Carpeting Help

[chris13]

I just built my first box and I've been trying carpet it, I applied contact cement to the box and to back of the carpet and tried to stick them together but it doesn't seem to want to stick.  How much of the contact cement should be put on the back of the carpet for it to stick properly. 

[kingsuv]

Apply to both the box and the carpet and let it set before you adheare it to the box. Depending on how much glue you have and how warm it is will decide on when you can attach the 2 together

[audiofanaticz]

I got to agree with kingsuv. I put a even coat on so both the carpet and the box is fully covered in a thin layer. I start at the bottom of the box first. I also only put the carpet on the bottom of the box half way, so that the seems meet at the bottom where it wont be seen if you have fold down seats. I always at least let the contact cement setup for about 5 minutes before attaching it to the box, then I let the weight of the box rest on the freshly glued carpet for about 15 minutes before moving onto the next side of the box.

I always used PL oil based contact cement. Main reason is because it is waterproof (so if you ever have a leaky trunk seal your box wont rot), second reason is because once it is dry it is a pain to rip off the box.

I made had a old box made for four 15 inch carvin pa subs that I didnt use no more and it sat outside through summer and winter for over a year and I could barly pull the carpet off, the wood under the carpet was in nice condition yet too, but the wood on the inside of the box became all rotted because the box had no speakers in it.