97 Maxima Build Log

[bobonit]

as far as the whole mids being low in kicks with the tweeter right by it, its kind of a staging thing, but putting it up a little shouldnt hurt so long as the dash isnt blocking it from getting to both people in the front

and wrapping is the fun part...and by fun i mean infuriating...take your time and dont be afraid to retry it, fleece is cheap and it makes a big difference (i honestly spent like 4 or 5 hours wrapping my 4 pods, they were the first I ever did, and I know you're in that boat too)

edit: if you can, try and find 4-way stretch fleece, it makes the process 10x easier than the more common 2 way....test it out in the store, most only stretches like vertically, not horizontally)

Yea, I'm in the same boat, first timer. Joann Fabrics had Ponte on sale for like $4 a yard so I picked up a whole 8 yard roll, I've got plenty for trial and error !!! Its thin and very stretchable, almost like spandex. I'll let you know how it works out.

[bobonit]

Did some cutting, grinding and sanding on the forms. Then I layed some mat to fill in the holes I ground out, tomorrow I'll lay a final layer of mat for the forms. Hopefully after I do that tomorrow I'll have time to cut speaker rings. After I get the rings mounted in the forms, I'll do a final trim on the form then attempting wrapping

[raytard]

i heard good things about the ponte, just make sure it's stretched tight enough to not sag with resin on it

just some dumb things noone really mentioned that i kinda figured out, but hot glue bonds fleece to fiberglass really well and really fast, just make sure to use resin and glass over it in the process of building to be safe

mount your ring really securely, as the resin dries it like pulls the fleece for lack of a better term, and if you're like my and held your rings in place with a few 5/8's inch dowels hot glued in place, it may shift em, i'd kinda suggest using a jigsaw to cut mdf into like supports, and screwing it together, or using something better than a dab of hotglue to hold it

and i'm not sure what you know about bondo, but my dad has done autobody since he was a kid, and helped my ass out alot, basically get an applicator of some sort (we had like window tinting squeegees) and apply it smooth and thin, and use a few layers, dont do it in one thick one.

[07sOnAtA sp.ed]

nice work

[bobonit]

i heard good things about the ponte, just make sure it's stretched tight enough to not sag with resin on it

Will do, I'll also make sure I don't lay on the resin too thick, just enough to wet it through.

just some dumb things noone really mentioned that i kinda figured out, but hot glue bonds fleece to fiberglass really well and really fast, just make sure to use resin and glass over it in the process of building to be safe

I've seen some people use CA glue, I have both but is one better/stronger than the other?

mount your ring really securely, as the resin dries it like pulls the fleece for lack of a better term, and if you're like my and held your rings in place with a few 5/8's inch dowels hot glued in place, it may shift em, i'd kinda suggest using a jigsaw to cut mdf into like supports, and screwing it together, or using something better than a dab of hotglue to hold it

I was thinking of using CA glue to stick it in place, then glassing the ends like I did with the dowels inside the sub enclosure. I wouldn't think they would move after that.

and i'm not sure what you know about bondo, but my dad has done autobody since he was a kid, and helped my ass out alot, basically get an applicator of some sort (we had like window tinting squeegees) and apply it smooth and thin, and use a few layers, dont do it in one thick one.

I've never use bondo or any fiberglass products for that matter until now. So far its just resin and mat hehehe. When I was a kid I did tons of models - plastic, balsa, model rockets, etc.... I'm really good using filler putty and I'll assume its the same concept. I picked up a 20 pack of plastic applicators (little squeegees) from harbour freight to spread it on, they should work good. Once question, what grit sandpaper is good to smooth it out? I was thinking of using Evercoat Rage Extreme since it is supposed to go on thinner.

By the way, thanks for all the help.

[bobonit]

Well, time for the speaker trim rings. I followed Steve's How To on making Trim Rings, man was that helpful. Only thing I wish I did better was leave a wider lip on the outside of the 6.5" rings, but I think they will be ok once they are glassed, and they will be more efficient on space.

I drew up some plans so I knew what cuts to make.

Ghetto drawing FTW !!

Jasper Jig FTMFW !!

Man I love these things, it feels like I'm cheating or something.

I did one ring by itself as a test since this is my first time.

Perfect fit, it actually snaps on to the speaker and stays there.

Porter Cable Shop Vac Attachment, no dust bunnies up my nose !!! I had my respirator handy, but I didn't need it at all.

Here it is on the speaker, a Tang Band W6-1721 Midbass/Midrange driver.

The mids, tweets and their new rings.

The mids and tweets.

Seas Neo Tweets with their new mounts

Backs of the tweeter rings

The aftermath.

[07sOnAtA sp.ed]

nice work for your 1st time using that Jasper Jig

[raytard]

i thought my midbasses were beefy...damn

i;d guess ca (especially like the industrial stuff you'd get from a distributer in a 2-bottle setup) is prob better and faster than hotglue

and those speaker rings look really thin...it may just be the angle...may want to cut out a matching one and glue it on the back so you have something for mounting screws to bite into (especially considering how beefy those tangbands look)

as far as sandpaper, I used like 80grit to do the rough work and then 140 to get it smooth, i'd go farther if you were painting it, but if you are just wrapping them or something similar that should be fine

(i had one of those little dewalt orbital sanders, it made some of the wider/flatter spots 10x easier)

[bobonit]

i thought my midbasses were beefy...damn

i;d guess ca (especially like the industrial stuff you'd get from a distributer in a 2-bottle setup) is prob better and faster than hotglue

and those speaker rings look really thin...it may just be the angle...may want to cut out a matching one and glue it on the back so you have something for mounting screws to bite into (especially considering how beefy those tangbands look)

as far as sandpaper, I used like 80grit to do the rough work and then 140 to get it smooth, i'd go farther if you were painting it, but if you are just wrapping them or something similar that should be fine

(i had one of those little dewalt orbital sanders, it made some of the wider/flatter spots 10x easier)

Yea, they are really thin, I'm actually thinking of cutting some new ones and just calling these a test run. I have the T-Nuts with allen screws for mounting them, but they may even be too thin to use those. Now that I've cut these once, new ones will be quicker, I need to get a new bit too, cutting the holes in the birch for the sub box really dulled it. On the next run, I'll not go as deep and then cut 1/8 inch wider on the outside.

I'm not sure if I'm wrapping or using Sem Texture Paint, I guess it depends on how they come out If I get them really nice and smooth, I'd rather not cover them up and use good paint, but if they look chitty, I'll cover them in felt or something. That reminds me, I need to get a can of Rage.

[BEllithorpe04]

Damn dude this is gonna be sweet, idk if you were planning on doing this or putting the back seat back in, but you should vinyl a piece of birch and put it on the front of the box to make it look sweet. You dont have to obviously lol but i thought it would set it off pretty nicely