k3/other/78d0f10d.jpg
http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp29/berlinas2k3/other/0e61b3d1.jpg
As you can see this box is a little complex but you can see the process. But you need to be able to brace the sub ring up in whatever shape/style you'd like. Ok once you have the box ring the right size you can now cut the extra fiberglass off around the top of the box at whatever height your comfortable with. You do this using a Dremel or a die grinder. Once you've cut the extra off the box your left with just the base which has been cut to fit, with a dual MDF ring that fits inside the fiberglass base, the fit should be snug. If it's a little to big don't cut it down to size, sand it down to the right size it's safer that way. Once you have the right size screw them together using woodscrews dipped in hot glue. (don't forget to drill the holes for the screws so as not to crack the ring), then secure it using the OEM hot glue Glue the ring in place with the second ring above the edge of the base. Once you've glued it in place, place the box back into the trunk well to make sure you're happy with the it and double check to make sure it still fits, and that its level and stuff like that. Once that's done remove it again, mix up a batch of resin again and resin the ring in place mostly on the underside of the ring. Let it dry.
9. Alright by this point you've made the base, made the MDF rings to stiffen it up, glued them in and resined them in place, you've checked the height of the box in the trunk well and your happy with it. Next you're going to make a few 'supports' for the sub ring to sit on. you can see the ones in the pictures above, so you get the idea. They should be glued in place and once you put the sub ring on it should be fairly stiff. You should not be able to wiggle it back and forth. Reason is if you can when you go to wrap it might break. You'll see what I mean soon enough.
1. Stitched weave fiberglass or at least tight weave - (stitched weave is much better than the crap at HD or Loews)
2. Mold fabric 7 oz MICRO
3. Fiberglass 4mm Filler mat
4. Polyester grade fiberglass risen
5. Mold release wax <- Very important!!
6. 1/2 inch MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard)
7. Black OEM hot glue (Clear will work if you don't have black)
8. Wood screws 1"
9. Rage Gold bondo or Lightweight bondo (Metal glaze is also great!)
10. Acetone (to remove the fiberglass off the roller)
11. 2 part glue (something very fast acting les than 20sec set time, I recommend
Select products Speed Glue and activator 10 sec)
12. Box of rubber/plastic gloves!! (or you'll be pealing the skin of your hand for about a month)
13. High build primer (gray)(high build primer will fill in all the little pin holes you get in the bondo)
14. Paint or Vinyl for finish
Tools:
1. 10 cheapo 2" Wal-Mart brushes... roughly .29ea. type of thing.
2. Painters tape 2' wide (the blue stuff because it�s not that sticky but seals up to itself pretty good)
3. Cheapo mixing cups (Quart size for the fiberglass risen mixing)
4. Sandpaper from 60 grit up to 1000 grit
5. Glue gun (small but must hold 3/8" OEM glue sticks)
6. A router table is a good idea but you can do it without it. Just buy the ring for the sub.
7. Fiskers to cut the fiberglass... this stuff will dull out regular scissors in like 5 minutes... get the Fiskers.
8. Bondo spreaders 3 pack
9. Sharpie's... never enough http://www.s2ki.com/stor/forumshtml/emoticons/wink.gif
10. Painters mixing sticks... for mixing the risen.
11. Fiberglass roller.(this helps remove bubbles from the fiberglass mat once you brush the resin onto the mat)
12. Dremel/die grinder with cut off wheel. You'll need it trust me, as well as a lot of thick cut-off wheels
13. Breathing mask with replaceable filters (resin will give you one hell of a headache and fiberglass will cut up your insides)
14. Small air nail gun would be good but you can get away without it.
15. Bondo shaver
16. Power/Air hand sander is very helpful but not needed as you can do it by hand but it takes forever http://www.s2ki.com/stor/forumshtml/emoticons/wink.gif
Ok Let's get started:
While working with fiberglass you should try to keep the workshop/area temperature at least 60+ degrees, for the resin to dry properly so it's not sticky.
1. You can use a few different things to make a mold of the trunk well. My personal favorite is painters tape right on the carpet. (You can also use tinfoil sealed with tape, both will work) I used both together in these pictures just to be safe) You should overlap the tape by half. So lay the first piece of tape and the next piece should cover it with the next piece laying piece halfway over the first and so on until the entire well including the top lip and about 6inches all the way around is totally covered. Then do the exact same thing but going parallel to the first set. Once you have 2 full over lapping sets of tape. Next thing you MUST do is put 2-3 coats of mold release wax. Put it on nice and heavy.
2. Next thing I want you to do is cut a nice size section of the stitched fiberglass mat so that you can lay inside the tool well. Take a large section of fiberglass and place it inside the well and cut it so it sits flat and smooth inside the well like this:
http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp29/berlinas2k3/other/d717dac0.jpg
Ok once you have the mat cut to fit without it being bunched up (it should be fairly smooth looking) in the well, you're now ready to mix your first batch of fiberglass resin.
