Well... I finally got sick of my shattered and superglued stereo surround, and I REFUSE to pay the prices that S5 surrounds go for... and replacing the S4s whenever they feel like shattering gets old, so...

I got a little happy with the glass, and blended my S4 surround and all it's requisite pieces (the shattered chunks, little radio surround plates, and the vents) into one single piece. It still needs a little final work, and I'm still fighting with how it lays in a couple spots, but those are both pretty small things overall. It's not flashy, or even non-stock looking. Matter of fact, I received the best compliment I could from my sister's boyfriend "oh! that's the old broken one? I thought you just bought a new stock one"

Anyway, the pic isn't that great, but once I get the last little imperfections spot-puttied away, I'll get some better ones-

 

Nice work- and i'll wager that's nearly indestructable in comparison to the uv ravaged surrounds we are all used to.

 

LOL, yeah, I kinda overbuilt it... I was pretty pissed at it when I started, so the entire rear of it was hit with 60 grit sandpaper and filled with resin... It can probably hold my weight (200 lbs)

 

that looks sweet, my surround is BS, im tired of it, and i dont want to buy a new one, cuz that will just break to.
can you give very detailed instructions on doing this, i would be very happy if you could.
also the materials, prices,etc.
thanks

 

what specific material did you use to rebuild it? i might do something like that lol. did you just spray paint it black afterwards?

 

I think this calls for a write up of some sort, seeing as how there are probably tons of people that have this problem.

 

please let us in on how to do that, i need to make one to put my aftermarket gauges in.

 

https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.php?postid=2167943

the logicon controls are under the armrest

 

I'll be doing some work on it today, so I'll snap some pics, and do a write up on it when I come home tonight.

 

Very nice!

 

Thanks. It was your work on the bumper that inspired me to try and fix it. Actually.. your paintjob is what got me moving on redoing my paint as well.

You better not start any more cool projects... I'm running out of free time...

 

man that is awsome i don't have a surround in mine right now and if i buy a new one then i want to know how to make sure that it doesn't break again

 

I must say, it looks like a factory stereo surround and doesn't look hack at all. Good job!

 

The back bracing (bondo glass putty/filler)



The build up on the front of the surround.


I blended the cig. lighter in as well.


After initial sanding... that's bondo spot putty laid on (and about to be sanded to smooth)


After a sanding and a coat of black primer.. touching up some with some spot putty.


Cleaned up, sprayed to match, and installed in the car-

 

nice, this might be a nice winter project. convert the whole dash to black!

 

Too bad you aren't in Houston. I could show you how to retexture it in only a few minutes. It is hard to describe without actually showing you.

 

I did something similiar except I used Loctite Plastic epoxy t0 fill the back

 

whoa, that looks sweet man! good job!

 

very nice work. I know someone else who is doing the same thing with their seven.

 

what type of paint did you use?

 

For paint, I primed with sandable autobody primer (black, as that's what I had) and sprayed it with Duplicolor "bumper paint" in black. It is almost indistinguishable from the rest of the interior plastic... I do know how to texture it, and I may do that later on..

 

How much time did that take you?

 

well, after the 2 times I did it half-assed and it broke again...

the final time I did it took me about 15 minutes to lay the glass on, 2 hours to dry, and then probably 1.5-2 hour of sanding.. then 1 hour of painting (including drying between coats) After it all cured, I baked it at 200 degrees for 45 minutes to harden it a touch.

Practice makes perfect with glass though... but remember, as long as you don't screw up tooo much, you can always sand it back to shape.

 

how do you get to the screws behind the vents?

 

So two times, and then three hours to do it the final time..

lets say your labor is worth $20/hr, 3x20=$60, same as buying a new one anyways..

but its cool, nice to see people take things on like this.