How to: Custom Gauge Pod
Items needed:
Fiberglass resin, a small can will do.
A few quart size mixing cups
A handful of cheapo throw away 1" brushes
Acetone for cleanup...fiberglass resin is nasy stuff
A box of cheap gloves helps too, you'll find everything getting stuck to your hands, it's easier to just pull off gloves and put on another pair
Wooden dowel, small diameter
Wood to make the rings to hold the gauges
Blue painters tape, plain masking tape will work, but the blue stuff makes for easier removal.
Fiberglass mat or cloth, i prefer cloth
Bondo
spray paint
Some sort of cloth
Sandpaper
I started with this.
Poor fitment...and way too flashy for my tastes. And it's a lotek, not sure why it didn't fit, i think i got sent the wrong one, but lotek was shady and claimed they had no record of my order at all, and I know i got it directly from their site, anyways. I decided i wanted to make a custom gauge pod that sat ontop of the steering column.
To start out you want to cover everything you don't want resin on, especially where you will be putting fiberglass.
I used tinfoil to rap my levers for my wipers and lights.
Next you want to start laying the glass. Mix the resin and the hardener about 6 oz at a time, otherwise it'll start hardening before you can use it all. Also, cut small strips of the fiberglass about 2x4" or so. I like to paint the resin onto the taped area first so the glass will stick to it better. Then paint or dab resin on the top of it, until it's all soaked up.
You'll need to do about 3-4 layers of glass all at once for this first time, then let it harden up. Once it's hardened you can pull out the mold you have just made.
A dremel will come in handy on this next step. Once you have the mold out you'll want to trim the edges.
Do some test fitting back in the car to make sure you can still use all the levers ok, and turn the steering wheel.
Now you'll want to cut out the rings you'll need...as you can see this took me a few tries, lol. My wood was a little too thin and flimsy, but i made it work. I used a hole saw for this. You'll then position the rings where you want them and cut the dowel in pieces to support the rings. I used a quick set epoxy to do this, you have to make sure the dowels won't interfere with the gauges when put in place.
Once thing to keep in mind, something i didn't keep in mind, which costs me later. Make sure that you keep in mind that when finished it'll be a bit thicker, plus the gauges will stick out a bit. put in the gauges at this step and put it back in the car, make sure they have atleast 1/8" if not 1/4" between the outermost gauge and the back of the steering wheel. I didn't do this and when I put the gauges in at the end I couldn't turn the steering wheel
I put it in to check for clearance, but didn't try turning the wheel...stupid me.
Now you'll want to cover what you've made. I just cut up a old t-shirt. Any fabric will work, nothing too thick and it needs to have a little stretch to it. you'll want to start with the rings, i use spray adhesive for this, it works really well. Spray the wood rings, wait a minute for it to get tacky, then stretch the fabric over. Do the same to attach the fabric around the edges. Pull it tight and glue it down, cut off all the excess you can...building up thickness on the bottom is bad.
Next you'll want to glass it again, follow the same procedure that was outlined before, to make the mold. You'll want to do a few layers so it's decently strong.
Oh, you can see some cardboard underneath the glass. I did this before I covered it with the cloth. I put a gauge in each one then eyeballed and cut out a thin piece of cardboard to keep the cloth up, so I would have clearance for the gauges, I just used more eboxy to attach the cardboard to the rings.
I used the dremel to clean it up a bit on the edges and to clean up inside the rings, then test for fitment again.
Next you are ready for the bondo and lots of sanding.
Follow the directions on the bondo for mixing. You can only do a little bit at a time because it hardens very fast. I put on some latex gloves and just used my hands to smear on the first coat, let it dry and then give it a good sanding.
You'll want to continue this step until you get it just how you like it...coat, sand, coat, sand, coat, sand...i did this many times...once you get towards the end of this a cheap putty knife helps to fill a smooth the small imperfections.
After a few of those coat and sands, it'll look like this.
