Hi Guys, i've seen a lot of threads on re-trimming the interior panels with materials from e-bay/zcentre/own hide, well i'm looking at doing mine. All the panels i need to do are covered in cloth, they're not bare plastic (like my old MR2), so do i remove the cloth or bond the hide straight onto the cloth, if i do remove the cloth, how easy is it and would a layer of foam underneath be advisable.

 

Cheers

 

Rich

i would go straight over the top if i was u double layer the glue to allow for soaking up! this way it will give u some padding too;-)

Hi Guys, i've seen a lot of threads on re-trimming the interior panels with materials from e-bay/zcentre/own hide, well i'm looking at doing mine. All the panels i need to do are covered in cloth, they're not bare plastic (like my old MR2), so do i remove the cloth or bond the hide straight onto the cloth, if i do remove the cloth, how easy is it and would a layer of foam underneath be advisable.

 

Cheers

 

Rich

 

peal the old stuff off, id advice against foam under it due to you wanting to get it tight and to stick, or it will sag over time, if your going to be cutting your own, use the old as a template, and get some good spray glue to use, ideally with a high temperature resistance due to the car in the summer getting hot.

 

Go carefully and make sure you pull it tight over the plastic, and tuck it around the edges, once on the car it will hide the rears and look bloody good.

 

Anyway take your time and you cant really go wrong unless you use the wrong glue.

i would go straight over the top if i was u double layer the glue to allow for soaking up! this way it will give u some padding too;-)

 

lol the opposite to what i said, how to confuse a fellow zedder in 2 easy posts :lol:

lol i was told this by my car trimmer who done all my cars & looked at my zed & i have watched them work for hours on all types of cars he told me this is what he would do..lol to prevent sagging use a heat gun & streach material around then when the material cools it shrinks taking up any slack thus not leaving any to sag!..but thats just from what he told me & what i seen him do ...& i will be doing this to mine ....when you peel off old stuff it can leave a slightly bumpy surface which u either spend ages getting flat or end up with a bumpy finish with your new stuff or putting a layer of foam over!! so just as easy to go straight over the cloth. any way at least u have 2 options lol & i would use contact adhesive out of a tin the style u put on with a spatula it will cover better & wont come off ...spray adhesives are ok for headlinings & lite weight materials like that! again only from watching & learning over the years spent down his trimming shop drinking tea & doing my cars ...mainly tea tho!!

Standard practice is to remove the old material. You'll also want to use this to create your templates for the new material.

 

Evostick Solvent Instant conntact adhesive is great stuff for this job. Comes in a tin, and make sure you get the Solvent version. The non-solvent version is crap.

Some good advice there, i suppose it would depend if you want that "padded" feeling when you touch the dash, i might get a heat gun and try it that way, and see what its like, but on a old panel, get some testing done and share my results, but the true test will be after a year of having it on the car, whether its sagging or not. but i suppose he wouldn't stay in business long if he didn't do it right in the first place, but then for the person doing it at home could be quite a disaster lol

 

Best advice i could give now, is to test first and see what way would suit you best and what gives the best results. (as for nobbly finish once you take the old stuff off, a bit of sand paper would get rid of the sticky nobbly stuff and give a rougher surface for what ever adhesive you use)

Thanks Guys, some great advice...all different versions!! :confused1:

 

I like the idea of the pot of glue, when i did my MR2 last year, the contact spray got everywhere

 

On the one hand, removing the cloth will give me a Template, but also some rough surfaces,

 

Leaving the cloth on would be nice to give a little give to it, but i could easily cock up the template.

 

So what i'll do is to get a couple of small panels, and try each method with a thin soft leather hide ..which i ordered last week, it's a bit thin, but only £16.. Once i've perfected the technique i can order up the Jaguar Beige Hide i've found...mmmmm nice. So watch for my wanted thread for some free panels...

 

soft leather here

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170420600134&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_1658wt_939and

 

Regards

 

Rich

I wouldnt worry about the rough surfaces.

