Rep Power: 334

I purchased this stuff called Bondo "body filler". Is this what i Need for the project?

How would i go about filling the gaps?

Could i make a bezel out of cardboard and then just throw the bondo on top of it?

 
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I have never done naything like that before but i believe that you fiberglass it i would take the whole dash kit(trim) out and make a mold out of it, then cut a piece of wood the same size as your screen palce the piece of wood in the mold where you want the screen and fiberglass the whole thing, leaving you with a new dash piece fit to the screen. this is very hard to explain in writing but i think it will work. nice paint job on the trinm btw.

 
Rep Power: 273

Ask Dannn, his new xenarc is tight.

Basically you'd want remove the plastic housing from the LCD panel and attach the plastic housing to your center console with bondo-hair for strength, which is basically a blend of bondo with strands of fiberglass. You'd then finish the surface with regular bondo/glazing putty, and primer/paint. The aftermarket trim piece is unneccessary for what you plan on doing.

 
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So the main thing is to avoid leaving the screen in and bondo-ing on top of it?

I want to use the oem stock dash peice and the trim peice.

Could i make a bezel out of 1/4 inch MDF and then just bondo it in place? Does the bondo body filler stick to MDF well?

After that, i just put the screen in through the back of the dash peice and secure it in place using double sided tape or something simple. (allowing ease of removal).

 
Rep Power: 360

hit up the member: DANNN

here is lcd project: http://www.7thgencivic.com/forums/sh....php?p=2569458

oor the old version he did: http://www.7thgencivic.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=184962

 
Rep Power: 341

Hey Buddy do this ok ..Get the OEM faceplate off of the special edition Civic with the Indash double din CD player... Here is a pic of it..It is different than the stock civic's and should give you the look you need..Bondo is difficult to play with and I dont think it will come out right...

You just need the special edition center console prob 100 bucks and the look will be amazing look at mine...





It should be perfect for your application

 
Rep Power: 282

hey viper he doesnt need that one
that pic of this install is shown with an aftermarket dash kit.

mike i can help you out just ask away

you dont really need to make a bezel
i'll post pics of how to do it in a few minutes.

 
Rep Power: 282

ok so before the bondo was put in it bascially looked like yours now.
i just filled in the spaces with fiber glass bondo first then used regular bondo. then glazing putty.








the end result



hope that gave oyu a better idea

 
Rep Power: 341

Man you gotta know what you are doing dude cuz thats a pretty hard DIY on a scale of 1 to 10 i give that a 9..

Very nice outcome BTW

 
Rep Power: 334

thats some good info dann thanks.

Im thinking about getting 1/4 inch MDF and cutting out a bezel. Then just fiberglass the bezel in. After thats done, i can put the monitor in through the back.

Would Bondo bond to MDF wood?

 
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Bondo might crack but fiberglass would do the job for sure

 
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i used regular bondo for my first project and it held up nicely
i made it back in june 04 sold it to cocky jeremy just check my feedback

i used the fiberglass bondo this time just to try it out.
no cracks yet

 
Rep Power: 334

So it will work if use MDF as the bezel? I actually have a spare OEM center peice to play with.

 
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note to everyone whos doin plastic mods, dont use just bondo for structural buildup, it will crack sooner or later. bondo are made to cover imperfections, not for structural. fiberglass would be okay for these kind of task but more work involve. the next best thing is to get liquid plastic or plastic rigid fillers.

 
Rep Power: 334

Hmm maybe i will fiberglass it first. I am starting to picture how i would do it.

I guess i would leave the trim peice in (painted silver in my pic).
Then i would cut a peice of wood out that is the same size as my screen.
I would mount it up.
Lay down some cloth and then just add a few fiberglass layers?
Bondo and voila?

Could i skip the cloth part of fiberglass by using Bondo with the fiberglass in it?

How could i lay the cloth? i dont see how i can pull it tight?

 
Rep Power: 328

To attach the cloth, try using super glue, or hot glue when stretching.

 
Rep Power: 310

Ok, I've made a new radio bezel recently by fabricating the lower Cig lighter panel in to a newly designed console piece. Here's the basic scoop on what you are doing.

Bondo - easy to use/form. Super easy to sand. Doesn't bond well to plastic, has a tendancy to crack/chip.

Fiberglass - Much harder to use. Super strong. Bonds to plastics for med to light strength or for good strenght by drilling holes under the application.

Plastic bonding - good to hold plastics together, but it won't really allow you to shape or fabricate. Use it to hold plastic together but not form anything.

Bondo/Fiberglass mixture - This is my favorite stuff to use around plastics. A little easier to work with than fiberglass, a lot stronger than bondo. Use this to make any basic shapes you need, then go over it with bondo if you need to do any real light modifications or building up areas.

Use really gritty paper to sand fiberglass/bondo down to a basic form. To knock down the highspots you could even use a body file. For paper, I use 36g for the real general shaping, then 80 for my forming, and I'll use 180g for my fine tuning. After using Bondo, I switch to 220 and 320g. After the whole thing is formed and sanded, hit it with some polyputty to fill in the gaps and or bubbles - if you've never glassed or bondoed you will get bubbles. Sand the Putty with 500, use a filler-primer and paint. Good luck, fire off any more questions.