# NOOB HELP:Stuck on door speaker install



## NOFATTYS (Jan 5, 2009)

I have a 2008 Pontiac GT GT that I was attempting to install my Zapco 16.2 6.5in midbasses into today, and i ran into a snag. The OEM speakers were built into a plastic bracket that extended the speaker out and angled it a bit towards the center of the car like so










I was told that these speakers were 6.5 inch, so thats what I purchased as a replacement, but the Zapco's are thicker in the basket and dont fit through the mounting hole. I had someone also fab up some MDF baffles for the speakers, and I wanted them to match the angle of the OEM pods...which he did beautifully. Problem is...the Zapco speakers are also deeper than the OEM speakers so the magnet hits the window motor when its coming down. My third problem is the mounting hole is partially recessed where the fat part of the OEM bracket is, in the picture its too the left of the speaker. 

How could I go about solving these three issues?

1)what kind of tool does everyone use to trim the sheetmetal a bit?
2)Should i skip the angled baffle and go with one that is the same cut all around? if I twisted the baffle so the fat part of it is where the motor is, the magnet clears the window.
3)how do i deal with the recess in the metal so I can get a nice tight seal with the baffle?

sorry this is a long post...but i was a bit dejected when i got to this point in the install. I did get my deamplifier pro in tho that I won in the last contest...its good stuff, easy to use. thanks for the help in advance!


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## falkenbd (Aug 16, 2008)

Trimming sheet metal, the best tool would be a pnuematic nibbler. You could use a jig saw if you were careful not to let the blade hit the outer door skin.

Use some bondo hair to build up the back of the baffle to fit flush against the door. Tape off the door really well, rough up the baffle, bolt in in place, and fill the gaps with the bondo hair, be very careful if you are going very thick because it will get hot depending on the amount of hardener you use.

After its set up, pull it off the door and remove the tape.


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## NOFATTYS (Jan 5, 2009)

I just looked up the nibbler tool...all the good ones need an air compressor which i do not have 

The bondo hair is a good idea. ill check that out! if anyone else has suggestions...please fill me in! thanks


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## pionkej (Feb 29, 2008)

I bet if you searched or checked clearances yourself, you would find your answers, but since NO ONE seems to want to search these days:

1. Many tools are used. I know people have used tin snips and a pair of channel locks to cut sections out before. That being said, I would think a dremel or similiar small rotary tool would give the most precise cut without potential for damaging other things.

2. No idea, and I don't think anyone can tell you that unless they have expierence with the same car (did you try searching the build thread logs using your car model as the key word???). It seems from your experiment that a thicker baffle would work, though it might be too close to the door card at that point and the surround will hit. No idea there.

3. Again, lots of options. You can mount the baffle, tape it from the inside and fill it from the outside using silicon or expanding foam. You could build up the area with non-hardening modeling clay. You could get some of the butyl rope from Don at www.sounddeadenershowdown.com. 

I have all of these suggestions to offer from reading, searching, and real world experience. Hope it helps.


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## NOFATTYS (Jan 5, 2009)

Ummm I did search. The only posts about the G8 have been from people who installed subwoofers, or had problems with the OEM integration. 

I thought about building up the area with clay...but that still leaves more than half the baffle not actually attached to anything except clay...im pretty sure that wouldnt work out too well. The expanding foam idea is a good one too...Ive never used it though. In your experience...is it stable enough once it is cured that you can drill a screw through it for a stable mounting point?


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## pionkej (Feb 29, 2008)

I would mount the baffle first like mentioned above, then fill with expanding foam. I am talking about great stuff type foam from home depot. It probably isn't frim enough to drill down tight and not buckle, but it should be rigid enough to fill gaps and not move if you bolt the baffle down first. It is about $4 a can, just get some, spray it in the open, let it cure, see if it is firm enough for you. There should be a "soft" kind and a "hard" kind. The softer kind I believe is for windows and door so it doesn't buckle anything as it expands, I wouldn't use that.


