Redneck and audio

LittleCar_w/12s

I am looking to make a fiberglass enclosure for my db12's. If any of you have a few tips on what the best way to do that is let me know. I have used fiberglass for bodywork, etc, but not familiar withhow to build a full enclosure... 2 parts then glass together? use chicken wire to form?? I need help here.

Also.. I carry toolbox everywhere, but does anyone have a good idea how to make it look ok or fit in to a custom install it's not too big, but when you own a 15 year old car....
The car is a small hatchback, '88 Pontiac lemans for any car people.

hmm... now if I could only get my BBQ pit in next to the subs....

sntnsupermen131

i have no idea, someone else might, but i dont, why fiberglass though?
im not a big fan
-Cody

sntnsupermen131

as far as a toolbox cover thing...plywood box measured out to the size of the toolbox, carpeted with the same color as the interior...put it against a wall?
as far as the bbq pit...
u can get a trailer hitch for your car and build a custom bbq pit that connects to the hitch:D
ive seen a bbq pit like that on a truck b4
-Cody

LittleCar_w/12s

Well the reason i am lookin into fiberglass is the shape of my trunk. I built a plan for it using wood, and after it's all done the time it would take would be rediculous..
Now imagine a rectangle that is very small..(cpmpact hatchback).. now poke the two sides in because the shocks have large wells in the trunk..
the trunk is about 36" x 24" at the bottom and b/c of the seat the top is only about 20" deep.. Theres plenty of room to work with.. but it's wrapped around those shock wells.the widest area behind and in front of the wells is about 46".. plenty of volume hiding in there...
I want to mount my db12's on the sides, rear-firing, and facing slightly center.... and I want the amp in the middle of them.. w/plexiglass cover. While i could fit a simple q-logic box in.. i want to use the best available space, and have the amp front-and-center... not to mention the spare tire is underneath all this.. so the box needs to have a u-shape to get it out...
Nothing more embarrasing then a great car broke down cause you traded usefullness for audio..

Thanks for any help you have.. oh, and i am looking into the trailer thing.. maybe a ice-chest on it too..? make a great beach-trailer

sntnsupermen131

if u make it out of plexi glass...stuff it with poly fill...fiberglass is very reflective...not good
-Cody

LittleCar_w/12s

hmm. that's a good point Cody. What if I glued a layer of that white liner padding that's about an inch thick to the inside when I am glassing it? I see it used inside home-speaker cabinets on the large flat surfaces.

Any recomendation on what a good brand of glass would be for this? Think bondo-glass would work? It is easy to get. I don't know of a place to find extra-wide mesh though. 6" is not hard to find, maybe a 12" roll or so?

Thanks for help.
- Jerry

sntnsupermen131

as far as what kind of glass...i really dont know...
but yeah, that padding should work
ive also heard egg crate foam or padding or whatever it is works very well
where you get it...i have no idea
-Cody

MATTKNIGHT3

I've done a couple of of fiberglass enclosure, and loves all of them. This is not something to do unless you have a lot of free time to samd and shape. Usually some part of the enclosure is going to be made of MDF (usually the bottom) and from there you use peices of wood to support you speaker rings. (which are also made from wood) From here you would use your fabric and stretch it out from the bottom of the enclosure and around your mounting rings. I use material bought from the local wal-mart. Its cheap and stretchy kinda like spandex. What you use doesnt really matter as long as you can stretch it, its all gonna get covered anyhow. From here you use fiberglass resin and coat the fabric completely. Repeat this step four times or so until you have a strong shell. Now you sand your enclosure and move on to the body filler. Used the body filler as you did the resin, and sand until the desired shape and finish is acheived. This is a really basic write up, didnt include information about mixing the resin or the bondo. I can tell you though, the resin/hardener mixture will make or break your enclosure. Too much hardener and the resin dries too fast making the enclosure brittle. You can see what the brings with it... Anyhow, its a long process but rewarding when finished. I know you guys are polk freaks like I am, but for a pictoral on the process you should check out Alpines web site. From there you go to demo vehicles, and a little browsing will get you to the specific car, I believe its an Acura... All of my other info came from a google search on "Fiberglass enclosures", those write ups will net you more specific advice. I truly doubt this forum wants me to get indepth and do a ful write up on this topic. Unless you love making the enclosures it can be really dry and boring when talking about mixing ratios and what not. Hope this helps a little. Oh, you may also want to search on enclosure volumes, as there are a few different routes you can take for determining volume of an irregular shaped enclosure. The real fun begins when you try to make the enclosure perfect to subwoofer. It becomes a balancing act of size, appearance and accoustics. Good luck!!

Matt-

MATTKNIGHT3

Thought I could clarify further... If you do use fiberglass make sure you dont use the "kitty hair" junk. That stuff is a mess and hard to work with. What you want to use is fiberglass resin, and you can apply it with a paint brush. As far as I know brands arent that different, they are all about the same... As for the reflecting, I havent had an issue with any of my enclosures, granted I usually use about five coats of resin before I even start layering the body filler on. If you use the perma fil keep in mind that it changes how you calculate how much internal volume is in your enclosure. I dont recall off the top of my head, but there is another formula to help you get the amount of perma fill right for the size of enclosure you need. I will see if I can dig it up. I only mention this because I had to learn the hard way. I had a sub that required a 2.4 cu ft sealed enclosure, but I didnt have room for it. I wound up building the box small, 1.6cu ft and used too much perma fill and wound up with 3.6 cu ft of air space. Lost an expensive sub to that fiasco, and the warranty wouldnt cover due to my "inability to fabricate a proper enclosure". Granted, the sub I speak of sure did move a lot of air, and was running on 1500 watts @ 2 ohms. peak, 1100watts @2 ohms rms. Didnt take but 45 seconds to toast it.

Matt