 

This is the first panels I did back in 2004. Original material removed, no sanding or anything else :

 

 

Smooth finish. Whatever material you get it, it tends to be cotten(or similar) backed. I've done 3 Z's myself and never had an issue with rough surfaces.

 

Forgot to mention when it comes to the doorcards I left the original material on, but removed it for the other panels.

Legrath, thanks, did the panels have any "give" to them.

 

Rich

what material did you use for yours Legrath?

not to be rude legrath but those panels look nobbly to me & one has air bubbles sorry bud ...but might just be the light in the photo ;-)

Edited April 18, 201015 yr by YTS Weazel

not to be rude legrath but those panels look nobbly to me & one has air bubbles sorry bud ...but might just be the light in the photo ;-)

 

air bubbles, it was my first try 6 years ago. But not nobbly , the material is too thick to show any glue residue underneath.

Edited April 18, 201015 yr by Yowser

what material did you use for yours Legrath?

 

That was Leatherette. Personally though Im not a fan of DIY retrims. I've seen dozens and dozens of examples in person and not one, including my own attempts, are what I would be happy with. There are always imperfections - stretches, marks, bubbles ...etc

 

many of the Panels needs to be sewn to avoid stretching and its its only the pro jobs that come out perfect so for the slicktop I choose to use a Professional trimmer and very happy with the results (who removed the original material).

sorry legrath .... im sure your not nobbly lol i will shut up now cos im doing mine soon lol my mate will be doing the seats tho ..i aint that brave yet & i cant sew..lol

IMO i would definitely back before you retrim. A thin layer of good quality upholstery backing will give the best result for your final covering. My trimmers at work always insist on backing before you cover, makes application easier and the result is the best.

 

Al.

IMO i would definitely back before you retrim. A thin layer of good quality upholstery backing will give the best result for your final covering. My trimmers at work always insist on backing before you cover, makes application easier and the result is the best.

 

Al.

 

Thats what I mean..all the material I've ever used in the past is pre-backed.

Thats what I mean..all the material I've ever used in the past is pre-backed.

 

It doesn't have to be pre-backed..... the best result is from a separate backing material, then cover in final trim. Pre-backed tend to be very porous and absorb too much adhesive, thus resulting in a poor adhesion.

 

Al.

Alan, Hi, just seen your garage, very nice, are the interior panels white or cream, (leather i hope) and when you say "backing", what exactly do you mean, leave the existing cloth on or remove cloth and cover in upholstery (what sort..).

 

just for everyone's interest, the soft leather i bought off ebay actually comes out at £3.00 per square foot, and the shape seems to have been cut into a mini hide see below, Whereas the Jaguar Beige i'm looking at is £1.6 per square for and is a "real" hide.. (1.8m x 1.2m), feels a bit stiff though, maybe i'm not used to "real" leather..

 

1st pic, ebay "hide" (marker pen for scale)

2nd Pic showing swatch for Jaguar Beige.

Hi Richie,

My panels are white and they are ultra leather (plastic in other words). It is good quality, soft and leather-like, very easy to clean and complete costing including postage for all panels was approx £65.

You need to remove all old material and clean the raw panel well. The backing is a flexible dense foam-like material. Get some 3m contact adhesive. Many people on here recommend spray contact adhesive, i do not. Standard 5 litre tins matey and a brush!! 2 coats to both sufaces, leaving 20 mins in between, wait another 15 mins from final coat then begin to cover. 2 poeple is easiest, working from the centre outwards, and try to stretch the covering over panel. Try the link below for many trimming items.

http://www.woolies-trim.co.uk/DEFAULT.ASPX

HTH matey.

 

Al.

in previous cars, I've chosen marine vinyl. its slightly thicker, generally harder wearing and is UV resistant. plus, it covers bumps and joins better - of course this could be remedied with a backing. Personally, I think matt finishes look better. I've never been able to afford leather...