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## NOFATTYS (Jan 5, 2009)

thanks for the info.


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## Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX (Oct 24, 2007)

We could help, i'm sure, but if you could get a series of pics for us to be able to follow along with you in your description, it would help a LOT... 

My Subaru is known for having a hell of a time fitting anything decent in without spacers... 

I used a flat spacer, designed for the car, and the stock one, which is tapered like your factory ones, placed on top... giving me an extra 1/2" of spacing... I even had to cut out the inner diameter of the factory spacer to take the 6.75" driver... 

I then also unbolted the window tracks and placed 2 standard washers between the mounts and the door, for an extra 1/8" of space...lol... 

Could you not use the factory spacer with a ring of "cutting board" (~1/2") on top, between the speaker and spacer? or would you hit the door panel? 

The white plastic is the aftermarket spacer, the black, the factory...


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## Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX (Oct 24, 2007)

Also, us knowing exactaly what depth you have from the edge of the factory spacer, to the window or whatever is in the way would help... 

And if there was any way of knowing how much distance you have from the factory spacer to the door panel would help a lot too.... You could measure that with a hunk of clay or silly puddy... just stick it to the spacer, sticking out enough to be effective, then put the door card back on and make sure the panel is all the way down on it... 

When you take the door card back off, the stuff should be compressed to the thickness... 

Very useful info when doing the "spacer dance"


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## NOFATTYS (Jan 5, 2009)

ahhhh i like that putty idea...these are the little things that make everything so much easier. I have to get the camera some batteries...but ill get some pictures up tonight.


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## NOFATTYS (Jan 5, 2009)

Ok here are the pictures as promised. from start to finish you get a basic look at the door as a whole, how much space i have between the window motor and the sheetmetal, the mounting depth of the Zapco speaker, and the mounting depth from large side to small side on the OEM spacer. 

Aaron...you asked about mounting the MDF baffle to the OEM spacer...thats a no go, the Zapco speaker basket wont fit through the hole, and if i modify that part, there will be no where for the MDF to sit flush 










Showing from the window motor to flat sheetmetal...approx 2 1/4in













































Showing the step down in sheet metal, its about 1/4 inch if less









if you guys need anymore pictures lemme know


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## NOFATTYS (Jan 5, 2009)

when i put the MDF baffle and the Zapco speaker to the door and press down firmly...im probably only a 1/8 inch away from not hitting. the window actually goes down...it just hits the back of the magnet first. Whats thin enough that i can space it accurately and will give me a nice firm platform to work off of?

I looked for some putty for the space between the oem spacer and the door card...couldnt find any though. any other way i can measure that distance?


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## VP Electricity (Apr 11, 2009)

When making this stuff, you want to have 1/8" material (ABS or MDF), 1/4", and then 1/2" and 3/4" - all available in handi-panel sizes at Home Depot. The ABS probably isn't but the wood is. 

I also drop a couple bucks on a couple different widths and thicknesses of weatherstripping foam tape. Helps take up gaps and space when needed. Not great for spacing between the ring and the sheet metal, though. 

This process - making rings and spacers, reworking them, etc. - is valuable. It helps you learn what works and what doesnt, and really does build character... 

I recommend that the spacer be the same thickness as OEM, so that the speaker clears the window, AND the front of the spacer can kiss the back of the door card with some weatherstripping tape. Usually involves some material stacking and some routing to flush the speaker into the stack...


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## NOFATTYS (Jan 5, 2009)

VP Electricity said:


> When making this stuff, you want to have 1/8" material (ABS or MDF), 1/4", and then 1/2" and 3/4" - all available in handi-panel sizes at Home Depot. The ABS probably isn't but the wood is.


Can you eloborate on this a bit more...im not entirely sure what your telling me to get. 

I didnt build the rings, I had someone from the board do it and ship them to me. I dont have the tools to fabricate things like this unfortunately. 

