Woodworking help

[Kevin B.]

I've got this box. I want to skin the outside of it to make it look better and protect the wood from the elements. I thought I was going to use a sheet of stuff called Plastex I grabbed at Home Depot, but I thought wrong. The upper curve on front and back of the box don't match exactly, and the Plastex won't conform to the slight irregularity, leaving gaps and warps and such which I assume will get worse when the thing heats in the sun, so I scrapped that idea. What do I want here, aluminum sheet? Or some thin plywood? Or something I haven't thought of yet?

 

[BlueWolfFab]

I would use fiberglass over stretched fleece.

 

[frieed]

if it does not have to support any pressure then maybe use a door skin, 1/8" lauan plywood designed to cover doors with a pretty veneer.
http://www.lowes.com/pd_80037-77999-80037_0__?productId=3556804

I spend so much time wandering the isles of HD/Lowes looking for things to use in ways they were never intended....

 

[Kevin B.]

I would use fiberglass over stretched fleece.

Hey, that's an idea and I like it. I've never played with the stuff, would the fleece sag and belly with the current number of supports I've got there now? Would I need to add more support between the front and back panels, or would the fleece stretch tight enough without tearing to support the weight of the fiberglass as it dries?

And how long would it need to cure? Is a week long enough at current temps? I wanna put this thing into action for the White Rim trip.

if it does not have to support any pressure then maybe use a door skin, 1/8" lauan plywood designed to cover doors with a pretty veneer.
http://www.lowes.com/pd_80037-77999-80037_0__?productId=3556804

I spend so much time wandering the isles of HD/Lowes looking for things to use in ways they were never intended....

It doesn't need to support a load, no, it just needs to look pretty. That would be super simple if it worked, but I'm not sure I could bend it around the tight curves on the corners, and I don't have a way to steam it or anything to soften it, do you think it could make that radius without cracking?

 

[frieed]

may work as-is, 1/8" is pretty thin ply, or apply strips cut across the short length of the panel to keep the exterior grain perpendiclar to the curve.
I must admit, though, the fiberglass and resin came to mind as well. Maybe both?

 

[BlueWolfFab]

It would be cured within 24 hours, you stretch the fleece tight over the holes and then use a staple gun to hold it tight, it wouldn't sag. Check out YouTube videos on fiberglass subwoofer boxes to see the process.

 

[Kevin B.]

Check out YouTube videos on fiberglass subwoofer boxes to see the process.

Watched a couple last night, looks super doable. I'll post pics.

 

[BlueWolfFab]

My advice is use something like an old hoody as the fleece, the tighter thread count will not gobble up as much resin. Also dont try to mix too much resin at once; if a batch is too big it will self -generate too much heat through chemical reaction and you'll have a wasted cup full of rock hard resin.

 

[blznnp]

become a expert on fiberglass kevin so you can build me some things for my camaro

 

[Kevin B.]

That's my camaro.

 

[BlueWolfFab]

become a expert on fiberglass kevin so you can build me some things for my camaro

Not to thread hijack but what do you want done on your Camaro? I'm comfortable with fiberglassing.

 

[blznnp]

You can say that as long as you make some things, I'll just keep it company with me.

i need to make some trunk panels, might just do wood and make it a tight fit, and I want to put some speakers in the kick panels, not sure if I have enough room to just throw some in or maybe build them out a little. I've always wanted to learn fiberglass, but the one time I did I got mad and threw it away.

 

[BlueWolfFab]

I'll be throwing quite a bit of fiberglass on the interior of my '84 k10. Speaker/subwoofer housings and about half of the dash too.

I look at fiberglass comparative to welding, your first few projects are gonna be crap when you are learning, they may break and they may get thrown away, but realistically the materials are pretty affordable and with some time it can be a nice skill to have learned.

 

[blznnp]

I took to welding a lot easier than fiberglass. When I tried to do the fiberglass, I was adding onto a center plastic part on my s10 blazer, but it didn't stick to it. Is there a trick to getting fiberglass to stick to plastic or did I just royally screw it up? For my kick panels, I can get a speaker ring, attach it to the kick with some wood standoffs, then stretch the fleece and glue or staple to the kick panel? and hope the fiberglass attaches itself to the kick panel plastic?

 

[bryson]

Any surface you want the 'glass to stick to needs to be roughed up. The rougher the better. Mechanical fasteners (screws, staples etc.) to hold the structures together before 'glassing works well too.

 

[idahoyj]

Superglue to hold the stuff together before glassing works well too. I've used a lot of steel screen to make shapes, then cover it with fleece, or fiberglass cloth. Also, a layer of masking tape on the floor and kick panel for mold release works well, then I'd use bondo as adhesive to plastic parts. Makes a pretty smooth transition.

 

[Kevin B.]

Ready set go!

I got the whole thing stretched with one piece of fleece.

The corners sucked in, maybe because I laid the fleece on to stretch long ways instead of wide ways? Still functional, but I'd rather it didn't look like complete crap when I'm done.

In my misery and despair I considered using a BUNCH of bondo to fill it out, but then I happened to look at the roll of chicken wire that's been kicking around the rafters of my garage for forever, and I knew it was meant to be.

Much better. A little lumpy where the second layer of fleece ends, but some sanding and a skim of bondo should take care of that. I intend to edge the corners with some angle aluminum after I paint it, so the patches should be nearly invisible.

Lessons learned so far - don't get the cheap fleece, get the thick stuff. I bought 1.99/yard fleece, and it tears easy where it's stapled. Thicker fleece will let you stretch it tauter (is that a word? Tauter?), and get a better appearance. Also, lay the resin on thick, so it soaks in. I kinda just smeared it along the surface on the bottom, and now the fleece is still flexible but won't absorb more resin. I may have to cut that part off and do it again.

 

[BlueWolfFab]

Good call on the chicken wire. And yeah I have had bad luck with actual fleece too (I used a fleece blanket) and didn't love how it was turning out.

What's this box for anyway?

 

[Kevin B.]

What's this box for anyway?

Bit of a backcountry trailer project.

 

[blznnp]

looks good kevin