Fiberglass Speaker Panels
The front and rear door panels were built using the same techniques.
The process:
1. I removed the map pockets from the door panels using a drill bit to drill out the plastic welds.
2. I used my router to cut speaker rings out of MDF wood. The edges of the rings were then rounded over.
3. The speaker rings were glued to the map pocket using hot glue.
4. After glueing the rings in the correct position, I wrapped the entire panel in a old tshirt. I used spray adheasive to glue the shirt to the panel. I had to stretch the shirt in order to prevent wrinkles.
5. I soaked the panel with fiberglass resin. I let the first coat dry and then brushed on a second coat. The map pocket was re-attached to the door panel so that when I coat the shirt in resin, the pocket does not warp. If the panel is warped it would have been really difficult to attach it back to the door panel.
6. The panel was removed from the door panel and then I applied three layers of fiberglass mat to the inside of the panel. I sanded the panel with my air powered mini DA sander using various grits of sandpaper. One coat of Rage Gold body filler was spread over the panel to fill in holes and dips. The entire panel was then sanded smooth. After that I sprayed the panel with a high build polyester primer and then sanded the panel smooth a final time.
7. I wrapped the panel in black suede and then mounted the speakers to them. Then I mounted the completed panel back to the door panel using Duramix 4040. (liquid ABS plastic)
For the front panels, I replaced the door light with a strip of blue LEDs and a cover that I made out of plexiglass. The cover was hot glued to the completed panel. I also installed a single LED into the speaker grill.
Page 1. Introduction.
Page 2. Interior Pictures.
Page 3. Sound System.
Page 4. How I made my fiberglass speaker pods.
Page 5. How I covered my headliner in black suede.
