DIY, Custom A Pillar Construction Instructions!!

[6.0SS]

Material List:
Home Depot/Hardware store
Fiberglass Resin
Fiberglass Cloth/Mat
Box of 50 Rubber Gloves
Extra Fiberglass Resin Hardener
1 gallon Tub of Bondo.
Bondo mixing and applying plastic spreaders
Light weight finishing filler, (5 oz tube)
40 grit sand paper
120 grit sand paper
320 grit sand paper
primer
paint
Small amt of 1/2 inch MDF Wood 4ft sq should be enough
Large Roll of Aluminum Foil
Package of Mixing Cups or SOLO cups,

Tools needed
POWER SANDER IS A BIG HELP
Scisors or razor blades
Jig Saw
Imagination


FIRST STEP: Making the Mold to build from.

Remove A Pillar Trim Covers.

Cover A Pillar Trim Piece in Aluminum foil, 2 layers should be good,
press the foil so there is no creases and it wraps the trim piece tight

Lay out dry fiberglass mat on Pillar, cut to fit shape,
2 layers should be fine to start...
(you are covering the outside shell, not wrapping it around
the back.)

Put on Gloves, Mix 5-10 Oz of Fiber glass resin in Cup
according to the packages requirements,,,MIX WELL.

Use your hands and work resin into the Mat, Continue to
make sure that the mat holds the shape that you are recreating.

DO this on both pillars and wait till they dry, 2-6 hours depending
on temperature.

Once dry, remove hard shell from original pillar trim piece and pick
the aluminum off of the mold you have made.

STEP TWO. Creating the shape.
This part takes some creativity on your part, Now that you have
seen how Fiber glass works, You need to learn and play with how
you want your pillar to look, are you adding speakers, Gages, Mounts
Displays, SAFCII Screen, MBC's etc.

Use the Wood to cut guides for your self. Our example will be tweeter POD.

Cut the wood to reflect a ring the size of which the tweeter
will fit in snug.

Use Small amt of bondo, (mix according to instructions on can)
to secure the wood to your New Mold. Mix the bondo HOT, or
add a little more cream hardener than your would for normal.
(this is just expierence, play with the stuff a little bit
before you start your project) You can see in this picture the
small plastic mounting ring that was used, see how it is atached
with the bondo to the mold!!


Let dry, the HOT mix bondo will harden in about 3-5 min.
You will have to hold the wood in that spot until it drys.

Now Mix normal proportions of cream hardener and bondo and fill in
area behind the wood trim piece, use Gloves and use a bondo spreader.
(this will cause less sanding later)

Let this harden and continue to sand down and apply bondo until you have
the shape that is desired.

as you can see here, the plastic trim ring is now back filled and the middle
cleared out.



Use Dremel tool or drill to remove excess bondo from inside the wood trim
ring, you can also put the tweeter into a plastic bag before bondo and put it
in the trim ring you made,then bondo around it, same idea as the aluminum
over the pillar trim ring, it does not stick but allowes it to be molded
around the part.

Part 3: Finishing the pillar.

At this point you should have a basic looking pillar with lots of
funny colors on it.


Use your light weight bondo filler tube to fill in small irregularities on
the surface of your new Trim Pieces, Use the 320 grit to make is as smooth
and flowing as possible, you might want to lay another layer of fiberglass
mat over the project at this point to have a uniform surface and to add strength.
Bondo sands easier than resin and having the surface uniform with one product
will make it easier to sand and make just perfect.


next is to spray with primer and let dry, this will show
off the wavy or uneven parts. let dry and
finish sanding it down and filling imperfections and re spray with primer
until you have it as smooth as you want it to be.

Next hit the piece with SEM Texture coat spray, follow the instructions
on the can very carefully, dont rush this part. This will give the
New Trim Piece a texture that looks like leather or the factory plastic
dash texture. Follow the finishing instructions on the can
exactly so it turns out just right, remember at this point,
you can always sand it down and try again until it is just right



Last part is to paint it what ever color you want!
and you are done


TWO VERY GOOD QUESTIONS HAVE COME UP....

First Question is, did I mold onto the plastic?

In the Pictures I did mold to the plastic, But something that I would NOT recomend because it can crack, plastic is soft and flexable, bondo and fiberglass are not, so they don't last long with out cracking. The instructions I drafted up describe recreating a new pillar, not building off of the factory one, yet the pictures are my first go at it, the finished product picture is my final job at it and does not have any original factory pillar in it, so READ CAREFULLY, take pictures as a slight guide to the words.

Second is how to attach the pillar once you make it?

You can secure the A pillar in three ways,
THe first is done buy molding or glueing the factory clip to your new A pillar,
Liquid nails works well for this!

The other that has worked very well for me has been clear silicone to secure it from the back side, to remove it use a heat gun.

I have seen people use screws and have built into the A pillar a deep counter sunkin portion for the screw to hide in and secure the pillar, this is the hard way, but the best way.

[DOHCrazy]

Wow, this is a great article...

Thank you!