After i took these pictures, I went back outside and had my gf hold the speaker and baffle flush to the door and lowered the window until it hit the magnet...I really only need about 2/8 of an inch to clear everything...i think i might just stack a few layers of Deamplifier Pro up around the bottom of the baffle till i get my desired result. from there i will bolt a piece of wood on to the side to cover up the rest of the hole. then clay it, and put some more deamplifier on top.


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## mda185 (Dec 14, 2006)

One of the other posters mentioned butyl rope from Don's sounddeadener dot com web site. You can also find this at most auto parts stores. It is used to install windshields. It works great when mounting an MDF baffle to a surface that is not flat. You can't depend on the butyl rope to hold the baffle without some bolts or screws but when combined with a bolt or screw attachment, it is very effective. The only real down side is that it is messy and hard to clean up if you get it on interior surfaces like door cards and carpets.

I noticed that the MDF rings are just big enough for the Zapco midbass. I usually like to have the MDF baffle larger than the driver so I can screw or bolt it to the door somewhere other than under the speaker flange. Is your MDF ring sized that way because it has to be to fit under the door card? If so, don't try to use butyl rope to fill the gaps and screw the ring down tight. You will run the risk of cracking the MDF. Fill the gaps with as much solid material as possible and just use the butyl rope to fill small gaps and seal the adapter to the door. 

Last thought. You did not show picture of your door cards. I am installing 6.5" midbass in a Pathfinder door and the speaker grill/door pocket assembly can be removed from the door card. I am removing mine and making an MDF baffle in the same shape with a plan to wrap it in black vinyl and mate it to the original door pocket. I attached a picture. Is this approach an option for you? You gain freedom to adjust speaker depth if you can separate the door card from the baffle and grill.


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## mda185 (Dec 14, 2006)

I think what VP is talking about is shown in the pic below. I bought different thicknesses of MDF and plywood and experimented with different baffle depths when trying to figure out what would fit under the door card on my Pathfinder. I probably have a $600 investment in tools that include a router, jig saw, drill, and random orbital sander that enable me to make this stuff. I justify it because I also do a lot of home repairs. I eventually abandoned the baffle approach in this picture to build the one I posted above. If you think any of these pieces I made can help you, they are yours for the shipping. The cut out diameter is 146 mm.


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## King Nothing (Oct 10, 2005)

Dremel tool with the large fiberglass cutting wheels to cut the sheet metal. thats what i used on my 79 bronco dash


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## NOFATTYS (Jan 5, 2009)

Unfortunately the way the door is situated, the speaker grills are not removable. below is a picture of the front of the door card, the back of it is extremely tight, no wiggle room between the speaker grill and the handle of the door and the cirve of the door on the other side.










as for the MDF rings, I sent the fabricator the dimensions of the speakers and that is what he sent back to me...it was my first time having something like that made, so I probably didnt ask for the right thing. 

Should I just have them remade and ask the guy to thicken them up a tad and add a side piece? also, the thin part of the baffle has be worried...i feel like it will splinter if i put a mount screw through there.


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## hnybkt (Jul 21, 2008)

holy crap you got alot goin on there!

1) Many have mentioned dremel...i concur. 
2) thin part of the baffle will not break if you PRE-DRILL the hole! Always pre-drill important holes  
3) is there any room between the back of the door-speaker baffle and the speaker? I had the same problem in my impreza and was able to remove material from back of the door grill then extend the mounting baffle using down-home fabrication... i might have pics of the install, i'll look. 
4) bondo or putty will probably be your best bet to make your fancy baffle work...


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## Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX (Oct 24, 2007)

I need 2 more pics, one of the stock speaker baffle and one of the GF with the black fingernails... lol.. 

You can't open up the factory baffle to take the Zap driver? You might have some gaps to seal, but it seems like the best option with that totally retarded mounting.. 

AFA the MDF rings, you really don't want MDF in the door, it tends to get wet and swells up over time... Plastic is a better option... But if you don't have the fab tools/skills, it makes for a very daunting task.. 

