Bondo Fiberglass Body Filler

Man that's depressing.... I don't want to work out in the cold!

What do you guys think about using a high quality plywood for an enclosure? Does this pose a fire hazard or do you think it's okay as long as the CPU is well ventilated?

I actually have some left from another project I was working on. I'm thinking of making the box out of that quickly then mess with the fiberglass come spring time.

I have about 5 case fans from old CPU's and I'm fairly handy at manipulating wood. I've got an '04 G35 so I'm thinking if I make the enclosure with a intricate shape (more than just a box), on top cut out a G35 or Infiniti Logo, paint it to match the trunk interior or a color that contrasts, then flood the interior with led bulbs so the G35 Logo lights up (probably put plexiglass over this). Thinking about using all 5 case fans to provide tons of ventilation.

Wood can be heavy, in a G35...be careful. The hood and doors are aluminum to save what, 20Lb each...then you add 40lb past the rear axle...I don't know, just saying. You said plywood that's smart, ive seen a Corvette full of mdfs...Then again maybe fiberglass can be even heavier...I have yet to do it myself, if I were you I would do it to learn that stuff. :-)

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Originally Posted by PhilG

If it's a detached garage, of course, no issue, but if it's atatched to the house, especially like mine where there are 2 bedrooms over the garage, trust me, it's going to get nasty.

If you built yourself a booth out of abs pipe and plastic walls that could be folded up when not in use and added fans, vents with the exhaust outside, it might be OK.

I have painted in the garage as well as done glass layup and trust me, the resin is 10x worse that the paint and last alot longer while it goes off.

It depends how large the project is too, I just did my console and that was 3 gallons of resin in about 5 layups and outdoors was the only answer. And yes the weather got cold here too about 3 weeks ago so it's just sitting now.

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+1

i haven't done fiberglass, but i have applied bondo to some things in my basement-- the whole house smelled like it for days..after that, i now try to do things like this in a detached garage..

Fiberglass won't be heavier. It is incredibly light and strong. The curvier the stronger. Large flat areas should be done in another material or need ribbed reinforcing added (you could use thick rope glassed in as ribbed reinforcing). Also note the resin itself is heavy, but your form shouldn't be a pool of resin.

When done properly:
-hit the stretched cloth with resin, let it harden. It won't get 100% immovable even at fully cured because theres no glass. This is fine.

-Now lay up one layer of glass quickly so resin doesn't get thick. Let this fully harden. Now this will be hard to the touch. Not weight bearing but hard enough where you can press a bit. This is important for the subsequent layers.

Now when you add more layers, use a roller to squeegee out excess resin. The strength is in the glass not the resin and the resin (liquid weight) is heavy. You want as little of this as possible.

Oh yeah, do it outside. The smell will even stick to your clothes.

Yea I definitely am going to try out the fiberglass, but I'll take all of your guys advice and do it outside. Today it's 20 degrees and snowing in MD, so I'm going to hold off on the outdoor work for a few more months until it gets warmer.

I can cut the plywood in my garage tho and weight shouldn't be an issue, this isn't very thick plywood just 1/4" and its fairly light weight. I can't imagine the box will add anymore than 10 lbs at the most expecially since I don't intend on making it very big.

I'm just worried about heat issue, will this pose a firehazard? I am assuming no since most computers will shutdown at temperatures over 150 degrees, definitely not hot enough to cause a fire. Electrical components inside wood tho still scares me... even tho my amps right now are tucked behind my seat and probably pose a greater of a risk next to carpet...

I wouldn't worry about fire, but you do need to make sure the MOBO is properly grounded to avoid noise issues. In my original install the MOBO was screwed into the wood of the enclosure in the previous pics. Once I built the metal case, alot of the noise issues I was having went away. Maybe you could make an "L" shaped piece(bottom & back) out of an old PC case using the factory bend in the metal, and make a fiberglass cover?