| I've seen many fiberglass subwoofer guides that | | | | possible. This will make the mold a lot stronger |
| show how to make a custom fiberglass sub box. | | | | because there's no air pockets. You do this by |
| None of these guides have really explained how | | | | jabbing the fiberglass rather than actually trying to |
| exactly to do it. Either they don't have enough | | | | paint it. |
| pictures or do not explain it correctly. In this guide I | | | | Ok, enough playing around; back to fiberglassing! Next |
| am going to give you the In's and Out's of Making a | | | | we put on a last layer of fiberglass mat and resin. |
| custom fiberglass subwoofer box. I have decided to | | | | After this has totally dried (about 3 hours) we |
| make a sub box for my Honda Prelude. I am going to | | | | started sanding and cutting to get the shape we |
| be installing a JL Audio W3V3 with a 500 watt Alpine | | | | wanted with our custom fiberglass sub box. |
| Amplifier. | | | | Once your back mold looks good to you its time to |
| Custom Fiberglass Subwoofer Box: | | | | set your MDF ring up how to want your sub to be. |
| Materials: | | | | Hold your ring up where you think you would like it. |
| 1 Gallon of Fiberglass Resin (find at Auto Zone, | | | | Cut some dowel rods to size and position your ring |
| Advanced Auto Parts, Etc) | | | | how you want it. We used superglue and epoxy to |
| Cheap Paint Brushes (probably about 10; you will | | | | keep the dowel rods and the MDF ring in place. Its |
| throw away after each use) | | | | important that your ring is very strong and sturdy |
| Rubber Gloves for fiberglassing | | | | because we are going to stretch fleece over it. |
| Fiberglass mat (about 6-8 packages depending on the | | | | Make sure that when your ring is in place every angle |
| size of your box) | | | | looks good and even to you. When you stretch the |
| MDF Wood 1/2? | | | | fiberglass and start painting resin on it, there's no |
| 2 Dowel Rods | | | | turning back. |
| 2 Rolls of Masking Tape | | | | Now is the fun part. This is where your fiberglass |
| Aluminum Foil | | | | subwoofer box starts to come together. Grab your |
| Cheap Mixing Cups | | | | fleece and stretch it over your mold you have made. |
| 1-2 sq yards of fleece (hobby lobby) | | | | Be sure to stretch it as tight as possible so there are |
| Fiberglass Sub Box: | | | | no folds or loose parts. The fleece should be touching |
| Ok, time to start making a fiberglass sub box! The | | | | every edge of the back of the fiberglass mold. |
| first step to making the box is drawing out some | | | | Use a staple gun to secure the fleece to the |
| plans on what you want and how to you want to do | | | | subwoofer fiberglass mold. Staple the staples in the |
| it. When fiberglassing, you can't really fix your | | | | side of the fiberglass box so you don't fiberglass |
| mistakes because when fiberglass resin is dry, its | | | | over them and have them be stuck forever. |
| DRY. | | | | Once you think its done look it over again from all |
| We wanted to make a simple box that would save | | | | side and make sure it looks how you want it to look |
| space, and look oem to the prelude. We started by | | | | because once the fiberglass resin is on, its that shape |
| laying masking tape down so no fiberglass resin gets | | | | forever. |
| on the carpet, because if it does, its ruined. Also, | | | | When everything looks good to go, its time to start |
| make sure to tape extra space then your actually | | | | glassing. Mix a good amount of fiberglass (about 12 |
| going to use just to be safe. | | | | oz) and paint the fiberglass over the fleece. Paint it |
| We did about 2-3 layers of tape and then also added | | | | on thick, and make sure to go all the way to the |
| some aluminum foil as a layer, as to not get any | | | | edge so you mold the two pieces (front and back) |
| glass on the carpet. When you think that you have | | | | together. There's no need to paint the whole ring |
| enough tape and there is no possible way that | | | | because we are going to cut it out anyway. Do |
| anymore fiberglass could get through to the carpet; | | | | fiberglass the fleece to the MDF ring. |
| do another layer. | | | | Once its dry (took about an hour because we used a |
| The next step after you have tapped everything is | | | | lot of glass) you can cut off the access fleece from |
| to start fiberglassing. Before you mix your fiberglass | | | | the edge of the mold and around the ring. At this |
| with your hardener, you should cut strips out of your | | | | time you should be able to pull the dowel rods out of |
| fiberglass mat. I usually make strips about 7-9 inches | | | | the box and the ring should stay where it is. Once |
| wide. When you are ready, what you need to do is | | | | you've trimmed off the bulk excess of the fleece, |
| mix your fiberglass with your hardener in the mixing | | | | throw the box in your car and see how it looks. |
| cup. The hardener will have how much fiberglass resin | | | | Looks pretty good here! |
| to hardener mix to make. Make sure you prepare | | | | Not to mess up the outer shape of our fiberglass sub |
| before you start fiberglassing because it dries | | | | box, we need to add the rest of our fiberglass layers |
| somewhat quick. Paint a layer of fiberglass resin onto | | | | to the inside of the box. Add about 2-3 layers of |
| the tape without any mat. After you've painted a | | | | fiberglass mat to the inside of the mold. Make sure |
| layer put fiberglass mat down and paint another layer | | | | to fiberglass in between where the two molds came |
| over fiberglass after that. Wait about 10 minutes and | | | | together. |
| then do another layer before it dries completely. | | | | Once you finish the inside of the box get out the |
| Now, wait at least an hour and let the fiberglass resin | | | | sander and the jig saw and cut off all the excess |
| completely dry. When its dry, you can take the mold | | | | crap around your fiberglass box. We are going to use |
| out and tear off all the tape and aluminum foil. Put it | | | | carpet on our box, so we do not need to sand the |
| back in your trunk and draw out where you want to | | | | actually fiberglass mold. Instead we just sand all the |
| cut off. Make sure you go slowly and don't take all of | | | | corners and edges so it fits snug into the trunk of |
| it off at once. | | | | the Honda Prelude. |
| Now you need to cut out a MDF ring for your | | | | For aesthetics and some extra strength (since JL |
| subwoofer to screw into. Some prefer to make a | | | | subwoofers are so loud) we added two more layers |
| flush ring with a router but I like the one ring way | | | | of the carbon fiber style fiberglass mat. This will |
| better. I am using a 10 inch jl audio w3 so I cut out a | | | | ensure strength and reliability. |
| 10 inch ring and used the specs from the box to | | | | After this step, you are done! Just pop your |
| make a ring the right size. | | | | subwoofer in there and make a tiny hole for your |
| Then we pulled out our newly trimmed fiberglass box | | | | speaker wire. If you are too add carpet, you can do |
| and put another layer of fiberglass mat on it. | | | | the same as you did with the fleece and stretch it |
| Generally you want to do about 5-6 layers of | | | | around your mold. If you are wanting to paint your |
| fiberglass. Some say you should be able to stand on | | | | custom fiberglass subwoofer box, you will need to |
| your box without it breaking. Another good | | | | get some bondo and a lot of sand paper to smooth |
| fiberglassing tip is to remove as many air bubbles as | | | | out the fiberglass sub mold. |