I would take a harder look at that stock baffle... The nice thing about plastic, it's easily drilled if holes don't line up... lol... 

also, tell me you are planning on adding some sound deadening to those doors...


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## sigma6 (Mar 28, 2006)

Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX said:


> My Subaru is known for having a hell of a time fitting anything decent in without spacers...
> 
> I used a flat spacer, designed for the car, and the stock one, which is tapered like your factory ones, placed on top... giving me an extra 1/2" of spacing... I even had to cut out the inner diameter of the factory spacer to take the 6.75" driver...


Aaron, I know you have a ton of work invested into your GM so I hate to criticize your work, but that factory spacer is not up to the job. I tried the same trick in my GF... MDF ring to space out the factory spacer. I thought it was a good idea as I could keep the slight angle upwards, and the little rain shield on the back. It was a mistake. As soon as I replaced it with a solid MDF baffle I got a ton more midbass out of the same driver. The OEM plastic thing is just too light. Nothing like enough mass to solidly couple the driver to the door.
I really kicked my own ass for not just putting a proper baffle in there a year earlier.


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## Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX (Oct 24, 2007)

sigma6 said:


> Aaron, I know you have a ton of work invested into your GM so I hate to criticize your work, but that factory spacer is not up to the job. I tried the same trick in my GF... MDF ring to space out the factory spacer. I thought it was a good idea as I could keep the slight angle upwards, and the little rain shield on the back. It was a mistake. As soon as I replaced it with a solid MDF baffle I got a ton more midbass out of the same driver. The OEM plastic thing is just too light. Nothing like enough mass to solidly couple the driver to the door.
> I really kicked my own ass for not just putting a proper baffle in there a year earlier.



Thanks man, it's just a temporary thing, I've got door cards in the works for my IDQ8s

The factory spacer isn't even big enough to fit the 720PRS... the mounting screws all land OUTSIDE of the spacer, so I had to do some MacGyvering just to get it to work... 










This install is just taking me WAY to long... I haven't even driven the car this summer...


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## sigma6 (Mar 28, 2006)

Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX said:


> Thanks man, it's just a temporary thing, I've got door cards in the works for my IDQ8s
> 
> The factory spacer isn't even big enough to fit the 720PRS... the mounting screws all land OUTSIDE of the spacer, so I had to do some MacGyvering just to get it to work...
> 
> ...


Heh heh. Get it finished before you end up here:
There, I Fixed It: Epic Kludges + Jury Rigs



But seriously, the plastic adapter things belong in the trash, not the door. OP needs to make new baffles from MDF or HDPE to fill his speaker orifice properly.
Don't make the mistakes I made as a n00b. Do it right the first time. Build a solid baffle to fix your speaker to. Make it as heavy and rigid as possible and mount it properly the first time. Track down and fix all the rattles and buzzes from the door handles, window mech etc. before you do anything else. Take the time to properly damp the inner and outer skins. Take the time to seal the inner skin to avoid cancellation. Spend the extra time to foam and noise-proof the gap between the inner door skin and trim panel.
Whatever you do, don't come back here and ask why you have no midbass or muddy midrange until you have done all of these things. You will get no mercy from the old hands!

 

Seriously, there is a great thread on door treatment in the tutorials section... very useful stuff in there.


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## Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX (Oct 24, 2007)

I'm sure I could be found on Peter Euros site now.. lol.. (can't say for SURE, but it's a good possibility...lol)

Did you see thetock baffle for that car though, it's be awful hard to reproduce in another material, and he doesn't have tools..


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## NOFATTYS (Jan 5, 2009)

Here you go...shes a cougar...39 hehe i just turned 30!










I thought about the factory spacer...problem is its for a 6 inch speaker and if i cut away on it, there wont be anything to attach the zapco speaker too. plus the entry hole is too narrow to accommodate the basket of the zapco speaker. 

I believe I solved the issue tho. the guy on the board who built my original baffles is going to be building me some new ones. Im going to send him the OEM spacer, and my mids, and hes basically going to recreate them with the correct spacing to accomodate my speaker. 

