Rep Power: 317

ok, here's the scenerio, i installed the Clarion EQ in my dash, under the Pioneer HU. now, the EQ was a bit too wide for the pocket under the HU, so i cut the dash kit a bit so the EQ can slide in, but now there is a gap, above and below the EQ. since i basically cut the pocket out, you can see through the gaps and see all the wires and junk back there. i want to cover those gaps, make the install look cleaner, is fiberglass the way to go?
i'm sorry i dont have pics of it, i have the old pics on my website : http://students.ou.edu/P/Mitul.Patel-1/
lets put it this way, looking at the pocket in the dash, if i just wanted to cover that pocket, so the dash looked there wasn't ever a pocket there, what would i do?

 
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you just want a piece of black plastic... i think they sell sheets of black ABS on autotoys.com.... take out the pocket, cut a piece of plastic sliiiiiiighty bigger than the opening you have just so you have some pressure around the sides, then just mount the EQ into that plastic

 
Rep Power: 337

when i did my cover, i just took the dash kit, covered it with thin cardboard, layed carbon over it, and impregnated the weave. worked great, although it sticks out like 1/16 of an inch. when i redo the panel, ill take down part of the dash kit so itll sit flush.

its a littel cloudy, but i did it in 2 hours, from start to finish it was barely an overnight project and in teh middle of winter no less (cold = bad for fiberglass)

this kind of project is VERY easy and a GREAT starter project IMO for anyone wanting to get into workign with fiberglass.

 
Rep Power: 317

thanks for the quick replies, but i just thought of something, if it works, it should make the EQ install very very clean looking.

let me ask, what material is easy to cut, easy to mold, easy to paint, easy to maintain, and is cheap, also needs to be VERY thin, like 4-5 sheets of paper thin ( and no, paper wont work [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/IMG] )

i'm thinking of making my own dash kit, like what whiterabbit did. i'll cut out holes for the A/C controls and vents, and make the cut outs for the HU and EQ fit perfectly, so it looks like a custom dash, does this make sense? when i think of it, i dont think that it will look that good if i just try to cover the gaps around the EQ, instead, i'll make a kit that goes over the entire center dash area. any advice on that?

 
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try this.... why not do either of the 2 above methods, and then just put a sheet of carbon fiber over the entire center dash... itll look as if your shole dash is 1 giant piece of carbon fiber

 
Rep Power: 317

thats what i want to do, but i dont want to use carbon fiber, i'm sorry, but i dont like CF that much at all. i'd rather have some thing that will just look like stock plastic, something i can paint a matte black finish on.

if i can't find a suitable product, then i might go with carbon fiber, but i really want that as a last resort.

 
Rep Power: 337

the whole panel? thats a toughie. i can only tell you what I would do if i were gonna do that (and i may, some day)

#1, remove old console
#2 cut out cardboard into shape. thisll be a toughie, since its curved slightly, ya? id have to work it.
#3 tape cardboard in place IN THE CAR, mask off ENTIRE area to work with, and lay 4 ounce weave glass on it. id make sure to leave an 8th of an inch space on top.
#4 pop out teh cured panel and remove as much as would easily come off of teh cardboard.
#5 fabricatre new mounts for the dash from wood. this cna be ugly as sin, noone will ever see it behind all teh panels. the clips would be especially tough, since ive nevre done that before, id probably just make a hook to hook into teh dash at top and add weatherstripping to make it fit snug.
#6, flatten outer panel so it was smooth (smooth to 120 grit paper) if there was a crease or something, that would need to be corrected befor the carbon layer.
#7 lay 8 ounce carbon weave on, impregnate with appropriate resin (surf or marine grade medium cure epoxy) let cure.
#8 make mounts for controls, also from wood. again, noone will see it, and wood is strong enough to hold it in place.
#9 cut holes for controls, not even using a dremel or anything. ONLY a hole saw for holes. wouldnt trust myself with a rotozip or dremel to make perfect holes. must be perfect!
#10 test fit EVERYTHING. must be in the appropriate position, fit, be tight, screw in, look good, etc etc etc. if your lazy like i was, you stop at this point (which is exactly where i stopped for my current cover)
#11 remove all controls, fill weave if not done so yet, sand, polish, clearcoat if surf, varnish if epoxy
#12 repolish varnish/clearcoat, wax if neccesary.

#13 install and take pictures, showoff if appropriate [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/IMG]

 
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the reason i suggested it is because the whole dash plate isnt entirely flat, and CF bends and such.... if you could find some CF that is finished smooth, you could always just use the CF and spraypaint it.... i dont like CF either, but if i was gonna do that, id use a layer of CF or something like it, primer coat, 3 or 4 coats of silver, and a clearcoat... make it look hardcore

 
Rep Power: 317

thats for the suggestion whiterabbit but i was hoping to do something more simple ( as in something for the un-craftsman like person ), but it does sound like a cool idea, a real custom dash i would call it.
abstract, i guess you're right, btw, what does CF cost anyways? isn't that expensive stuff?

 
Rep Power: 337

about $40 a yard, if i were going to paint, id use fiberglass only. if your not a very handy person with your hands, or dont like crafting/fabrication/construction i might look inot another project. you could get away with that doing a dash kit, but not your entire center console.

if you did just do yoru dash kit, without being a very hands of crafstmant type person, it might stick out a little bit.

for that id use sheetmetal, its cheap and you can cut it with tinsnips. if you chat with grey a bit he can tell you where to find thin sheet aluminum and how to work it to what you need as well.

but metal is far less forgiving that plastic.

 
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abstract? im not abstract

 
Rep Power: 317

lol, oops, sorry dude, i have no clue where i got abstract from, i think he has the same green coupe for his avatar, i guess i got confused.
sorry dude.

 
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it kinda inspired me to try it out, i think im gonna look into the subject and ill let you know how it comes out... CF can sometimes be a tad bit expensive to buy in a sheet, so im gonna look into a cheaper material that i can use for the same concept... im just need some material that is maybe 1 or 2 millimeters thick, is flexible as hell, and is smooth so that i can paint it easily... i dont like the look of CF either =) looks too ricey...

 
Rep Power: 337

dont like carbon! bestill my beating heart! [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif[/IMG]




[IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/IMG]

 
Rep Power: 317

i'm gonna go to home depot and such places this week to hunt for some material that can work, next week i have thanksgiving holiday, a whole freaking week, WOOHOO!!!!! i have time to try and do something with the center dash. i'm assuming i can't pick up carbon fiber sheets at a hobby store?
hey whiterabbit, you like carbon fiber? whats wrong with you? lol, j/k

 
Rep Power: 0

carbon fiber can be found on ebay =) but im gonna go out and look for something too... post up any results on material... ill do the same... maybe we can turn this into something interesting... i'd like to get rid of all the lines around my dash kit... make my whole dash all smooth and stuff