Fiberglass resin, a small can will do.
A few quart size mixing cups
A handful of cheapo throw away 1" brushes
Acetone for cleanup...fiberglass resin is nasy stuff
A box of cheap gloves helps too, you'll find everything getting stuck to your hands, it's easier to just pull off gloves and put on another pair
Wooden dowel, small diameter
Wood to make the rings to hold the gauges
Blue painters tape, plain masking tape will work, but the blue stuff makes for easier removal.
Fiberglass mat or cloth, i prefer cloth
Bondo
spray paint
Some sort of cloth
Sandpaper
I started with this.
Poor fitment...and way too flashy for my tastes. And it's a lotek, not sure why it didn't fit, i think i got sent the wrong one, but lotek was shady and claimed they had no record of my order at all, and I know i got it directly from their site, anyways. I decided i wanted to make a custom gauge pod that sat ontop of the steering column.
To start out you want to cover everything you don't want resin on, especially where you will be putting fiberglass.
I used tinfoil to rap my levers for my wipers and lights.
Next you want to start laying the glass. Mix the resin and the hardener about 6 oz at a time, otherwise it'll start hardening before you can use it all. Also, cut small strips of the fiberglass about 2x4" or so. I like to paint the resin onto the taped area first so the glass will stick to it better. Then paint or dab resin on the top of it, until it's all soaked up.
You'll need to do about 3-4 layers of glass all at once for this first time, then let it harden up. Once it's hardened you can pull out the mold you have just made.
A dremel will come in handy on this next step. Once you have the mold out you'll want to trim the edges.
Do some test fitting back in the car to make sure you can still use all the levers ok, and turn the steering wheel.
Now you'll want to cut out the rings you'll need...as you can see this took me a few tries, lol. My wood was a little too thin and flimsy, but i made it work. I used a hole saw for this. You'll then position the rings where you want them and cut the dowel in pieces to support the rings. I used a quick set epoxy to do this, you have to make sure the dowels won't interfere with the gauges when put in place.
Once thing to keep in mind, something i didn't keep in mind, which costs me later. Make sure that you keep in mind that when finished it'll be a bit thicker, plus the gauges will stick out a bit. put in the gauges at this step and put it back in the car, make sure they have atleast 1/8" if not 1/4" between the outermost gauge and the back of the steering wheel. I didn't do this and when I put the gauges in at the end I couldn't turn the steering wheel
I put it in to check for clearance, but didn't try turning the wheel...stupid me.
Now you'll want to cover what you've made. I just cut up a old t-shirt. Any fabric will work, nothing too thick and it needs to have a little stretch to it. you'll want to start with the rings, i use spray adhesive for this, it works really well. Spray the wood rings, wait a minute for it to get tacky, then stretch the fabric over. Do the same to attach the fabric around the edges. Pull it tight and glue it down, cut off all the excess you can...building up thickness on the bottom is bad.
Next you'll want to glass it again, follow the same procedure that was outlined before, to make the mold. You'll want to do a few layers so it's decently strong.
Oh, you can see some cardboard underneath the glass. I did this before I covered it with the cloth. I put a gauge in each one then eyeballed and cut out a thin piece of cardboard to keep the cloth up, so I would have clearance for the gauges, I just used more eboxy to attach the cardboard to the rings.
I used the dremel to clean it up a bit on the edges and to clean up inside the rings, then test for fitment again.
Next you are ready for the bondo and lots of sanding.
Follow the directions on the bondo for mixing. You can only do a little bit at a time because it hardens very fast. I put on some latex gloves and just used my hands to smear on the first coat, let it dry and then give it a good sanding.
You'll want to continue this step until you get it just how you like it...coat, sand, coat, sand, coat, sand...i did this many times...once you get towards the end of this a cheap putty knife helps to fill a smooth the small imperfections.
After a few of those coat and sands, it'll look like this.
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Originally Posted by Shawn
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