He actually did an experiment with MDF...left them untreated for 2 years in a tree in Idaho where he lives. they looked as good as the day he made them after, rain, sleet, snow, and god throwing **** balls at them.


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## NOFATTYS (Jan 5, 2009)

Oh and someone asked about deadening...I finished the drivers side door yesterday, and I couldnt show the mounting location properly with all the deamplifier all over the place, so i used the passenger side. its raining today, so i cant pull my car apart, hopefully tomorrow will be nicer and ill get pictures of both the drivers side all done, and the full picture of the OEM spacer.


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## sigma6 (Mar 28, 2006)

Ha ha. Peter Euro is still on his soapbox eh? Where's the beating-dead-horse icon when you need it? :lol:


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## Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX (Oct 24, 2007)

NOFATTYS said:


> Here you go...shes a cougar...39 hehe i just turned 30!
> 
> I thought about the factory spacer...problem is its for a 6 inch speaker and if i cut away on it, there wont be anything to attach the zapco speaker too. plus the entry hole is too narrow to accommodate the basket of the zapco speaker.
> 
> ...


Why yes she is... lol... 

This is what i've found with MDF... 



















I've had it happen, so have many others... just something to consider.. 

I have a well primed sub box sitting behind my garage, that's been there for ~2yrs, the 3/4" MDF looks to be about 1 3/4" now... lol... 

Beware..


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## Second Skin Rep Jon (Oct 5, 2007)

Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX said:


> Why yes she is... lol...
> 
> This is what i've found with MDF...
> 
> ...


Wow those went to crap.

Like I told NOFATTYS, *I've* never had any of my MDF items returned to me because of them falling apart/delaminating from moisture. Not saying that it can't happen, most any wood or composite material can fail from being exposed to moisture unless it's been treated.

Nonetheless here are the pictures of the rings that were exposed to everything god could throw at them for two years. Made a great place for birds to sit too.


















And yes I am taking care of NOFATTYS issue.


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## NOFATTYS (Jan 5, 2009)

Jon's the man!!! top notch guy, and goes above and beyond to make the customer happy!


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## Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX (Oct 24, 2007)

frootloops said:


> Wow those went to crap.
> 
> Like I told NOFATTYS, *I've* never had any of my MDF items returned to me because of them falling apart/delaminating from moisture. Not saying that it can't happen, most any wood or composite material can fail from being exposed to moisture unless it's been treated.
> 
> ...


Well, not ****... I've never seen such a thing?? Waterproof MDF... you coated it with something, had to... I've got pieces of MDF in my driveway from cutting just last week that are swelling bad... 

So what gives? 

Thanks for takin care of NoFatties, though my GF would count as a fatty.. lol..


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## Second Skin Rep Jon (Oct 5, 2007)

Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX said:


> Well, not ****... I've never seen such a thing?? Waterproof MDF... you coated it with something, had to... I've got pieces of MDF in my driveway from cutting just last week that are swelling bad...
> 
> So what gives?
> 
> Thanks for takin care of NoFatties, though my GF would count as a fatty.. lol..


I didn't coat it with a damn thing.
I get all of my MDF from SierraPine in Medford OR, just a hop and skip away from me.
Do I need to send you a piece of my MDF so you can stick it outside to weather?

And of course I'm glad to take care of the issue, I've yet to have an unsatisfied customer and I plan on keeping it that way.


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## Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX (Oct 24, 2007)

frootloops said:


> I didn't coat it with a damn thing.
> I get all of my MDF from SierraPine in Medford OR, just a hop and skip away from me.
> Do I need to send you a piece of my MDF so you can stick it outside to weather?
> 
> And of course I'm glad to take care of the issue, I've yet to have an unsatisfied customer and I plan on keeping it that way.


I'm not doubting your skillz in any wey mang, i'm doubting the MDF, unless it's some sort of waterproof version... lol... 

