Interior work how to question...

[-stew-]

Anybody ever done anything like this? I'd like to redo these fagged out door panel inserts. I was thinking about gluing down foam with gaps where the "pleats" are and gluing down the fabric in between the foam blocks. Anybody got any tips?


Here's what I'm starting with...



http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p249/stewsquarenuts/2012-06-01170738.jpg

[PureSound15]

Use spray glue (looks like spiderman blew his load on your panel) and spray the foam down (back side of foam and the panel). Then spray the fabric side of the foam and the backside of your material - the whole thing, not just the gaps.

[-stew-]

I'm familiar with the spidy jizz, I used two cans doing my headliner. Will gluing the fabric directly to the backing in between blocks of foam give the look of the factory pleats?

[PureSound15]

Yep - but I'd spray the whole thing just to relieve pressure from that one spot I between the foam.

[-stew-]

http://cdn.memegenerator.net/instances/400x/16518133.jpg

[BR3W CITY]

Wouldn't it make more sense just to pull the old foam and fabric off all together? Come back and get some 1/4-1/2 uphosltery foam from DLT and lay that down flat, or in whatever shape you want, should something custom be desired. Cover with whatever fabric you'd like.

[Prince Valiant]

just duct tape it on...keep it even and tasteful and it'll look better than factory.

[-stew-]

Wouldn't it make more sense just to pull the old foam and fabric off all together? Come back and get some 1/4-1/2 uphosltery foam from DLT and lay that down flat, or in whatever shape you want, should something custom be desired. Cover with whatever fabric you'd like.


That was my plan, to pull everything and start from new, I'm just wondering how to get the pleats back on there. They sell these aftermarket, but they get $90 a pair. Fuck that. You stalking me down at DLT?

[BR3W CITY]

huh? I go there cuz the girl at the front desk is cute. I haven't left the house in 3 weeks tho, no stalking.

You can do the pleats 2 ways that I've seen. You could cut the foam into 2 layers, one as a base (flat covers the whole thing) and the others as rectangles, as large or small as youd like width wise. Then starting by gluing the end of the flat, stretching over the first rectangle, then gluing to the flat again, repeat for as many pleats as you'd like. That would do a no-sew seam.

If you want a seam, you can do it the same way and sew the gaps, or do 2 layers of solid foam and sew the seams through to the backing material. Thats a less pronounced seam, and you could to a diamond or tuck in a similar way... you need a decent machine tho.

[-stew-]

It's a plastic backer, so no sewing to it. And I don't know how to sew, I'll be doing no sewing on it. This is gonna be a spidy jizz operation. And the chick is cute, and helpful. Don't usually find those two qualities together.

[BR3W CITY]

It's a plastic backer, so no sewing to it. And I don't know how to sew, I'll be doing no sewing on it. This is gonna be a spidy jizz operation. And the chick is cute, and helpful. Don't usually find those two qualities together.

I mean a backing material (the heavier canvas type stuff for fabric backing), then THAT whole thing would get glued to your plastic panel itself and installed. If your gonna do the spray jizz, than it doesn't matter.

And yes she is helpful also.

[wrath]

Use the 3M headliner-specific glue. The rest suck and will droop.

You can scrape the old shit off and glue on new stuff slowly. You can use a heated rolling-spline tool (window screen repair tool) to get the "pleating" back but it will be much less pronounced.

I used to use a piece of hot-rolled steel heated up with a MAPP torch to melt the foam where I wanted the pleats.

I'm not sure what the right way is to do this. Maybe find a Mexican shop that does good upholstery work? They seem to do the best work.

[-stew-]

I doubt I'll be paying someone to do it, I'd sooner buy a sewing machine and learn how to use it. If I can't get the pleats to turn out decent looking, I'll make them solid padded cloth.