Fighting the Down Time - *pics*
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MECP is not important for putting in alarms and starters in Ontario, it's not recognized by any government bodies. If you are not AEAT certified (basically a mechanics training) you cannot legally put in alarms and starters unless there is another certified installer working in your shop.
2000 Watt CAFz'r
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 2,406
Originally posted by Brandon:
Also, serious question for you, not meant to be smug or anything, but how much Fiberglass work could an FS installer do? I don't think I've ever seen a full install by FS...
Also, serious question for you, not meant to be smug or anything, but how much Fiberglass work could an FS installer do? I don't think I've ever seen a full install by FS...
That's likely because I don't work at an install shop and I don't compete.
Not to mention that I have niether a working digital camera or scanner so your gonna be S.O.L. for pictures. Unless you wanna take a look at Bubba's car(Emanuel Beja) the guy who took Finals last year, even though I worked on it with Jason, so it wasn't JUST me....or you could take a look at Jason's old install with the spare tire well full of the old Kicker amps that did quite well last year even though, I again was working with Jason. ( I had no part in the new trunk except maybe holding a trouble light for 5 mins and basic tuning after it was put together). Oh wait, I installed the driver's side Audiom 6W. As for Full installs by myself....I've never really built anything worthy of pictures...it was all just to have some tunes but install was not really fantastic...amps mounted to an MDF floor and a sub-box wrapped in vinyl. If I had a working camera, I would show you what I doing right now to the buick(or what I just finished I should say)....basically I built a couple custom trim peices out of MDF and bondo, then wetsanded them and painted them so everything matches up nicely.
Next project is Kickpanels which is already under way....gotta measure pathlenghths tomorrow.
BTW, I don't ever remember saying I've built any killer systems....not by myself anyway. Yea there was Jason's and Bubba's but that wasn't on my own. I'll be the first to admit I'm not a world class installer, I'm not bad....my bondo skills need work, as do my cutting skills(with a Jigsaw, although I'm not that bad) I don't really have the patience to buld kickpanels but I'm strugging through it. Just about anybody can wire a car, which I'm quite good at...I wired jason's car front to back.
Not to mention that I have niether a working digital camera or scanner so your gonna be S.O.L. for pictures. Unless you wanna take a look at Bubba's car(Emanuel Beja) the guy who took Finals last year, even though I worked on it with Jason, so it wasn't JUST me....or you could take a look at Jason's old install with the spare tire well full of the old Kicker amps that did quite well last year even though, I again was working with Jason. ( I had no part in the new trunk except maybe holding a trouble light for 5 mins and basic tuning after it was put together). Oh wait, I installed the driver's side Audiom 6W. As for Full installs by myself....I've never really built anything worthy of pictures...it was all just to have some tunes but install was not really fantastic...amps mounted to an MDF floor and a sub-box wrapped in vinyl. If I had a working camera, I would show you what I doing right now to the buick(or what I just finished I should say)....basically I built a couple custom trim peices out of MDF and bondo, then wetsanded them and painted them so everything matches up nicely.
Next project is Kickpanels which is already under way....gotta measure pathlenghths tomorrow.
BTW, I don't ever remember saying I've built any killer systems....not by myself anyway. Yea there was Jason's and Bubba's but that wasn't on my own. I'll be the first to admit I'm not a world class installer, I'm not bad....my bondo skills need work, as do my cutting skills(with a Jigsaw, although I'm not that bad) I don't really have the patience to buld kickpanels but I'm strugging through it. Just about anybody can wire a car, which I'm quite good at...I wired jason's car front to back.
Originally posted by Tim Baillie.:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Brandon:
Also, serious question for you, not meant to be smug or anything, but how much Fiberglass work could an FS installer do? I don't think I've ever seen a full install by FS...
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Brandon:
Also, serious question for you, not meant to be smug or anything, but how much Fiberglass work could an FS installer do? I don't think I've ever seen a full install by FS...
Yea, your right, there is some good FS installers on here...so excuse me for being totally in the dark this whole time
Thread Starter
50 Watt CAFz'r
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 200
G'day...