[tuckermitchell]

that is sooo sick. I wish that I had that kind of talent... did you put a 4" component or 5.25 in there and would you think about doing that for me for $$$$

[95stroked1500]

what kind of luck have you had with the glass sticking good to the plastic. long term, removing panel, etc.. i really haven't seen anything i like that does a good bond to plastic. something tough and durable anyway.

looks great.

[bombguy]

One thing I'm not seeing is how you attach the fiberglass shell to the A pillar plastic. Do you mount it over the top or are you replacing everything with a new fiberglass piece? Also is that on a NBS pillar or OBS? Looks great either way!

[Unknown808]

That is siiiiiiick! Nice job!

[CKTA]

Nice job!

[97Silverado]

Do you have any more info on the SEM texture coat?

[Baja1000Racer]

This should become a sticky for sure...so make it one!

SEM sprays can be found here:
http://www.sem.ws/

[Exalted512]

Originally Posted by bombguy

One thing I'm not seeing is how you attach the fiberglass shell to the A pillar plastic. Do you mount it over the top or are you replacing everything with a new fiberglass piece? Also is that on a NBS pillar or OBS? Looks great either way!

its not a truck

dude--that looks effin awesome!
thats exactly what i want to do with my next truck except have the speakers parallel with the windshield
-Cody

[Baja1000Racer]

Originally Posted by tuckermitchell

that is sooo sick. I wish that I had that kind of talent... did you put a 4" component or 5.25 in there and would you think about doing that for me for $$$$

That shouldnt be too hard, as long you have access to a junk yard where you could get the A pillars for cheap. Sell them unfinished and the buyer could paint any color they want. Would be a nice $$ maker.

[gabe8501]

Originally Posted by bombguy

One thing I'm not seeing is how you attach the fiberglass shell to the A pillar plastic. Do you mount it over the top or are you replacing everything with a new fiberglass piece? Also is that on a NBS pillar or OBS? Looks great either way!

That's what I want to know. It looks like he attached the fiberglass shell onto the a pillar, but I don't know how. I think maybe he bondo'ed it together.
Then maybe sanded the entire thing and repainted. But then again, I am usually wrong.

[Brianm]

Originally Posted by Exalted512

its not a truck

It prob his Evo he has. Sweet install. Just what i needed. ANOTHER project

[ibthumpin]

Originally Posted by gabe8501

That's what I want to know. It looks like he attached the fiberglass shell onto the a pillar, but I don't know how. I think maybe he bondo'ed it together.
Then maybe sanded the entire thing and repainted. But then again, I am usually wrong.

the speaker pods are 'glassed right to the pillar panel.

[6.0SS]

TWO VERY GOOD QUESTIONS HAVE COME UP....

First Question is, did I mold onto the plastic?
In the Pictures I did mold to the plastic, But something that I would not recomend because it can crack, plastic is soft and flexable, bondo and fiberglass are not, so they don't last long with out cracking. The instructions I drafted up describe recreating a new pillar, not building off of the factory one, yet the pictures are my first go at it, the finished product picture is my final job at it and does not have any original factory pillar in it, so read carfully, take pictures as a slight guide to the words.

Second is how to attach the pillar once you make it.
You can secure the A pillar in three ways,
THe first is done buy molding or glueing the factory clip to your new A pillar,
Liquid nails works well for this!

The other that has worked very well for me has been clear silicone to secure it from the back side, to remove it use a heat gun.

I have seen people use screws and have built into the A pillar a deep counter sunkin portion for the screw to hide in and secure the pillar, this is the hard way, but the best way.

[Exalted512]

im trying this during christmas break

[twiztid92chevy]

Nice... Now I'm contemplating this. Just wonder how well something like this will work on OBS with the square guage part... guess I'll be heading to a junkyard for a set of pillars in my spare time.

[dueprocess]

... guess I'll be heading to a junkyard for a set of pillars in my spare time.[/quote]
that is two of us!!!!

[dueprocess]

Originally Posted by 97Silverado

Do you have any more info on the SEM texture coat?

My Dad does buisness with the company, this is what he said......

Hey man,
I contacted SEM and talk to a man named Jim Hussey. He gave me the following address to get more information about the 3985 product you are interested in, it is:
http://www.sem.ws/tech_sheet/rab-2.pdf.

SEM does not have a product data sheet for this material, the address above gives information about application. After reviewing the MSDS and seeing the ingredients of this product you need to make sure that anywhere you use this product you have good airflow and ventilation. This is an aromatic type product that has very low flash point levels, meaning that until it cures it is flammable and the fumes it will put off will be flammable also, do not smoke while applying this product.

This paint has crushed crystalline(sand) in it that allows it to give that rough textured look, kinda like the skin on an orange. It has urethane in it which gives it the ability to have a semi or full gloss(shine), but the urethane is made of chemicals such as tolulene, methyl ethyl keytone and some aromatic hydrocarbons that simply mean you need to respect the product.

Good airflow and ventilation is for your protection. Wear some type of organic cartridge respirator, dust mask would be totally ineffective to the fumes of this product. Some people have reactions to the aromatic hydrocarbons in this type of product.

Last but not least, this is probably a decent product it just needs to be respected. Read the labels on the cans and do what they say......

that should clear up any questions....

[ewertro]

This sounds like an excellent project, but all the pictures are not there......

Rob