Leather looks better than I thought! I like the foam idea. It would also bring the leather down closer to the unit, helping it look more flush as well as securing it better within the trim. Also protect it against vibrations and jarring of driving. Good Job!

 

thanks guys. I was trying to think of something to put between the leather and metal but i started to think that it would make the vafc look too far back in the housing. Either way, its too late now since its glued down...just hopefully I can hide that stupid rip

 

alright I got it in the car but the leather took a few more casualties and there's little noticable rips here and there...not happy with it. Now I'm considering the fiberglass thing I'd just like to know more about it.
I would probably just fiberglass onto the stereo trim I'm just not sure if I'd keep the metal back piece or not...i'd have to modify it to push the vafc out more

 

by fiberglass you mean the abs thing i was talking about?

 

yes if its not too difficult

 

i pretty much explained it in post 22. all you need is a sheet of abs plastic, some specialty glue, and some fiberglass body filler. then you just cut the plastic to size, which is a lot easier with plastic vs. metal, and glue it in. after thats dry spread the filler over the joint and sand it smooth. the key is fit. if your panel doesn't fit snug against the trim you will not have great results. other than that just take your time and use coomon sense. have you ever worked with bondo? i tried to find a tech article for you but i couldn't. if you think you are going to go this route gather your supplies and let me know. i can go into more detail, but in the end you'll either have a feel for it or not.

 

thanks.
blackonblack98- No i haven't worked with bondo unfortunately. I'm not sure where to get the abs plastic though..its a sheet?

 

You could always make it out of wood and then cover it with thin "Foamies" and leather for a nice finish..

 

i thought about it. But i've pretty much made what i wanted to make at this point. I'm not satisfied with the leather. It reminds me of something a cheap radio place did in my dads van when they put in an aftermarket headunit...plus I feel like its already fading. If I could cover with some kind of plastic of fiberglass liek blackonblack is saying that would be cool.

 

yes the abs comesd in a sheet. i was trying to think of where to buy it but the shops i worked at always just had it, which is strange because i was usually the guy to do parts/supply runs. huh? i did a quick google for "abs plastic sheet" and buying it online should not be a problem. the glue is a "weld-on" plastic glue from ips. you can get plastic (bondo)/fiberlass filler at your local hardware store or auto painters supply store.

 

Ah I see. Yes I've seen the fiberglass material and then the resin at the auto stores. I thought bondo was something different. I would like to cover the metal piece with it if possible just a layer on it like I have the leather. Otherwise its going to make the vafc look too far back in the housing.
I wired up the vafc, thing is pretty cool.

 

filler is not the sheet/resin its a mud-like substance with plastic or fiberglass particles in it. if you're not going to join the panel to the trim you shouldn't use filler on the whole thing, but you could use to smooth out the cut area. heres another idea:



you could cut the red lines and bend them back to make tabs. the bends will be smoother than cuts and the rivets won't be on the face. make sure the red square is the distance from the black square that want the mounting depth to be. then build an open face box and mount it to the tabs. then you can just prime and paint the metal.