Maybe you should send me a small slice, i'd love to dunk test it.. lol.. Cause AFA I know, even if the MDF I use gets a raindrop on it, it will swell.. I love being proven wrong too... lol.. Or proven that there is a better than average product out there, I don't know about.. lol.


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## Second Skin Rep Jon (Oct 5, 2007)

Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX said:


> I'm not doubting your skillz in any wey mang, i'm doubting the MDF, unless it's some sort of waterproof version... lol...
> 
> Maybe you should send me a small slice, i'd love to dunk test it.. lol.. Cause AFA I know, even if the MDF I use gets a raindrop on it, it will swell.. I love being proven wrong too... lol.. Or proven that there is a better than average product out there, I don't know about.. lol.


I know you weren't doubting my skills at all, just the wood product, which I would doubt too after seeing the pictures you posted.

If you PM me your addy, I'll grab a bunch of scrap pieces for you and shove them in a mailer.

Maybe the **** I'm getting is a better MDF... I honestly don't know. I'd love to see what torture tests you can do to the stuff.


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## VP Electricity (Apr 11, 2009)

Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX said:


> i'm doubting the MDF, unless it's some sort of waterproof version... lol...
> 
> ...Cause AFA I know, even if the MDF I use gets a raindrop on it, it will swell..


X2

Yeah, up here in PDX, I worry about that a lot - 6 months of rain will do that for you (I rarely use paper cones in doors up here, either). Good old rattlecan job takes care of that for me on MDF.


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## Second Skin Rep Jon (Oct 5, 2007)

VP Electricity said:


> X2
> 
> Yeah, up here in PDX, I worry about that a lot - 6 months of rain will do that for you (I rarely use paper cones in doors up here, either). Good old rattlecan job takes care of that for me on MDF.


True, a simple application of paint, clear coat, undercoating, whatever will protect it from delaminating.


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## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

I use rattle can rubberized undercoating on my MDF baffles.


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## SoundChaser (Apr 3, 2009)

I’ve used MDF from Home Depot, and leaving scraps outside they start to swell after the first rainfall. MDF is supposed to be water resistant, but not water proof. Leaving untreated MDF outside for 2 years, now that must be some kind of magic MDF you have. :surprised:


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## NOFATTYS (Jan 5, 2009)

Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX said:


> Thanks for takin care of NoFatties, though my GF would count as a fatty.. lol..


OOOOOOOOOOOh im tellllliiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnn!!


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## Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX (Oct 24, 2007)

NOFATTYS said:


> OOOOOOOOOOOh im tellllliiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnn!!



Oh, she knows she's got some junk in the trunk...lol


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## NOFATTYS (Jan 5, 2009)

hahahahaha...then its all good in the hood.


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## Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX (Oct 24, 2007)

Sorry to bump this back up... But I have some pics... 

2 weeks old MDF from my driveway... Started life as 3/4"



















It was under water at some point i'm sure, we've had a lot of rain lately (sure wish we could have had it in the spring)


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## ogg (Oct 13, 2007)

frootloops said:


> Maybe the **** I'm getting is a better MDF... I honestly don't know. I'd love to see what torture tests you can do to the stuff.


From your pictures it looks like the stuff you get is better than the standard HD crap. It looks like yours is laminated together better. Yours probably comes from Oregon or Canada, the HD stuff is usually from China. I've even seen Chinese plywood.


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## Second Skin Rep Jon (Oct 5, 2007)

Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX said:


> Sorry to bump this back up... But I have some pics...
> 
> 2 weeks old MDF from my driveway... Started life as 3/4"
> 
> ...


Holy crap, I've had a little bit of swelling... maybe 1/16" of an inch, but that's crazy!

I have two full sheets of MDF, 3/4" and 1/2" sitting outside and we just got a bunch of rain and hail dumped on us and it didn't even do a damn thing to the stuff.



ogg said:


> From your pictures it looks like the stuff you get is better than the standard HD crap. It looks like yours is laminated together better. Yours probably comes from Oregon or Canada, the HD stuff is usually from China. I've even seen Chinese plywood.


