Glassing in gauge pods on a-pillar for flush look
Ok, it's real easy, just very tedious..... Don't rush it whatever you do.
Things you'll need:
1. Universal Pillar pod wide enough for the a-pillar(pepboys carries em)
2. Spare a-pillar molding (most scrap yards, but if you need it i'll sell my old one)
3. Fiberglass Resin
4. Fiberglass woven cloth(cotton stuff is too messy)
5. Bondo Body filler( a quart shoud do)
6. putty knife
7. cheap brushes for resin
8. rubber gloves, and dust mask
9. oscillating/disc sander.
10. Sandpaper in 80, 120, 200, and 320 grits, sander pads and loose
sheets
11. primer, and paint.
Ok, this took me about 2 weeks in my spare time. the idea here is to smooth the stepdown of the pillar pod too look like factory
Step 1:
Figure out where you want the pod to be and screw it in. You want it to be as flush as possible to the oem piece so there is less to fill. Cut holes to allow for the gauges and wiring in the a- pillar, but don't cut off any supports
Step 2:
Get your gloves and mix the fiberglass resin. this stuff sets in 10 min so do small batches. brush resin on the piece lay the fiberglass cloth down and brush more resin. Work a small portion at a time, and use less resin activator than you think you should(it'll give you more time to work). Don't be afraid to let it hang off a bit, you can trim and sand it down later. try not to cover the gauge holes too much, as they are a bitch to sand and trim. It won't look smooth at all after it's set, but it gets addressed later.
Step 3:
Get used to sanding you'll be doing a ton. Put on a Dust mask and take your 80 grit sandpaper/sander and start leveling the rough spots. Be careful not to sand too much and do it outside, because That glass itches like hell and it will be everywhere, best advice wear crappy clothes, wash them and you right after you're finished seperate from everything else. You prolly won't get all the glass off your skin the first try but it goes away.
Step 4:
Once you have it close to what you're shooting for, take your bondo and fill all your low spots and then sand off the excess smooth to 120g.
Step 5:
Primer it. This will show you all that you missed, so repeat step 4 until smooth. once all pinholes are filled, sand to 320g, primer again, then really wet your sandpaper(320) and sand again.
Step 6:
You should have a smooth wetsanded primered piece now. All that's left to do is paint. do several light coats instead of a couple heavy ones and wetsand in between each one. Clearcoat if necessary. All done. Let paint cure then install.
