layers would be your strength.

 

So could I layer the matting and pour resin over the top or do I need to paint it on in layers?

 

Each piece you put on needs to be saturated in resin as it is applied.

 

www.fiberglassforums.com

 

+1 TONS of great info over there. And very nice people to boot!

 

FG will not stick to metal very well unless you rough up the surface quite a bit. That goes with any surface you are trying to adhere FG to.

 

Bob is right about the rough surfaceing.

Resin alone has no strength. It will crack and eventually become a bunch of small shattered pieces. Mat with too much resin will also become brittle and crack. The strength is in the mat, the resin melds the glass strands together.

 

The question is: would it be better/stronger than silicon for the purpose of filling that gap around the baffle.

 

Silicone alone works fine unless you're gap is more than 1/2" IMO. Even if you use FG to fill a gap, it doesn't stick to metal that great even if you do rough it up(which exposes bare metal which will rust). I say it will rust because eventually the FG will release from the metal due to vibrations and shock. If you want to use FG to fill a gap, make the FG part but dont remove the paint from the metal. Instead lay masking tape on the inner door so the FG part will NOT stick. After it cures you will have a form fitting part. Use silicone or your choice of sealer between the FG part and the inner door. The end result is a rigid baffle/filler sealed to the inner door.

 

With fiberglass cloth, you can most certainly use a body filler applicator as the squeegie and apply the resin in that fashion. Its only with matting that you need to dab the resin in due to the orientation of the fibers. And how do I know this? Because I have done this many times before building structural pieces using only standard laminating resin and cloth.

 

Upon futher testing...it looks like the silicon is holding up well. I am still going to try and screw it down a little better where I have good metal behind it.

If gives some...but gives with the door.

When I tug on the baffle, it's my door that's moving, not the baffle as i originally thought. How do I make the inner door itself stronger? Weld steel?
3 layers of deadener?

 

It doesn't have to be completely rigid as long as it has mass which is what deadening will do. If you do want to stiffen it up and dont want to weld, try picking up some 1/2 inch square tubing and pop rivet(steel rivets, not aluminum) it on the backside of the inner door...but still deaden. More important than deadening is sealing.

 

If you really want it to stick to metal you should drill lots of holes in the piece before putting the resin on. It'll stick real good.

 

That would make the resin like a rivet..
Give Fiberglassforums.com a try They are open to new idea's & Love to see peoples projects..
Mod's Are nice too.. Lots & lots of info..
Cant wait to see your work on both sites..
Peace Troy