Yeah in one of my previous posts:


> I get all of my MDF from SierraPine in Medford OR, just a hop and skip away from me.


One of the reasons I quit buying wood products from Home Depot is because they have way too much Chinese made garbage and here I am not that far away from one of the largest milling companies (Boise Cascade) and I can't get much, if any, of their wood at Home Depot.

I'm going to go soak one of my scrap MDF rounds in a bucket of water and see how long it takes for it to swell 1/4".


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## Second Skin Rep Jon (Oct 5, 2007)

Ok, I just submerged a scrap round of 3/4" MDF into some water. It's unfinished, hasn't been treated, nothing. It even has a couple of holes drilled through it... like I said it's a scrap piece.

So I'll check it after 24 hours, 48, 72... etc. until it has swollen 1/4".





























Not real scientific, but should give some good results.


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## Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX (Oct 24, 2007)

Nice dude, you could revolutionize things for 10-100-1000's of people right here.... lol...


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## Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX (Oct 24, 2007)

frootloops said:


> Holy crap, I've had a little bit of swelling... maybe 1/16" of an inch, but that's crazy!
> 
> *I have two full sheets of MDF, 3/4" and 1/2" sitting outside and we just got a bunch of rain and hail dumped on us and it didn't even do a damn thing to the stuff.*
> 
> ...


I want some of what you are getting.... lol...


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## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

This is interesting. I had a 3/4" baffle laying in the back of my truck for about a month and it barely swelled up. Maybe to 1"? It was bought from Home Depot.


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## Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX (Oct 24, 2007)

Frootloops, I wonder if what you have is HDF, it's more yellow than mine, mine is very Baloney colored..


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## Second Skin Rep Jon (Oct 5, 2007)

Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX said:


> Nice dude, you could revolutionize things for 10-100-1000's of people right here.... lol...


I'm thinking maybe 11 people MAX.


Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX said:


> I want some of what you are getting.... lol...


LOL, I just move it around out of my way whenever I need to.










chithead said:


> This is interesting. I had a 3/4" baffle laying in the back of my truck for about a month and it barely swelled up. Maybe to 1"? It was bought from Home Depot.


This just shows that there is a huge discrepancy between qualities of MDF.



Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX said:


> Frootloops, I wonder if what you have it HDF, it more yellow than mine, mine is very Baloney colored..


Nope, I think it's just the variety of wood(s) used.
Here is the tag off of the 1/2" stuff.


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## Second Skin Rep Jon (Oct 5, 2007)

It's been 24 hours, time to check on the MDF.



















The barbell collar might not have been the best thing to weigh it down, but that's what I had... oh well.
Initial thoughts, not much has changed. The swelling around the holes that were drilled into it really haven't swollen up all that much (I was expecting them to swell more then the rest of the wood.
Other then the icky color is has changed... not bad.

And here is the measurement.









Less then a 1/16", .0555" to be exact (got my micrometer out and it measured .8055 measured).

Back into the same nasty water for another day.


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## Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX (Oct 24, 2007)

I'm going to try this as well, with mine.... This should be interesting... lol.. stay tuned..


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## Second Skin Rep Jon (Oct 5, 2007)

Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX said:


> I'm going to try this as well, with mine.... This should be interesting... lol.. stay tuned..


lol, anyone else want to try it? :laugh4:


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## Second Skin Rep Jon (Oct 5, 2007)

I had to check the status of the wood about twenty minutes earlier then I wanted to (I have stuff to do), but that shouldn't make much, if any, difference.

Now this is starting to get gross...








It just keeps getting darker and darker.









I think I'm going to change the water tomorrow.
Now the measurements:



















It's almost 7/8" thick now. After another 24 hours it again has expanded less then a 1/16th of an inch (.0565 to be exact). So if this trend continues, I should have myself a 1" thick piece of MDF after 96 hours of being submerged in water.


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## Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX (Oct 24, 2007)

I am in TN for the next week, so I won't be able to do any testing... I'll try when I get back though.,.,.


