[Boogaloo]

The stock tweeter covers in my Forester are in the sail panels.
The sail panel/tweeter covers are made from ABS plastic. I need to create some kind of a ring for the Seas H1396-04 tweets I want to use, but I am having trouble figuring out the best way to go about this.

I have attached some pictures of the sail panel covers, and the tweets, as well as the relative angle I want the tweets to sit, so if any of you master fabricators out there can shed some light on how I might accomplish this, I would really appreciate it.


This is the sail panel cover. The pointy end near my index finger is the top, and points toward the roof of the car.

This picture shows the bottom of the cover. This end sits along the top of the door panel.

This picture shows the general position of the tweeter as I would like it to sit when completed. I have not trimmed or cut the panel cover at all, and I would like the tweeter to sit inside the panel cover a lttle more than this picture indicates.

Here is a slightly different angle. You can clearly see the lip on the bezel of the tweeter. I would like this lip to be nearly flush with the sharp radius of the sail panel cover at the angle I have it positioned here.

Here is a picture of the backside of the sail panel cover.

Here is a picture of the Seas H1396-04 tweeter.

Obviously I will need to acquire some kind of ring, then attach that ring to the ABS plastic panel cover, then glass, or fill any gaps, then body filler, sand and paint for a nice black finish when done.

The part I am stumped on is finding a ring, and then attaching it securely to the plastic panel cover. The fill, shaping and finish I can do. Thank you guys for any help you might provide.

 

[IBcivic]

Too easy...
Clean off the plastic with alcohol, after scuffing the area that will receive the bondo-hair.

Make an mdf or plastic ring and glue it in position with hot melt(small drops).

Stretch some fabric over the ring and glue the edges to your abs, using c-a glue. The cloth will give you the shape.

Apply f-glass resin to harden it. Once hardened, remove any trace of hot-melt glue. (makes a mess when in contact with resin)

Fill from the rear side with bondo-hair to give it som strength.

If your cloth did not sag, there should be almost no filling(rage gold) required, on the exposed side.

sand to a nice contour/finish

Spray it with Krylon satin black...done

 

[Boogaloo]

Too easy...
Clean off the plastic with alcohol, after scuffing the area that will receive the bondo-hair.

Make an mdf or plastic ring and glue it in position with hot melt(small drops).

Stretch some fabric over the ring and glue the edges to your abs, using c-a glue. The cloth will give you the shape.

Apply f-glass resin to harden it. Once hardened, remove any trace of hot-melt glue. (makes a mess when in contact with resin)

Fill from the rear side with bondo-hair to give it som strength.

If your cloth did not sag, there should be almost no filling(rage gold) required, on the exposed side.

sand to a nice contour/finish

Spray it with Krylon satin black...done

Thanks for the quick reply!
The problem I am having is finding a ring of any kind that is a good fit. The Seas tweeter has amounting diameter of 1.800"
I spent some time down at the hardware store looking at ABS pipe fittings and things that might be close that I could fab a ring out of and everything I touched was too big. The tweeter would not fit nicely inside.
They were either 1/8" too big, or far too small to get a good fit.

I have zero capacity to make an mdf ring.

 

[tophatjimmy]

I could never get those pods in my Outback to look right using the stock plastic. Too bulky.

I just made my own.

Super easy.

 

[IBcivic]

I could never get those pods in my Outback to look right using the stock plastic. Too bulky.

I just made my own.

Super easy.

Looks super nice,top-hat :thumbsup:

 

[FbodyAudio]

Do You have access to a hole saw set ? Get a sheet of 1/4 inch thick abs plastic, then use a hole saw to cut out a disc the same diameter as the outside of your tweeter. Then get a holes as that's the size of the opening you need to make, and cut said hole in the disc. End result is a ring. Then follow the steps above for attaching it and covering it with fiberglass. Fwiw, I would use ca glue (super glue) instead of hot glue, the resin won't react with in.

Mike

 

[eviling]

alright just a wodden ring glued on with a resin\bondo slury, than bondo all around, get a shape, sand to shape\finish and vinyl paint or flock them.

 

[WaTTsLOk187]

Where in LA are you? I can help you with the wooden rings if You can't make a set yourself.

 

[AndyInOC]

Thanks for the quick reply!
The problem I am having is finding a ring of any kind that is a good fit. The Seas tweeter has amounting diameter of 1.800"
I spent some time down at the hardware store looking at ABS pipe fittings and things that might be close that I could fab a ring out of and everything I touched was too big. The tweeter would not fit nicely inside.
They were either 1/8" too big, or far too small to get a good fit.

I have zero capacity to make an mdf ring.

Find an ABS or PVC fitting that gets you close to the size you need, then wrap a little velcro (furry side) on the outside of the tweet. It will give you a nice snug fit. +1 on whoever suggested flocking the finish, looks better than paint and it will hide smaller flaws in the surface.

 

[Boogaloo]

Where in LA are you? I can help you with the wooden rings if You can't make a set yourself.

I am in the south bay near Redondo Beach.
Let me know, I would love some help with the rings brother!
I can pay, buy food, whatever. Just let me know!

 

[denetnz]

Those tweeters look small enough to fit inside the stock covers - why not keep it stealth?

I've got a Subaru Legacy with very similar tweeter covers. I'm having the back edge of the tweeter covers extended 15mm so that I can fit a pair of HAT L1 Pro R2's in behind them, while still looking stock.

 

[Boogaloo]

Those tweeters look small enough to fit inside the stock covers - why not keep it stealth?

I've got a Subaru Legacy with very similar tweeter covers. I'm having the back edge of the tweeter covers extended 15mm so that I can fit a pair of HAT L1 Pro R2's in behind them, while still looking stock.

Yeah, they are not. The previous tweeters I have had (2 different types) have both fit, with some moderate trimming of the tweeter housing. These however are far too big. They are a LOT beefier than the Polk MM, or the Vifa D26NC05's that I had in there.

I bought a spare set of sail panel covers to give this a shot.