I'm sure a lot of you have been gnawing your fingernails off in anticipation, so without further ado, here are the final pics. I haven't had a lot of time to work on this near-debacle of a project due to me fighting the "up" time, but all things considered I guess it turned out better than I expected. It's not perfect by any means... There are a few imperfections in the surface that the camera didn't want to pick up, but are fairly easy to see with the naked eye. I'll be sure to go over all those so Jamie doesn't think that I think this is anything remotely close to a half-decent-looking piece of scrap, cuz it aint. (j/k buddy, the bitterness has pretty much subsided [img]smile.gif[/img] )
I had the opportunity to talk to an experienced bodyshop guy, and he gave me some advice on how to make this thing turn out a little better. From the last pics, I ended up sanding the whole thing down again, starting heavily with 40 grit. The bodyshop dude spent a few minutes feeling my box up and pointing out all the dips and divots, so I figured why not start from scratch again. Sand, sand, sand... 40, 80, 120, 220, 400. I found a quaint little paint supply store and bought myself some quality products, like high-build primer, Icing, sanding discs, etc, etc. Once it was smooth again I primed, then wetsanded with 400. Now originally I was going to take it to a paint shop, but I've learned quite a bit about painting and some of the technicalities involved with it - and it is very technical - so I decided to try painting myself. BTW if you need some advice on detailing, go to www.automotiveforums.com and you'll find a lot of experienced people floating around that love to give advice. [img]smile.gif[/img]
I painted the box with acrylic-enamel in "dull aluminum" colour. I bought it off-the-shelf in aerosol format, which is usually the cheapest way to paint, but not necessarily the best. I found there are three types of paint available: acrylic enamel, acrylic lacquer and acrylic urethane. Enamel is pretty much the worst of the three, with urethane being the best. Enamel tends not to cure fully, so the finish isn't as durable as I'd like. I wish I'd known that before I bought the paint, but I guess I can always re-finish it if need be... Also, it's better (although more expensive) to buy the paint non-aerosol format and load it into a proper air sprayer. The aerosol cans tend to produce unwanted spraying patterns, especially when you get to the bottom of the can (ie spotting and blotching). All-in-all though, it does look pretty decent, at least by my standards. [img]smile.gif[/img] If you look very closely in the right light, you can see a few divots on the surface. As well, theres a small crack on the center ring that I thought for sure I had covered up, but nonetheless is visible with the enamel on. Theres a blemish on one of the corners as well, I think from sanding it down too much... [img]graemlins/banghead.gif[/img]
I'm sure a lot of you have been gnawing your fingernails off in anticipation, so without further ado, here are the final pics. I haven't had a lot of time to work on this near-debacle of a project due to me fighting the "up" time, but all things considered I guess it turned out better than I expected. It's not perfect by any means... There are a few imperfections in the surface that the camera didn't want to pick up, but are fairly easy to see with the naked eye. I'll be sure to go over all those so Jamie doesn't think that I think this is anything remotely close to a half-decent-looking piece of scrap, cuz it aint. (j/k buddy, the bitterness has pretty much subsided [img]smile.gif[/img] )
I had the opportunity to talk to an experienced bodyshop guy, and he gave me some advice on how to make this thing turn out a little better. From the last pics, I ended up sanding the whole thing down again, starting heavily with 40 grit. The bodyshop dude spent a few minutes feeling my box up and pointing out all the dips and divots, so I figured why not start from scratch again. Sand, sand, sand... 40, 80, 120, 220, 400. I found a quaint little paint supply store and bought myself some quality products, like high-build primer, Icing, sanding discs, etc, etc. Once it was smooth again I primed, then wetsanded with 400. Now originally I was going to take it to a paint shop, but I've learned quite a bit about painting and some of the technicalities involved with it - and it is very technical - so I decided to try painting myself. BTW if you need some advice on detailing, go to www.automotiveforums.com and you'll find a lot of experienced people floating around that love to give advice. [img]smile.gif[/img]
I painted the box with acrylic-enamel in "dull aluminum" colour. I bought it off-the-shelf in aerosol format, which is usually the cheapest way to paint, but not necessarily the best. I found there are three types of paint available: acrylic enamel, acrylic lacquer and acrylic urethane. Enamel is pretty much the worst of the three, with urethane being the best. Enamel tends not to cure fully, so the finish isn't as durable as I'd like. I wish I'd known that before I bought the paint, but I guess I can always re-finish it if need be... Also, it's better (although more expensive) to buy the paint non-aerosol format and load it into a proper air sprayer. The aerosol cans tend to produce unwanted spraying patterns, especially when you get to the bottom of the can (ie spotting and blotching). All-in-all though, it does look pretty decent, at least by my standards. [img]smile.gif[/img] If you look very closely in the right light, you can see a few divots on the surface. As well, theres a small crack on the center ring that I thought for sure I had covered up, but nonetheless is visible with the enamel on. Theres a blemish on one of the corners as well, I think from sanding it down too much... [img]graemlins/banghead.gif[/img]
Thread Starter
50 Watt CAFz'r
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 200
The "box" part of the project. Just a simple 3/4" MDF common-chamber box with bracing, and carpeted in charcoal grey.
Caulking the edges for a proper seal...
Yay, it fits. [img]smile.gif[/img]
[ August 03, 2004, 11:19 PM: Message edited by: Ex-Maxx ]
Thread Starter
50 Watt CAFz'r
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 200
Borrowed some MTX subs to see how they look... Not too shabby. Didn't actually get to listen to it, but that will come soon when we actually have three of the same sub in stock.
And I guess that's that... The box will probably sell for pretty cheap, considering the surface defects and whatnot, but I don't really care... It was a learning experience and I'm happy with the results. I've learned so much through this one project thanks to coworkers, bodyshop guys, the paint specialists at Paint Plus, GTMike at automotiveforums.com and last but certainly not least, all the kind and loving members that left their feedback for me on CCA. Thanks for your gut-wrenching bluntness. [img]graemlins/thumb.gif[/img]
