How It's Made:

Fiberglass Subwoofer Enclosure in the Mk V GTI / Rabbit / R32

Laying out tape over the carpet Cargo area in green tape Green taping is complete
The hatch area is cleaned and green tape laid out. The tape be laid bottom to top to prevent leaks behind the rows. The tape should cover 2" beyond the edge of the box and a Sharpie outlines the border.
Laying fiberglass mat and resin Fiberglass back form complete Back form being trimmed
The tape is waxed and fiberglass mat and resin is applied. No less than 4 layers of mat ensure a solid form when removed. The Sharpie line transfers to the fiberglass to make for easy trimming.
Trimming fiberglass Test fit back form Attaching speaker ring
An airsaw and die grinder make quick work of the excess fiberglass. The back form is test fit into the car without all the tape. The back is clamped to the table and a mounting ring is hot glued in place with scrap sticks of MDF. The top edge of the ring is rabbited on the router to give a clean edge to attach to later.
Attaching speaker ring Attaching fleece Stretching fleece around the back
The ring is checked for plumb, and needs to be solid enough not to move by hand. Fleece is laid over the ring, and stapled into the groove. The groove is easy to feel out through the fleece. The form is laid upside down and the fleece stretched around to the back. More hot glue holds the fleece to the cured fiberglass. Attempting to staple into hardened fiberglass usually meets with poor results.
Test fit with fleece Soaking fleece with resin Completed enclosure
The excess fleece is trimmed and the enclosure is test fit again. The fleece is soaked with as much resin as they can take in. It is important to soak it all at once, when the fleece hardens it will not absorb any more resin The fleece on the back is ground off, the enclosure is smoothed with filler and primed. The primer is sanded smooth with 180 grit. This is called the plug.
Mold releasing the plug Tooling gelcoat Fiberglass reinforcement
Strips of cardboard wrapped in green tape are hot glued around the seam of the enclosure to create a flange for the mold. The plug is waxed several times and then sprayed with PVA. Barbed air tool fittings are glued to the PVA surface with CA glue (no activator) and a thick coat of tooling gelcoat is applied After the gelcoat flashes, when it appears to have a rubber like consistancy, mat and resin are added.
Tool nozzles attached Back half of mold complete Frame for mold
The mold should be very thick to ensure it will be sturdy enough to take the repeated abuse of casting boxes from it. After it dries the 1/4" NPT fittings are screwed into the barbed ends. Connect a few air hoses to the fittings and the mold should remove itself from the plug. The flashing on the edges is trimmed off with an air saw. A frame of 2x4s is made to hold the back mold upright.
Top half of mold Setting up to make enclosure Gelcoat laid in mold
The plug is put back in the back mold, and the entire piece is waxed and sprayed with PVA before beginning the process over again. The completed mold halves are waxed and another mounting ring is set in place. A thick layer of general purpose gelcoat is applied to the mold halves.
Two halves removed from mold Flashing removed Halves taped together
As the gelcoat begins to harden, multiple layers of fiberglass are applied. After drying, connecting air hoses to the fittings pop out the halves. The flashing is trimmed from the box halves. The two halves are temporarily held together with green tape.
Seams sealed with fiberglass Enclosure mounting stud Wrapped in carpet
A mixture of resin and filler is poured into the box and rolled around to bond the two halves together. A two sided bolt (JL Audio ground lug) is attached through the factory hole in the cargo area. A matching hole in the enclosure securely mounts it to the car. The gelcoat is scuffed and matching carpet is applied.
Back side of enclosure Mounted in vehicle Stealth view
The carpet covers 1" around the back of the enclosure to prevent peeling back later The enclosure is mounted to the vehicle This view shows how well the enclosure hides into the cargo area.

Want one? They are available for purchase here:

GTI / Rabbit / R32 Sub Enclosure

 

5652 Jason Lee Place, Sarasota, FL 34233 Phone: (941) 923-6200
Google Maps is slightly off, our facility is the large metal building at the end of the street.

Store Hours: Monday through Saturday 9am-6pm - Closed Sunday

Email too:
Ryan Pepsin - Ryan@srqcustoms.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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