Help with overlaying speaker pods/and flat CF plates.

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#1

Hey guys. i originally had someone willing to help me, but alot of stuff came up and i lost conact with him. so i decided to try it myself. im pretty adeptwih fiberglass so i think ill do ok.

so heres what i need to do. i need a flat plate with a hole in the middle, im going to use it for the trim around my sub in my car. im not sure how to make this. i found a place to buy my 2x2 twill cloth but im not usre what epoxy system to use. any ideas there?

and i also made speaker pods and tweeter pods i want to cover in CF, the rear deck pods are simple flat panels with bezels in them for my speakers. the front pods are more contoured toward the passengers. the tweeter pods arent finished yet.

im not really sure how to attempt the more contoured pods so if someone could point me in the right direction id appreciate it.

#2

You will need to make a mold first for the contoured parts you want to make using carbon fiber. If you have nothing to mold from, then you will have to build a plug first.

#3

good thing he is overlaying :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

#4

If you want flat carbon sheet, its far easier and cheaper to buy it ready made and adapt for your application.

For cosmetic overlay, there is no real need to use epoxy resin system, unless you enjoy spending money. Clear poly casting resin, thinned to suit your application should work very well, and will be quite a bit cheaper than epoxy…

#5

yea i have the pods made and sanded/painted black. i was gonna start by buying a few yards of 2x2 twill CF fabric. iwasnt really sure what resin system to use. ill probably have ot order online because im not aware of any boat repair places around. if i can find a boat repair place, what exactly am i looking for?

and where can i buy premade flat carbon sheets?

#6

many harware stores and even napa sell polyester resin. you dont want to buy premade carbon sheets unless you want to spend alot of money. you can easily make flat sheets of carbon on glass

#7

well now im confused. Classicbike says its far easier and cheaper to buy the flat peices premade, and you say its cheaper to make it. i dont exactly have glass laying around, ans far as i know glass isnt exactly cheap.

also, the polyester resin hardware stores sell is brown, ive never seen a clear resin at any hardware stores. that stuff is great for fiberglass but im pretty sure clear resin is the way to go with carbon.

#8

If you are wanting to do cosmetic carbon parts, then best resin system to use is clear polyester casting resin, which is UV stablised and completely clear (this may need to be thinned to suit your application though).

Ready made flat carbon sheet can be obtained pretty easily here in the UK, direct from producers, and maybe it wouldnt be that hard to find anywhere else in the world.

#9

well, if you can find premade sheets for cheap then go for it. as for the poly with a over lay, brown poly will not be noticable, it will not darken the carbon or make it look brown. the best way to do it is to use the poly and carbon and let harden, sand, spray with clearcote, sand, and repeat til it is nice and smooth, you will never know that you used a dark resin.

#10

Why make a lot more work, when using easily available poly casting resin would avoid all this?

#11

never used a poly casting resin, I figured either way it would require multi layers and sanding, I have always sprayed to get more even surface, but if using a poly casting works good, thats good info to know if I ever do a overlay again

#12

hey i used clear epoxy resin and it came out great. here’s a pic of my carbon fiber sub box. sorry the pics aren’t great quality. it’s a fiberglass box done by myself overlayed by hand

#13

sweet, keep up the good work :wink:

#14

man i wish i had seen this when you started… i know i could have saved you alot of time and money…

i have made numerous boxes… will never do it again.

i buy all my materials from wal mart an can build a carbon box like this in about a day. (except for the carbon)

i dont use fiberglass though… i use polyester or cotton. denim fabric.

get two mdf speaker rings, build an mdf box.leave back open.

place the mdf ring where you want them to go using mdf supports.

stretch the denim over the whole box an staple. wet with polyester resin. mix a bucket of chop and resin. reiforce the backside of the denim (inside the box)

sand down with a da 180 grit.

spray some light adhesive… upolstry adhesive is fine. over the box. lay the carbon.

trim

saturate with epoxy.

spray with gel.

done

not what youd consider a composite but is fast simple strong cheap and easy.

goooood job though.

#15

what epoxy and/or gelcoat is sold at wal-mart?

#16

oops. you got me.

im so used to saying epoxy when i really mean resin… actually for the boxes i tend to get the bondo poly resin. as for the gel well you cant get that there either.

i dont use poly resin anymore.

good catch but i hope you get the point i was making. for a speaker box why go overboard with it. its gonna be heavey anyways. ive seen alot of people use body filler to get the boxes smooth as well. if you ask me its a waste.