Loud & Low 8th Gen Civic - Time to say good bye to her.

[OrzechNJ]

where did u get custom "panels" on the amps ?

[Smoove]

Amps look great

[Crandis16]

amps are sexy... I like how they look a lot more than the orange centers I want to try doing real CF wrap sometime.

[scooter99]

Those amps..... SEXY!

where did u get custom "panels" on the amps ?

Amps look great

amps are sexy... I like how they look a lot more than the orange centers I want to try doing real CF wrap sometime.

Thanks guys, I love the look also.

OrzechNJ - I made the panels. They're the original orange panels, and I just removed them and covered them with Carbon Fiber Vinyl and had some decals made up to go over them.

Ok guys I have pics loaded and ready to go on my facebook page. I have to do descriptions on them and post them here. I'm not happy with how it came out though. I've got a couple of options and I'd like your input on them a bit later. I'm off to work, I'll post up when I get there.

[Wicks]

Good to see ya back at it!

Nice touch on those amps.

Now get them installed already....

[scooter99]

Good to see ya back at it!

Nice touch on those amps.

Now get them installed already....

Ya ya ya! I'm getting there. PIcs coming in about 10 minutes.

[Kyblack76]

Bout damn time.

Get to work son.

[scooter99]

Ok let's get this underway.

Measuring the amp separation, I noticed it was about the same width as my level. So I grabbed it and also figured out that it would help me keep them straight. I also checked it with a square and it's all good. Now it's time to mark the spots.

Got the amp mounts marked up, and we're ready to drill for the mounts.

Here are the inserts and the ca glue. Ready to go in.

All the holes were step drilled. What's that mean? Means I started with a smaller bit to get a pilot hole. Then went larger and larger until the insert would fit in with some pressure.

Then I used a 1/2" bit to counter sink the lips of the inserts. God I love my camera. Look at that detail. You can even see how much work it'll take if I actually decide to paint this instead of what I'm doing now.

A little ca glue, and the inserts are in.

Ready for amps.

[Jd1102]

Lookin good man

[scooter99]

But first let's get her covered up. Got some orange carbon fiber vinyl wrap, not the glue on stuff, this is the peel and stick stuff.

One side done for the most part. This is not easy and really is a pain in the ass. I noticed here that I was not going to like it.

Got it all done. But not happy with it at all. From back here it looks good. But up close it's not good at all. But it's ready for amps now.

Close up of the carbon look. But also the imperfections of it.

The sexy moment I've been waiting for. These amps make everything look better!! WOOT! Amps mounted. That was last night.

This morning I went out and looked and it was all bad again. Air bubbles everywhere. Corners pulled back too.

Wrinkles everywhere

These appeared on the seam at the back.

More bubbles, wrinkles and imperfections.

The back was the worst. Apparently there was a slit in the corner from rubbing it to get it to sit down, and I didn't notice it until this morning it's kind of pulled back. Plus all the wrinkles back there, and the air bubbles as well. Now this part won't most likely be seen because the enclosure will be over the top of it, but it still drives me crazy. Not happy at all!

Better view of the front seam.

So that's where I'm at. Amps are mounted and this thing is HEAVY AS SHIT NOW!! But that's ok, not the point.

I have a couple of options. I like the carbon fiber look, and I'd like to keep it. But this is not going to work for me. Too many flaws and imperfections. Here are my thoughts.

1 - Originally I was going to do this in marine carbon fiber vinyl, not wrap but the stuff you have to glue on. I can go that route and order that. The issues surrounding this, is the corner and the walls on the sides and back. It's a hard angle and a hard radius. It doesn't like to sit down very well, as you can see. SO, I could head up to my mom's and sew the seam with this vinyl and make it look nice that way. I was honestly thinking that I could do the base in black cfv, and then do the sides and end in orange. I almost think the orange is just too much. But I don't know. So Option 1 is actual vinyl in carbon fiber.

2 - Strip this cfv wrap, and get out the sand paper, primer, filler, and paint and get to work. This will take lots of work. I'm just not sure I like the solid paint look. But It's an option.

3 - Andrew Crandis mentioned something I hadn't thought of, but in my ever learning evolution of this project and overall audio knowledge I'm seriously considering this one. It would be as much if not more work than the painting of it. But if I could do it, it would look 1000000% better than vinyl, or paint. The third option is to actually do carbon fiber. I have to look up and see if I can get it in colors or not. I'm sure I can. Maybe I'd have to use kevlar for this, I'm not sure. I don't see any actual carbon fiber in orange. What I see is carbon/kevlar in orange and black, which would just be sick I think. IF, I could pull it off. So I"m heavily leaning in this direction, but it's not going to be cheap. It's gonna cost me at least $40 just for the material. On top of that I'll have to get the resin. I need to watch videos and learn a few things as well.

4 - Option 4 is somewhat of a dress up idea. Remove the wrap, paint the base black. Mount the amps, and then make a trim ring (kind of like hunter johnson did with his amps) around each amp and tie them together. Then fiberglass them up to the edges of the amp rack and make a trim cover piece. Then cover it with whatever.

So I have some options here. I would love to hear your input on them. Other thoughts and suggestions maybe as well.

Thanks for tuning in. I think I'll have a decision by the end of the day on this.

More to come soon.