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i'm putting a 8in RF sub in my trunk following the fiberglassing DIY. I'm going to try to take pics along the way and post them. If anyone has any recommendations please post them to help me along the way. This my first time fiberglassing.

 
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So far i have cut out the speaker rings and taped of the trunk. didn't have enough light to start fiberglass, but going to start fresh tomorrow. I love christmas break! so many things to do, so little time.

 
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its easier to get good adhesion between the baffle and the cloth if you sandwich it between the trim ring and the mounting ring. then there are lots of ways to smooth out the steo thats there and relaly make it look rather nice.

to be 100% sure the box doesnt warp out of shape, you cna use kitty hair as reinforcement, since all fiberglass will warp. but if you dont stretch your cloth ubertight and do the top layer shortly after finishing the backplate, it shouldnt warp too badly.

once its stretched I dont think it will post construciton warp. if you carpet, for sure it wont.

um, look closely at the other side panel and how it folds under the rubber grommet around the trunk lid. the best design will fold the same way for a seamless design., I dont believe that will work well after carpeting. you might be abl eo tjsut trim the carpet so only the carpet folds under that. But regardless, its something that must be planned for, to look seamless.

good luck, it looks veyr well done so far, im sure the finsihed product will be great!

 
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also, I like to do all my glassing at once, so it goes faster. rather than layer after layer, rather than putting one layer, letting cure, then adding another layer, I jsut load up all my glass at once till I have a massive multi layer built up completley over the area. dont forget to layer up an inch or two (or three) PAST the boundary where you plan to have your backplate! the joint there will have full thickness that way.

it also helps to eliminate bubbles in the layup.

 
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Thanks for the advice, good looking out.

 
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I think it would be a great idea, if when you finish the build, you post a new thread telling everyon eabout your first glassing experience. what worked well, what didnt, and what you wished you did or could have done. itll help a ton of people here who maybe dont know where to start glassing, or who know the basics but need some smaller details, or just a confidence boost, etc.

you picked a real hard project for your first, I must say!

 
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Thats a good idea and yes it is a hard project but i have done a lot of research i know i've read alot of your posts. I like to jump right in.

 
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Amen on that. I have no idea why so many instructional write-ups tell you to layer slowly. Why? So I can sand it off anyway? Also, I agree totally that more DIYs should contain the mistakes people made along the way. All the DIYs I read are edited and sound like the person knew everything about it to start with. It would help a lot more to hear that you got a brilliant idea and tried it and it sucked in reality. Good luck with your project keep us posted.

 
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Here are some pics of tape and foil, speaker placement and my first layer of FBG(fiberglass).

I found out first hand like most people have said you need more hardener for the resin because they just dont give you enough. Thats going to hold me back a little bit today but i didnt have a whole lort of time to start with. going to play some bball later.

I am working with FBG mat (stuff you can buy at homedepot) and it comes apart easy when you dab the resin on. best way i found to do it is put down a layer of resin where your going to lay the FBG, lay the FBG and cover it wiht resin with a dabbing motion of the brush, but thats also how the mat comes apart easily.

 
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good call with the marker mark on the boundary, to keep track of where you *plan* to cut the backplate.

I didnt realize you werent going all the way up to the trunk edge. thats gonna make the project just absolutely a ton easier, I have to say. All the junk I was rambling on about with kitty hair and warpage is gonna be a moot point.

do you have a solid plan how you are going to have a boundary between the box and the car? as it looks right now, itll have a seam, which is totally cool, but the box and trunk panel will be at right angles. Any ideas on how you will integrate it more to look like a stock addition? or do you plan to just make it look like a bolt on?

(I am actually asking this now because im still trying to get better at this, making installs look factory or classy, rather than custom and aftermarket, and thought you might want to keep it in mind, or more specifically, give ME ideas )

 
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another thing, what RF woofer? if its one with a huge huge motor structure, it might be cool to invert mount it, and make the box concave rather than convex. itll add just that little extra bit of complexity to construction compared to a convex design, but if it has an impressive motor, might be cool to show off.

of course, if its a teeny magnet (such as shiva or type R or anything made by kenwood style) probbaly best to just hide it.

but its something to think about, depending on whether or not you have a punch Z or a power HX2

 
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The sub is a 8in Punch Stage 2. Just a little something to play with. As far as the seam, I didnt realy notice it till i layed the lines down, but i cant make the box too big because the factory specs are for it to be .25-.35 cubic ft. My real plan is to experiment with this box, maybe sell it if it turns out nice. If all goes well i want to do 2 subs in each corner with a amp fiberglassed under plexiglass right below the trunk latch. but thats down the road when i can get more money.

 
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Also tell me what you think of this. I wanted to bolt the box down using the screw holes for the cargo net hooks. do you think that will work, bolt down and then cover with silicon?

 
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For your future idea, just make sure you vent the amp properly, maybe even install some 12volt fans in there to makae sure it stays cool. (Trust me, overheating amps aren't good, learned that the hard way a long time ago....)

 
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That idea would work, the only thing is that it may crack with just those two bolts in it. I'd think of maybe replacing the floor with mdf, and then screwing to that. I'm sure, with enough layering, it'd be fine with just those two bolts, but you can never be too careful.

 
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best thing to do is to screw to something inside the box before you install the woofer. that might be hard to do since its the car skin on the other side of that box.

id put a metal screw or two through the inside of the bottom of the box right into the trunk floor.

no worrying about having to cover screw holes.

or is that what you were planning anyways? my car didnt come with a cargo net, werent the mount points for that away from where your backplate is?

anyways, if thats what you were planning anyways, then yeah, thats exactly the best wya to mount. if not, id find a spot the backplate is near sheet metal, and plan to put a screw or two through it after finishing the box to mount it.

 
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Sounds like it's gonna be cool. I want to do something like that, but I just don't know where or how to start.

 
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here are some pics of the 1st layer. I pulled the mold out and i'm going to put down some more layers tomorrow. looks good so far, 1st layer is brittle but strong. What do guys think about putting the first half layers of FBG mat and the last half layers of FBG mat?

 
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lookin good pimp

 
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not to hijack the thread or anything. But im goin to building my 2nd fg box and in jersey its goin to be about 40 degrees, so i bought a utility heater from black and decker. My real question is how much a a concentration of resin fumes should i be concerned about when working with the heater on? or should i just heat up the shed im workin in (~8x8 feet) and turn it off when im glassing?

 
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Make sure you vent the shed, if there's no window, open the door and put a fan there to pull out the fumes. Personally, I'd make sure the door was open all the way. If it's too cold fof that, I'd think about waiting to do the work.

 
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yeah i can vent the shed through the windows and the door, its probably goin to be about 45, im goin to use the heater just to bump it up to about 60 degress so it can cure properly

 
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I dont get what you are asking here?

 
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My question was to put about 3-4 layers of FBG mat down and then cover that with 3-4 layers of FBG cloth to give it more strength and a smooth finish making it easier to finish with body filler.