If you dont want to read the story jump to the other bold part for the question

ok. i have searched EVERYWHERE, here, other forums, Google... i cant find this answer anywhere... i have even asked some of the proffs here at school and cant come up with a good answer...

THE Situation

I have my head unit mounted in my EK in the lower section (where the tape deck usually goes) so the stock radio is/was still there...

i got a STARMATE S1 Sirius Satilite radio for my birthday from my brother and want to make a custom panel to go around it so it fits centered in my dash (where the stock radio and pocket would go)

THE PROBLEM!!

Now the only way i decided to effectively make a panel that would fit perfectly into place was to take the two parts (radio face and pocket) and bond them together then fiberglass or bondo over them to fill in the holes in the radio.. then i plan on cutting out the hole for the satilite radio to fit in.

the problem is these parts are plastic... and i dont know for sure if the fiberglass resine and fiberglass would bond to the plastic... so im basically asking if fiberglass or bondo would bond to the plastic used in our dash pieces, maybe if i roughed them up with sand paper?.. maybe you have a better way for me to do this.. i haven't even found anyone that has made a custom dash piece... so maybe im a first to try..? thanks for any advice... BTW this will be my first time using fiberglass or bondo..

oh... i also looked for a plastic filler.. found one type for this application... it was 56 dollars for the same size can you get of bondo at your local autoparts store...

 

bed time bump

 

cut out a peice of mdf that everythign fits in and fit it in where you want it,.. then mold it in with some long strand renforced filler and finnish it off with some filler and a good primer .. rough up the plastic good with some rough sand paper and wash it with some warm soapy water .... use some masking tape and alu foil on whatever p[arts you are molding around the fiberglass and fillers dont stick to that stuff

hope i helped out I am still waking up

 

you need to scuff the plastic with some 80 grit sandpaper, then if possible prep with plastic cleaner and adhesion promoter. you can get these materials from your local body shop supplier. they are kind of pricey, but work well. a cheap alternative is to use super glue. sand the plastic, put on some latex gloves, pour some superglue on the plastic and wipe it around with the gloves as evenly as possible, let dry. the glue will stick to the plastic better than the resin or bondo will and the resin or bondo will stick to the glue. either way you do it, i would prime it when you are done. good luck.

 

bump.. both great suggestions.. any other ideas? im going to get pics up on here in a second or two.. i think the MDF idea would be hard to do because the way our stock radio pieces are molded..... this is getting to be harder than what i tohught... but it will be one of a kind when im done.. anyone else know what will bond to this plastic? i think its ABS plastic..

 

bump

 

102 views and not more than 2 replies... come on people!! the welding/fab forum is worthless!

 

worthless? you mean like not taking the 5 minutes to google "interior fiberglassing"? There are other resources for knowledge out there. I found this in about two minutes, pretty usefull info for your situation.

http://www.s10forum.com/forum/...08071/

 

Here is a thread I posted on this forum with step by step pics of doing exactly what you want to do.

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1894344

Two plastic parts made into one center dash using fiberglass and bondo.

Hope that helps...
Let me know if you have any questions

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by turbosi03 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Here is a thread I posted on this forum with step by step pics of doing exactly what you want to do.

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1894344

Two plastic parts made into one center dash using fiberglass and bondo.

Hope that helps...
Let me know if you have any questions
</TD></TR></TABLE>

I've seen that thread before and love the results. I plan on doing that to a few parts in my truck when I do the interior.

 

awesome! thanks guys!!!

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Mullet_SyTy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">worthless? you mean like not taking the 5 minutes to google "interior fiberglassing"? There are other resources for knowledge out there. I found this in about two minutes, pretty usefull info for your situation.

http://www.s10forum.com/forum/...08071/</TD></TR></TABLE>

Never thought of putting interior fiberglassing... i was using "will fiberglass bond to plastic" and things like that...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by turbosi03 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Here is a thread I posted on this forum with step by step pics of doing exactly what you want to do.

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1894344

Two plastic parts made into one center dash using fiberglass and bondo.

Hope that helps...
Let me know if you have any questions
</TD></TR></TABLE>

I found this when i first started... problem is its not eactly what i want to do...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JDMKid71 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">102 views and not more than 2 replies... come on people!! the welding/fab forum is worthless!</TD></TR></TABLE>

link dose not work for me...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JDMKid71 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

link dose not work for me...
</TD></TR></TABLE>

H-T probably destroyed their bandwidth, give it a day, they should be back up and running. :-)

Its a very good thread on how to do fiberglass to interior plastic and make it look good while doing it.

 

take either suggestion i made, both will work. trust me i've been doing this for 13 yrs.

 

yup... your info seemed to make the most since.. so thats what im doing... i went out and bought super glue today and after scuffing the surface with 60grit sand paper i applied super glue and have put two layers on so far and will probably put another on top of that before i fiberglass it.... my only last questions is could i use Bondos " Bondo-glass" witch is resin with long strand fibers in it already...? and then use some sheet fiberglass over the parts i want thick?