FULLY TAPE OFF AND COVER THE REST OF THE TRUNK AND CAR NOW TO PROTECT IT
3. Mix a small batch of risen and hardener, about half a quart or so. Warning if you mix too much hardener into the risen at once it is possible for it to catch fire and or melt the cup... so be careful the stuff can get very hot. Follow the direction of the manufacturer.
Once mixed, brush the resin onto the mat. Starting at the top edge, because it's going to run down the sides and it will want to pool at the bottom. So continue to do this mixing more resin until the mat is completely soaked all the way through. Work fast pal... http://www.s2ki.com/stor/forumshtml/emoticons/wink.gif Once you've done this your going to have to let it setup nice and hard.
4. While the risen is hardening up you can go ahead and make the ring for the sub if you didn't buy one to fit.
http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp29/berlinas2k3/other/3243d63a.jpg
5.Next you can also start to either draw or at least envision what you have in mind for the box. In this case we decided to make the box ported this time and to also add a "cap holder" into the box...
6. Once the box bottom is dry you need to stiffen it up to make it strong. The best way is to use a 4mm fiberglass filler mat that will suck up a large amount of resin and make it very strong and thick. Now with this mat you really should have an extra set of hands because your going to need someone to mix the resin while you spread it onto the mat. Now you'll need to cut the mat into strips BEFORE you start mixing the resin. You should cut them into strips as long as you can to make it stiffer. Fill in the spaces with smaller sections but you really should fill it in as best as you can. You can soak them in the resin and then lay the strips into the shell of the box, keeping them as close as possible so in the end it will look as if you laid another layer of thick layer of fiberglass down.
Sorry I don't have a picture of this... I deleted it by mistake
7. Once that is dry, lay another section of stitched weave fiberglass mat over the filler mat just like you did in the section 2. This will complete the bottom section of the box.
Let it fully dry between each section; overnight is usually good; remember 60'+ temp
8. Ok so at this point the box bottom should be fully dry and very stiff. Its now time to remove it from the car. This is how you do it, grab the back of the box closest to the gas tank/spare tire well and pull up towards the rear bumper. You kinda have to rotate it out because the inside section under the trunk latch is indented so you can't just pull it straight up and out, so you must pull from the back of the box. Once you pull it out... and it will be kind of a pain, it should look something like this (the inside of my box is painted black)
http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp29/berlinas2k3/other/8692e57b.jpg
Do not trim the top just yet. I know you want to but don't do it just yet. You need to decide what your box is going to look like in the end. However this should be done already. You need to make 2 MDF rings to go on the inside of the base. This will do a few things. 1 keep the shape of the box accurately shaped to the well and 2 it helps to keep the box stiff and adds strength and gives you something to shape to.
Here are a few pictures of the process:
http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp29/berlinas2k3/other/2c2cc20b.jpg
http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp29/berlinas2k3/other/6936b3bf.jpg
http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp29/berlinas2k3/other/6936b3bf.jpg
http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp29/berlinas2k3/other/d2d87cc9.jpg
http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp29/berlinas2k3/other/78d0f10d.jpg
http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp29/berlinas2k3/other/0e61b3d1.jpg
As you can see this box is a little complex but you can see the process. But you need to be able to brace the sub ring up in whatever shape/style you'd like. Ok once you have the box ring the right size you can now cut the extra fiberglass off around the top of the box at whatever height your comfortable with. You do this using a Dremel or a die grinder. Once you've cut the extra off the box your left with just the base which has been cut to fit, with a dual MDF ring that fits inside the fiberglass base, the fit should be snug. If it's a little to big don't cut it down to size, sand it down to the right size it's safer that way. Once you have the right size screw them together using woodscrews dipped in hot glue. (don't forget to drill the holes for the screws so as not to crack the ring), then secure it using the OEM hot glue Glue the ring in place with the second ring above the edge of the base. Once you've glued it in place, place the box back into the trunk well to make sure you're happy with the it and double check to make sure it still fits, and that its level and stuff like that. Once that's done remove it again, mix up a batch of resin again and resin the ring in place mostly on the underside of the ring. Let it dry.
9. Alright by this point you've made the base, made the MDF rings to stiffen it up, glued them in and resined them in place, you've checked the height of the box in the trunk well and your happy with it. Next you're going to make a few 'supports' for the sub ring to sit on. you can see the ones in the pictures above, so you get the idea. They should be glued in place and once you put the sub ring on it should be fairly stiff. You should not be able to wiggle it back and forth. Reason is if you can when you go to wrap it might break. You'll see what I mean soon enough.