After the mold is out of the car, place it on a good working surface. This is where we begin to stretch the fabric over the top of the enclosure. Stretch it as tight as possible. You may need a friend to help staple it into place. Staple it every 1/2 inch or so, alternating the direction of the staples seems to work well. This is where rabbiting the edges comes in handy. You staple the fabric into the 'step' in the board that you created by rabbiting the edges. Trim off the unnecessary fabric along the edges.
Also, at this time, I stretched the fabric around the sides of the framework to fill in those openings on the sides.
Here is where those notched edges come into play. See
the diagram below:
Mix up your resin, and start painting! This too needs to be fully saturated!
I choose to mix my resin in old soup cans. They can be used over and over until the dried resin in the bottom doesn't allow for a good sized batch to be mixed.
again, make sure everything is completely saturated through to both sides to maintain strength. Also, don't forget to wear work clothes, and work in a well ventilated area
This is the product after it hardened. This picture was taken after I had just scuffed the entire surface, knocking down any high spots.
In order to get a nice smooth edge, I recommend going over them with a sanding
block of some sort to knock off the excess resin and fiberglass, and give it a
nice finish on the edges.
If you do not "notch" the edges, here is what will happen...
You will sand off the edge and create a weak spot due to the thinning out of the
fiber glassed material. You also create the need for more body filler in order
to smooth out the edges and ridges.
THE FOLLOWING IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU DO NOT DO!!!
I used a wire wheel on a drill to most of this. It seemed to get into the contours very nicely. After this step is where you would apply fiberglass matting as a second layer if it is not hard enough to your likings, and then sand it again where needed I think I used some mainly around the edges and corners for a little extra added stability.
If you are going to carpet your enclosure, this is as far as you need to go. Carpeting is very forgiving, and will cover up almost all of the irregularities in the box. You may wish to use a thin, skim coat of body filler where needed to ensure a smooth product.
However, if you are going to be painting your enclosure, you're only half done. Now comes the time when you spend quite a while with a good body filler and some sanding supplies. From this point on, I must have misplaced my pictures. However, now it is a matter of using a good body filler (I use Rage Gold by EuroSoft) to fill in all those little dimples in the top of the enclosure. Try to get it as smooth as possible in the previous steps. The lesser amount of filler used, the lesser the chance that your project will crack under the constant vibrations of bass and high SPLs... causing the need to be redone! ouch! It takes a little longer, but several thin coats is better than a few thick coats. This will also reduce the risk of having the filler crack later.
If you are unable to do the finishing work, take it to a local body shop for advice, or ask around for a local body repair man who may be able to help you on the side and save you a few bucks.
I always use professional auto-body paint in all my applications. Again, if you are unable to spray or obtain these materials, I suggest a local body shop. It will turn out much nicer than if you try to use a spray can. Why even both with a spray can after all this hard work? just do it right and you'll be happier!