anyone retrimmed there door panels with leather at home with any success? missus seam to think it will turn out craptacular !! i have the leather and the door trims anyone had a decent result ????? or am going to create a frankenstein?? ive heard the bits around the edges near the door jams are the worst !!
I haven't, but my good friend did it on his S13. he took his time and used the heat gun to get it to conform to the more challenging areas and it looks like factory now. I considered it, but like my velour too much. His tip was choose a really good adhesive!
I'm still waiting for my bride fabric to arrive. To expensive to risk stuffing it up, but shouldn't cost to much to get it professionally applied.
Its a shit job. Very hard to get right. The key to success is both extreme adhesive and a combination of heat and stretching. Done it twice, nearly divorced both times. Oh and lots of pegs/clamps to hold the edges while the glue sets. Did i mention good adhesive?
Yep. The second one, we used a wheat heat pack to place on the curved bits to ad even pressure and heat. That helped alot. Good adhesive. Cant stress that enough. Can do the best job in the world but first hot day in the sun and it all turns to shit with the wrong glue.
Obviously GelGrip is out. Name some "good" adhesives please that DO NOT let go in summer heat. Also what would be an easy to use adhesive on fabric that does not seep through the fabric on application ?
As Magic Mike stated - its quite tricky! Done right - its an awesome look! Always order leather cuts with 1-2 inch extra overlay so you have no problems tucking it over folds and tacking it where possible. Best used with a thin foam underlay about 1-2cm so its padded and prevents any imperfections behind showing up (like tabs / screws etc.) It also gives a more professional 3D / depth / comfortable look. The 3M contact spray cans are a waste of time! :rofl: Don't bother - many have failed using these even on the foam - they don't work regardless of glue! Quite often - its not the glue that's the problem - rather not tacking or stapling it is the problem - this is also where most people start to run into trouble (the folding over and clamping) After many trials - I found that Selleys Kwik Grip contact adhesive in a 1 Ltr tin can worked quite well - it can be quite thick for the foam but with a good size brush you can spread it fairly light quickly any splotches you don't notice it once its done anyway (still just feels slightly padded) - Its ideal for leather and board and is strong enough for even shoes! It will still need pressure to set when doing the folds. My rear seat quarter panels are still holding the leather quite well after five years compared to all the other crap I tried numerous times - LOL - So it seems to hold up against the sun quite well - it will seep into foam a little but not the leather, so its good for leather (was an upholsterer that put me onto it) Cut any excess foam off after under laying the panel with glue as you don't want it holding the back on - only the leather and glue and/ or tacking will get any grip at all (don't use clamps use flat boards etc) Once glue dries then do the same with the leather application (more glue on inside of leather and use cushions etc if you have to for rounded sections like the back quarter seat archs etc.) They should be allowed to dry only flat across the entire panel or you will get creases or loose folds later on! Once that dries flat and uniformly only then wrap it over and keep working it outwards then fold over and glue - Many people use clamps here when folding over and this is bad as it creases the leather once done with peg marks - lol - use only soft large flat improvised clamps if you have to i.e. carpeted floor or planks of wood with towels around them - you need the glue to settle uniformly or it will stretch and ripple later! (I made this mistake once :rofl:) Here is also where you need overlap - to get more glue and grip - there is normally only a centimetre of overlap on most leather sets and this is not enough for even this strong glue and is where most people start to run into trouble with glue everywhere and drying! (hence why I order extra overlap on mine - you learn from your mistakes!):rofl: If you have less than a 2cm of overlap - you must tack it as well using staples or even a glue gun or it will come apart sooner or later. Ideally they should always be tacked or stapled or screwed on regardless Wipe down any spills of glue on the final product with warm soapy water and cloth! Cheers JC :zlove:
We tried the kwikgrip. Lasted a year or so. Car lives in the shed so id expect it to lasts weeks in a daily driver in qld. I would not use kwikgrip again id try something different
Maybe you didn't use enough ? After all my troubles doing this previously by myself - I got frustrated and went and seen the local car upholsterer (local business who obviously does good work) and he told me kwik-grip is about the best you can get for holding leather fabric to the panels but it still needs to be tacked regardless to prevent rippling or creasing as it stretches with temps (unless you use button/folds) He told me that technically there is no better glue in upholstery as others don't have the properties required (i.e. weaken over time/ too hard/ etc.) Supposedly he uses aquadhere on some materials (for light work) and kwik grip on other thicker materials like leather - it works for him apparently (with tacking etc) Try not to glue when leather is hot or very cold - ideally it should stick when expansion is at its most neutral (around 20c-30c in the shade)- this is important for adhesion. Any stronger than kwik grip will turn it all stiff and solid - maybe you don't want an adhesive but a welder -lol? You could try sikaflex - at least its flexible even it doe's not breathe - you won't find much else that sticks leather and is not rock solid? Even leather shoe manufacturers use this glue its that strong and flexible enough - but even a strong glue still needs bracing like boot stitching over the top as well as there is no lateral strength with this glue (nor is it intended to have any - its only meant to hold the material inwards just like a strong leather boot), so without the panels being tacked or stapled - it will laterally pull the material off the glue as it contracts and expands (always starts from the edges). The rear seat quarter panels are hard to do compared to the easy door panels - maybe it was not stapled / or tacked on the inside edges when it was done? I went through a lot of pain/ materials/ glue and leather, redoing them over and over again to learn how to do this properly. Its still working for me even after all this time......sorry you had a bad experience with it. Good luck with finding a suitable replacement adhesive though JC :zlove:
What 3M product did you use? I've heard of people using 3M super 77 as a good all rounder, but might not have the guts to do a leather. Fabric should be OK. 3M spray adhesive brochure is here if interested. http://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/682505O/3mtm-sprayable-adhesives.pdf
if you are going black or charcoal then don't bother. just remove the original cloth and clean the glue residue off the door skin. the underneath looks great and no glue or wrinkle issues. can send photos if you like. if you are changing to a different colour then good luck.