Thanks again for your advice and thank you boostismycrack for your method... ill post pics (from my crapy camera phone tho) when im all done of before and after

 

yes you can use bondo glass, duraglass, marglass, kittyhair or any fiber glass filler type of product. that **** is strong as hell, but will weigh a ton when ur done. no need for the fiberglass mat if you use that stuff. maybe a layer of very thin mat to seal it all together. also be careful not to mix ur material too hot because it will cause alot of shrinkage and warp your part.

 

i just read ur entire post instead of just the bold. are u trying to mold this to the entire radio/ a/c trim bezel, or do you just want an insert to replace where the factory radio and pocket go? if the latter, there is a much easier way than what you are trying to do....

 

just the insert, basicaly combinding the coin pocket and the stock radio face... the face was removed from the actual radio.. thats why it has the holes in it

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JDMKid71 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I found this when i first started... problem is its not eactly what i want to do...</TD></TR></TABLE>

Oh I was referring to the question in your original post.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JDMKid71 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">the problem is these parts are plastic... and i dont know for sure if the fiberglass resine and fiberglass would bond to the plastic... so im basically asking if fiberglass or bondo would bond to the plastic used in our dash pieces, maybe if i roughed them up with sand paper?</TD></TR></TABLE>

In my thread I did exactly that, stuck fiberglass/bondo to plastic parts from a car... although I did not show steps on preping the plastic. Basically just cleaned dash parts with windex to get off any armorall, then scuffed with 80 grit like boostismycrack mentioned.

The superglue trick is a good idea

 

if you are not molding the whole dash piece together, it would be much easier to make an insert for the radio/pocket and have a cutout for the starmate. you could make it out of whatever material you wanted, abs, pvc, mdf, etc.... and finish it however you choose, vinyl or paint maybe a texture coat? I have a template from when i did my si and a starmate at the store. i could make it for u in like a hour. although i love the diy spirit, if you can't get it let me know. just shoot me a pm.

 

As you can see the paper is the template for the Starmate, that is the insert im going to put it in... i have put 2 coats of super glue over the whole insert and also super glued the coin pocket and the radio face together so they are one peice... i plan on fiberglassing over this now one piece and then sanding it down so its smooth and flush again... then cutting out the part where the Starmate will sit... the Starmate also runs real hot so im going to wire in a 12V fan to mount to the back of the starmate to keep her nice and cool... What do you guys think? I think this is going to work real well.. im jsut in a dorm room right now and dont have anythere to fiberglass till like the summer.. lmao. Thanks for all the help and advice guys.

 

Ps.. sorry for the crappy camera phone pic.. lol its all i have.. but you get the idea at least

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

<FONT COLOR="black">I wasn't completely happy with a previous DIY. The look, even though the colors matched my trim... looked like the screen was just thrown into a hole. I revised my previous faceplate and molded the touch screen faceplate in the CF one that I made. </FONT>

<FONT COLOR="black">If I could find a way to change the silver buttons to black and still have them backlit, If i could, I would, but as for now, the silver buttons stay silver. </FONT>

<FONT COLOR="black">So here's the latest. I'll show the steps of the process for those who wish to attempt similar projects. Otherwise, I’m not going to get into much detail</FONT>


<FONT SIZE="3">After the first DIY:</FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3"></FONT>

<FONT SIZE="3">The CF faceplate I made, using a mold:</FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3"></FONT>

<FONT SIZE="3">When I put the faceplate in it’s final location, the only thing I really lose (since I’m not a smoker) is my auxiliary power supply. So I relocated it under my armrest:</FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3"></FONT>

<FONT SIZE="3">After cutting a hole for as tight of a fit as I can, I placed the screen in it’s final location where it was held in place with a fiber glass based filler</FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3"></FONT>

<FONT SIZE="3">The filler:</FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3"></FONT>


<FONT SIZE="3">To make sure I had the screen set at the correct depth, I used tape to hold it in place while the filler setup.</FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3"></FONT>

<FONT SIZE="3">Some filler on the face side to smooth everything out:</FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3"></FONT>


<FONT SIZE="3">Filler Primer to help smooth everything out:</FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3"></FONT>

<FONT SIZE="3">More filler to mold the button strip in place:</FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3"></FONT>


<FONT SIZE="3">After a few coats of paint to match the interior trim:</FONT>
<FONT SIZE="3">[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]</FONT>

<FONT SIZE="3">..and final install: </FONT>

<FONT SIZE="3"></FONT>


<FONT SIZE="3"></FONT></TD></TR></TABLE>

This was from a write-up a guy posted on a forum local to me.

 

that looks real real nice! anyone know where you can pick up some of that reinforced filler?