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## Second Skin Rep Jon (Oct 5, 2007)

This is a fun experiment, playing with gross brown water... and if you couldn't tell, the MDF is about ten shades darker then what it started as.

Anyways the measurements:



















Within 24 hours it expanded a mere .0115", that is less then a 64th of an inch. I'm wondering if it hasn't almost reached it maximum water retention and wont expand much more... hmm.


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## NOFATTYS (Jan 5, 2009)

Hey Jon,

I just got out of the clink...had a ticket and it escalated much further than i could have anticipated. I will send everything out tomorrow morning. sorry for the delay


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## Second Skin Rep Jon (Oct 5, 2007)

NOFATTYS said:


> Hey Jon,
> 
> I just got out of the clink...had a ticket and it escalated much further than i could have anticipated. I will send everything out tomorrow morning. sorry for the delay


No problem, **** happens, that's how the world works.


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## Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX (Oct 24, 2007)

I think we got our calipers from the same Ebay store... lol..


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## Second Skin Rep Jon (Oct 5, 2007)

Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX said:


> I think we got our calipers from the same Ebay store... lol..


LOL, probably did.


I wasn't able to check it Saturday (working on my shop) but here it is as of today. I think it's aging like a fine piece of cheese... 










And the measurement:










So yesterday and today it only swelled only .026" from Friday's measurement.

By my calculations it SHOULD swell to 1" thick in about 8-9 more days. Once it has done that I'll see how weak and brittle it is and whether or not it'll dry out and shrink back down to anything close to 3/4".

EDIT: One other note, it almost doesn't float anymore... kinda cool.


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## Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX (Oct 24, 2007)

Wow man, I can already tell you, the MDF you are getting and the MDF I get is different... it's gotta be.. 

I just read in another thread about a guy that had 2 different sheets of MDF sitting outside, one more yellow like yours and one more brown, like what I would get and he said the stuff like mine was totally wrecked, while the other seemed just fine... 

The difference seems obvious now... 

The question IS now, where can I get that product HERE...


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## Second Skin Rep Jon (Oct 5, 2007)

I've bought a few sheets of lesser quality MDF from Home Depot (a few years ago) which is why I try not to buy their sh*t.

If you have an actual lumber yard (not a box store linke HD or Lowes), go there and see what brand of MDF they can get. Sierra Pine is my favorite, another brand is Temple-Inland. If they don't stock or can get either of those, just look at the MDF for those differences between my sample and what you have.

Also if you still want a sample of the stuff I get so you can take it into the store and say "I want *THIS* MDF!", just let me know!


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## ogg (Oct 13, 2007)

NOFATTYS said:


> Hey Jon,
> 
> I just got out of the clink...had a ticket and it escalated much further than i could have anticipated. I will send everything out tomorrow morning. sorry for the delay


That sucks man. Nassau or Suffolk county?


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## Second Skin Rep Jon (Oct 5, 2007)

Probably my second to last update as it seems to have quit soaking up water.
I didn't check it Monday (working on the shop), so here it is after another two days.










.003" difference from Saturday's measurement... I don't think I'm going to reach that 1" thickness.


I wont check it until Saturday at which point I'll stop soaking it as I don't think it will swell much more then it has.


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## Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX (Oct 24, 2007)

Nice man, thanks..

I'm still in Memphis, so I can't o my testing yet... lol..


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## Second Skin Rep Jon (Oct 5, 2007)

Aaron'z 2.5RS/WRX said:


> Nice man, thanks..
> 
> I'm still in Memphis, so I can't o my testing yet... lol..


Well hurry up and get out of there, I want to see some 2" thick swollen MDF! :laugh:


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## Second Skin Rep Jon (Oct 5, 2007)

UPDATE!

I *hopefully* have set everything right with NOFATTYS... if not I'm just going to have to throw it on the CNC and whip him up some new ones once it's up and running.

Anyways some pics of how they turned out.










Them after applying some Spectrum.


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