posted
Now I went out and bought some Cargroom long strand and short strand body filler from autozone. Then I went to advanced auto and bought some Plastic weld epoxy(3 tubes). Finally I went to walmart and picked up some standard bondo and some bondo gold(1 dollar more)
Anyone know the real difference between Bondo normal, Premium Gold or Bondo Ultimate?
Here's a basic picture of the bezel. My plan is to fabricate a 8" LCD Screen into it and relocate the A/C Controls to the bottom.
Now I cut out the center cross beam and epoxied in a sheet of 1/8" abs I had from partsexpress. seen here
At this point I tried to lay down the fiberglass filler and then bondo on top of that. Seems I used too much hardener on the bondo because it solidified on me while I was trying to smoothen it out. In the end the fiberglass reinforced filler didnt stick to the abs plastic. I was able to pry the entire thing.
I can say that the bondo created mess made a lovely frisbee.
Anyway continuing this long post I got bored last night and decided to cut a hole for my screen and add some abs strips with epoxy. Making this.
My original plan was to form a hole for the screen but that seems to difficult. At this point im contemplating doing what I should have done from the beginning, weld together the lcd's touchscreen housing and the bezel. if i do this i'll have to cut away the opening to allow the face to fit.
So finally my question. Does it sound like im going in the right direction? I know it looks like a huge mess. Should I add more epoxy to smoothen areas out? Will bondo stick to epoxy? Bondo gold stuck well to the abs sheet but I have yet to test it on any epoxy areas.
I'm not worried about ruining this bezel as I have 2 more spares. Would be nice if I could keep using this one though.
Posts: 2 | From: In your basement | Registered: Sep 2006
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posted
Major Update. I've been busy behind the scenes.
Well first off my Measurements were WRONG. The Dynamix screen fits nicely inside a lilliput bezel with minor modifcation. So I bought one and hacked it up. Glued it, ABS Sludged it, sanded it and now I'ved body filled it.
I also bought several Products, I got them through my buddy that paints cars for FORD at major discounts.
Evercoat Metal Glaze finishing Putty -$12, - 50% off normal price!- RageGold Extreme Body Filler -$20 for a gallon!- Evercoat Lightweight Body filler -it was free- 1 can of High Build Flexible Gray Primer -$6, normally $13-
I also found out some things about purchasing items.
Fiberglass Chopmat and standard mat is cheaper at Walmart than anywhere else. Walmart has them for $3.99 Each. Advanced Auto / Checkers / Bumper 2 Bumper / Orielly's / Autozone have them for $4.99 Each.
Napa is worthless for these items. 1 Gallon of Acetone is $32 at local Napa 1 Gallon of Acetone is < $20 At Local Home Depot / Lowes 1 Quart of Acetone is $4.50 at Advance Auto Parts 1 Gallon of M.E.K is $18 Dollars at Lowes 1 Quart of M.E.K Is $9 at Lowes and Home Depot
Bumper to Bumper has some of the better painting/auto detailing supplies. They Carry Evercoat and Ragegold Products. They Also Carry DURAMIX products. Napa carries some duramix but not alot-They Didnt Have 4040- Bumper 2 bumper had at least 10 different types. Including 3m products.
And I also found a REAL auto paint supply shop less than 4 miles from my home. It's a bit pricier. But they carry the real deal. Lots of choices and all high quality name brand products. They have every kind of epoxy/filler/glaze from every brand.
Pics time! Still needs ALOT of work. Im still working on moving the A/C Control unit now. Right now it's being a real pain. Once i get my other bezels in I'll be able to finish that part up.
I used 3 layers of Evercoat lightweight body filler to build it up. I'm going to try the RageGold Extreme next. The edges are my main concern/difficulty.
No frontend work will continue untill I get the other bezels. Which could take weeks as the shipper is in canada
Posts: 2 | From: In your basement | Registered: Sep 2006
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quote:Originally posted by Andy Jones: you are 100% using the wrong products and going about this the entirely wrong way.
Do a search here for "liquid plastic"
Also, go to http://www.hzemall.com and look at his install section. He has a great step by step to do this.
x2 on the liquid plastic. i got a tube of that stuff and it works wonders. a little expensive but worth it. by the way does anyone know of any alternative products that do the same thing.
Posts: 21 | From: Durham, NC, USA | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
Get some Fibertech by Evercoat...nice stuff to work with in these applications.
-------------------- Team Image Dynamics/Zapco/Werewolf/JK Lab Team Kinetik Sick Bastard Audio SQ Who feels it knows it Posts: 7993 | From: Charlotte,NC USA | Registered: May 1999
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