2nd Gen Kick Pods - Lots of Pics

This is my first attempt at fiberglassing so any and all input is welcomed. I posted this over on the fiberglass forums, but thought some people here might appreciate this build.

My main goal for this project was to build a kick pod that would take up very little space without sacrificing functionality... and try to make it look as factory as possible. I think the design I came up with will accomplish this goal.

The pods are being made to house a set of HAT L4 speakers. I'll let the pictures do most of the explanation.

First step was to cut out the kick panel and attach the MDF ring at the proper angle. I have existing kick panels in my truck and like the sound from their current placement, so I kept the same speaker angles. Essentially the driver side pod is on axis to the passengers left ear and the passenger side pod is on axis to the drivers right ear if that makes sense.









Next I pulled some grill cloth over and attached it to the plastic with CA glue. I scuffed up the plastic to help with the adhesion. I also drilled holes for the epoxy resin to adhere to as well. I didn't pull the cloth to the edge simply because I couldn't in some areas and wanted to preserve the factory edges as much as possible... I think it's fine, but hopefully this doesn't turn around to bite me. Once the fabric was down I mixed up some resin and soaked the cloth. It took a full day to fully cure. I'm not sure if this is normal, but it seemed to be fine.











Next I laid the fiberglass down and did some sanding. This process was a little weird for me (I'm not sure why) and I think I could have done a better job, but it seemed to be ok and the pod seems to have a ton of strength.







Next I laid down some Everglass and began sanding, sanding, and sanding some more with 80 grit. At this point I started feeling good about the way it was tuning out.













After I got the shape down and smoothed out, I painted the pod with some SEM high build primer. I am rattle canning everything and so for I am very impressed with the SEM.





With the primer down I found several imperfections, so I sanded out some spots and used some spot putty where I needed.









This is where I left off. I will lay down some more primer tomorrow and continue to work out the imperfections. My plan is to use SEM texture coating on them, then hit them with some SEM color coat.

The one thing that I'm not entirely sure about is whether I should clear coat these after the color is down. They will be at my feet so I'm leaning toward putting a clear coat on... I just don't like the glossy finish the clear puts on. I assume they sell a flat clear?

 

Here are the second to final version of high build primer pictures. There were still a couple of imperfections at this point. I am extremely impressed with the SEM high build primer... it really seems to do a nice job and feels like a high quality product. Although it's pretty toxic. I pulled my respirator back for a second to scratch my nose (i had an itch), and the fumes nearly knocked me out.







Here are a few shots of the pod with a layer of texture coat. I'm glad I did a few test pieces before putting the texture on. This was my first time using this stuff, so it took some practice to get the texture right.





After the texture was down, I knocked it down a bit with some 400 grit and proceeded to paint.









I painted the grill pieces with the high build primer and liked the color, so I may keep it this way. I was going to paint the grills the same grey as the pod, but I kinda like the contrast. Here are a couple of shots with the speakers grills in place.





After getting some input from a few people here, I decided not to put a clear coat on. They seem very durable without the clear.

So that is pretty much it for the drivers side. Overall I am very happy with the way it turned out. There are a couple of things I would have changed or done differently, but for my first time... I can't complain. This site has been a huge help... what did we do before the internet? I will get some installed pictures here shortly and post them up.

I have moved onto the passenger side pod. I made a template of the cutout from the drivers side and transferred it to the passengers side pod, so now it's time to get started on that one.

 

Here are a couple of pictures with the pod installed.

 

very cool, good job!

 

Holy smokes. well done.

 

wow thats sick

 

wow man, thats legit. Good job

 

pretty bad ass

 

Very very nice work! I know who I'll be going to for fiberglassing work! That's the one thing I have yet to try.

What frequency band are you running the L4's?

 

That looks damn good! I bet you could even make some and sell them on here.

 

wow, very nice bro. turned out perfect!

 

Awesome! Great job!

 

I call B.S. No way is this your first time playing in fiberglass. Just kidding, awesome job mang.

 

I'm actually running the L4's HP at 200 without running any tweeters... the L4's have a nice wide range and sound phenomenal. I have L6's in the doors band passed from 50-200 and a pair of Ultra LV6's LP at 50. There is a local Hybrid Audio rep that has this setup along with a local installer... listening to both of their setups convinced me to go this route and I am very happy with the sound.

Everyone has a different need/ear for car audio... this setup seems to work well for my needs.

 

BTW... thanks for all the comments. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out... hopefully I can get the passenger side to match.

 

Thats looks awesome. Big props to you.

 

Yes, very nice. I've considered trying some L4s in the kicks myself, but haven't have the nerve to try it. This is inspirational.

Where did you get those rings and grills?

thanks

 

clean job

 

The rings and grills were made by Jon at Handcrafted Car Audio. Awesome guy and great to work with. He already had a template for the L4's, so he was able to cut them out fairly quickly using table router.