Custom Fiberglass Kick Panels

Building your own kick panels is a very rewarding, but time consuming task. The pros can build a set in a day, but it took me about 40 hours to build these. This was the first set of kick panels I've made, and the first time I've worked with vinyl. The end product came out great, so if you're considering building some yourself, give it a shot. The materials aren't that expensive (under $50), and the learning experience was well worth it. A great resource for all stereo installation questions is the forum at Sounddomain. Here's how I made mine:

1)The stock plastic kick panels are traced onto 1/8" wood. The pattern is cut out, and test fit into the car. The speaker baffles are made next. I used two layers of 1/4" plywood. First, you'll need to decide on a shape. If you're using co-axial speakers, you can make it round. I used separate component speakers, so I chose a tear drop shape, with the tweeter at the top. The bottom layer is just a round donut shape that the 6 1/2" speaker mounts to. The center hole is cut per the dimensions provided with the speakers. The top layer is the teardrop shape. The hole for the 6 1/2" speaker is cut a little larger than the grill, so the speaker looks countersunk. The tweeters are pretty flush, so it mounts to the top layer.

After making two identical baffles, they must be positioned on the kick panel. Radio backstraps are used to support the baffle. I screwed them into the baffle, and epoxied the other end to the 1/8" wood. They're flexible enough to allow you to aim the speaker to get the best possible sound.

2) Expanding spray foam is applied to the undersides of the baffles. Try to get it to fill in the shape you want as close as possible. The foam on the left hand kick panel has been trimmed to shape with a large knife. After building these, I read that the large green floral foam blocks can be used instead of the expanding foam. They're much cleaner that the spray foam. Just cut them into chunks, and glue them down with hot glue. Then cut to shape.

3) After shaping both kick panels, fiberglass is applied over the top of the foam. I used two layers of cloth, and a layer of mat. I decided it was easier to glass over the speaker openings and cut it out later, than to try to stop the glass right on the edge.

4) Using rough grit sandpaper, smooth out the fiberglass as best you can. Then I cut out the cloth that covered the speaker openings. Next, apply Bondo to all the low areas. Vinyl will show imperfections under the surface, so you want to get it very smooth. After the Bondo cured, sand all the surfaces with fine grit paper. I went down to about 220, but some people think you should go to 400. I couldn't see any marks through the vinyl with 220.

5) Probably the trickiest part was applying the vinyl. The vinyl I used was a high quality vinyl that I used on the seats and center console. I used Dap Weldwood Contact Cement, which gets stickier when heated (which is necessary to stretch the vinyl). Spray adhesives may have been easier to apply, but don't work well when heated. Ignore the directions on the can, and apply a complete layer of adhesive on your vinyl the night before. Using a heat gun, soften the vinyl, then stretch it over the kick panel. The heat will make the contact cement soften up, and it'll hold very nicely. You may need to reapply the cement in a few areas. Continue using the heat gun to soften and stretch the vinyl, then apply it to the kick panel.

6) Install the speakers in the kick panel, and you're done! The kick panels slide into the slot, and I used one black screw to keep them in place.

Last Update: 01/17/2002