Buying Fiberglass
 

I'm planning a DIY box rear seat replacement. I'm uncertain of where to buy fiberglass resin and box building supplies locally.

What types of shops / supply stores should I be looking for?

Any particular resin type preferred by those who've made custom fiberglass boxes before?

Which type of filler would be best to use structurally for the box and any future projects with molding on the body?

All opinions are appreciated.

fiberglass resin and MDF can be had at your local home depot/lowes etc.

I've read around that the quality you will get at home depot/lowe's is lower than a store that will stock the larger 5 gallon drums, which is what I'm looking for. I intend on building a couple for practice and then making my own mold and replicating the boxes for other buds with FR-S's, may even throw in a free box for my lil bro with a 98 eclipse.

Is there anyone out there that does this type of work regularly and has a preferred type of resin?
I have seen that there are varying types of resin available (example: polyester, epoxy, vinyl ester)

Is there a preferred type of filler also?

West Systems epoxy is the best stuff I know of. You'll want the 105 laminating epoxy along with either of the 20# hardeners depending on your working temperature. Filler isn't necessary.

Polyester is cheaper, but it shrinks a little, isn't as strong, and does not work with carbon fiber.

Isn't a rear seat replacement a bit ambitious when you're not even sure where to get the supplies? Maybe start with something smaller?.

It's very ambitious, but throwing myself into projects that are seemingly impossible is just what I do best. If I can get good advice for selecting the correct materials to use then the project will turn out positive.

And yes, I will be practicing with a dummy box first.

More people please give advice and in a few months I'll have an awesome thread with pictures about rear seat subwoofer box replacement. I've done the measurements and with the bucket seats removed the rear will still fold down flat on top of a 10" sealed box with adequate airspace.

** this would be my first fiberglass experience, but I am well versed in audio systems.

West Systems epoxy is the cadillac of polymers. I usually stick with USComposites thin epoxy though.

Also purchased Fiberglast's System 2000. Similar quality, good results.

Polyester and vinyl ester resins are both great resins (and usually cheaper), but the fumes in-car are unpleasant. I'd stick with epoxy.

Read alot of DIY's and learn how to tape things off properly. Don't screw up your car for a speaker box (my RAV still has some polyster spots on a few panels). Get tons of brushes and cups. Mix up a test batch or two ... until you get the ratio correct. The pump tops and measuring cups do a great job with this.

PM me if you have any specific questions, but it sounds like you've seen a few setups and know how it should go.

You shouldn't have to worry about fillers. Just tape it off, lay some thin chopped mat, a few layers of woven mat, and a light resin layer for smoothing. I'd build the bottom part in-car, then mock up the speaker ring. Set in place with popsicle sticks, then build the rest of the structure around it (wood, flannel, fiberglass, etc).