Has anyone made thier own kick panels for a 56 f100, the 53-55 are similar I'm sure. If you have could you post some pics. I'm using 3/16th's mahogany plywood, I know that abs is probably the material of choice but I don't have easy access to it. I've made the door panels and side panels so far, still need to make arm rests. I would appreciate seeing how you formed around the cab mount as I didn't have any of the originals to make a pattern. Thanks...John

 

You could form some aluminum sheet to go over the mount or carve a piece of urethane foam to fit in a shape you like then fiberglass over it and chip the foam out when cured. You could also make custom kick panels the way the high end stereo installers do it: Add a 1/4" plywood former that lays on the floor at right angles to the main piece and forms a shape you like for the bottom. Go to a fabric store an pick up a remnant of a stretch jersey material. Stretch the fabric over the outside of your plywood form and staple it to the bottom and back side. stretch it as little or as much as you'd like until the surface of the fabric creates a shape you like. Now pick up some epoxy or polyester resin and hardner at a plastics supply or large crafts shop like Michaels or Hobby Lobby. Give the fabric a coat of the resin. Don't soak it or try to completely fill the fabric with the first coat, you just want to stiffen it. After the first coat hardens coat both sides of the fabric with another coat of resin When that is completely hardened sand with 80 grit paper until you just knock off any lumps and bumps and scuff the entire outside. Finally apply a thin coat of body putty to the outside, sand smooth and paint or skip the body putty, apply a layer of polyester quilt batting and cover with your favorite fabric.

 

Ax, I think acetone will disolve some foam. That is how many homebuilt aircraft are build. They disolve the foam to make room for a fuel tank after covering the foam to make the wing. They would make two wooden forms and put the foam in the middle and then cut the foam wirh a hot wire giving the foam the wing shape to fiberglass over. chuck

If you were old like me you might remember the foam open bibles in the grave yard. That is how the home build group came upon the idea. I cut those one summer while in school. We attached golden letters and fake flowers and sold them on memorial day.

 

Yes, acetone (or gasoline which was cheaper when I was younger) will dissolve polystyrene foam, that inexpensive white stuff that either looks llike compressed beads or the hard kind that looks like solidified soap foam you see at the craft stores that quickly dissapears into clouds of static cling charged powder when two pieces are rubbed together. Since some resin has a fair amount of acetone or similar solvents in it, that's not the kind you want to fiberglass over or your foam support may disappear as fast as you brush resin over it. Polyurethane foam, a denser fine grained foam typically tan colored or sometimes may be pink or baby blue will not burn (so you can cut it with a power saw without it turning to goo, but you cannot cut it with a hot wire) or dissolve in solvents. You can find it in lumber yards with foil covering labled Max-R or Thermax. It's soft enough that it shapes easily with sandpaper but does not crumble or crush easily so you can shape it into fairly delicate shapes and edges. If you are looking for the polyurethane foam and aren't sure, try lighting a small piece with a match. Polystyrene will quickly burst into fame and continue to burn into a little black clinker. Polyurethane will scorch and melt on the surface directly above the match but will go out as soon as you remove the flame.

 

I think I've seen this method done on one of the automotive shows when they were making woofer boxes to fit in a trunk. I would like to put the speakers in the kick panels and forming them like you mentioned is the appearance I'd like. This will likely end up being a project that will last me weeks rather than a weekend , by the way I finally managed to get my power window install done and thank you for that as well. Things are starting to look like they are coming together but will be all taken apart again so I can start to paint hopefully someday

 

Yes, make a ring of 1/4- 3/8" plywood that matches the mounting needs of you speaker, making sure the outside edge is true and smooth. Round the outside face corner with sandpaper as evenly as you can, as it will telegraph thru the final piece. tack it to a spacer block with a couple small dabs of hot glue (take it easy you'll want to pop the block off later!) so the ring is sitting at the angle and distance off the back board you desire. Make sure to leave enough space for the back of the speaker! Tack the spacer block to the backer with hot glue tacks as well. Stretch the fabric over the form making sure your spacer blocks are not touching the fabric. As soon as the first coat of resin kicks, but before it become rock hard cut the hole for the speaker out of the coated fabric with a utility knife. If you catch it at the right time it will cut easily and cleanly, if it is gooey wait a little longer, If it gets too hard to cut easily with a knife, let it harden completely and grind it out later. Once you have applied a second coat of resin remove the spacer block(s). The plywood ring will be used to mount the speaker at the end. If you do the fabric and resin method, remember resin itself has very little structural strength, it's the fabric or fiberglass cloth/mat that provides the strength. You don't want/need to glob the resin on, you want to barely saturate the fabric with it. The first coat should be applied as thinly as possible just barely wetting out the fabric, better to err on the side of too little than too much. The goal here is to just stiffen the fabric and lock in the shape, the pattern and weave of the fabric should be visible. The second coat is to just fill the weave wherever it didn't fill with the first coat You don't want to build up the surface. To do a first class job, right after applying the second coat, roll a roll of cheap toilet paper over the surface like a big paint roller. The idea tho is not to roll it out, but to remove as much of the resin that hasn't penetrated as possible. As the TP surface becomes saturated, unroll the top layers and discard to expose fresh paper. Keep doing this until you have removed all the excess resin. If the hardened shape isn't strong enough to suit you, add a layer of thin fiberglass cloth to the back side with the same technique. Thin cloth and resin can usually be found at hobby shops catering to radio controlled airplane enthusiasts. Or they also sell small kits of cloth and resin in the body repair section of the big box auto parts stores. Once you start with one type of resin, do the whole job with that type resin. Don't apply polyester resin (usually mixed by adding a few drops of hardener to a larger quantity of resin)over epoxy resin (usually mixed in a 1:1 or 2:1 ratio of resin and hardener) or vice versa, they do not like each other.