Interior Retrim queries...

Going to retrim my interior for two reasons:
A) to add a bit of value to the sale in a subtle way
B) my dash is in a terrible state and could do with a freshen up

So a few questions, those that HAVE retrimmed your dash and tops of the door skins etc, what material did you use and what adhesive? How did you prep the surface? I take it that the material of choice will stick quite well to the old trim bits or the stripped panels, but the dash etc are covered in that silly vinyl/plastic stuff.

Some suggestions on where to get nice materials would also be appreciated Want to keep everything fairly cheap and DIY, and don't want to make a cock of it all lol. I've read a few different topics on this, but not really any mention of longevity a couple of months down the track so that's mainly what i'm after.

cheers! :zlove::zlove::zlove:

 

I've got no idea about redoing the dash & top of the doors but have replaced my tweed fairly successfully with velour. Has lifted in a couple small spots but just brushed some more glue under it & its good to go.

I bought my velour from 'Australian Trim Supplies' down in dandenong, check the yellowpages for details, & was quite resonably priced. I got 4 metres i think (to be safe) & a litre of proper upholsterers glue for about $120.

I removed my tweed as velour has padded foam backing, used that for templates & just went for it.
Looks like this...


cheers, Tim

 

thanks mate. Might have to nip up there next weekend if they're open, will sort of be in the area. Did you also get the glue from there as well?

 

i agree with tim, 4m^2 is a pretty safe bet. you will have plenty left over to redo certain pieces if you mess them up the first time.

what material is up to you, there's plenty to choose from. just try to get thicker instead of thin as thin materials have a cheap feel to them once on the car as you can feel the texture underneath and it's not a nice feeling since it's full of bumps from the stock trim glue.

i didn't bother prepping the surface too much, remove large chunks of glue left over and off you go.

you should also use a good glue, i used fuller the first time. hold was very average so any piece that needed re-doing i used permatex heavy duty headliner glue. still got a brand new can left over. i'll bring it to billy's techday and exchange it for your photography services

 

yeah got the glue there too, they've got it in big barrels & just decant what you need. I brushed it on but you'd get a better coverage if you spray it on with a gun.
They had a huge range of leathers, vinyls, velours, etc.

I cleaned any excess old glue off the panels with acetone, worked a treat.

 

If you contact the leather place mentioned

Can you please post the price they give you? I found I needed more than 4m^2 to do my zed but that included the doors as well. I was thinking also of getting some foam from clark rubber and putting that underneath, only 1/2 mm thick if that is available as might feel a bit better than material on plastic

 

Do they have tubs in which they can put it for you, or do you have to bring your own? Sounds great, will definitely hit them up when I get a chance Probably better than what they've got a Spotlight haha

Oh and thanks Mike Will have to see what my schedule is like for the weekend of billy as i'm swapping suspenions with Stu, so when he lens me know when i can let you know if i'm free after billys or not aye

 

Hey Evan,

I did some of Joanne's interior (as much as I could be f'd with) and I used KwikGrip for the glue (available from bunnings).

The glue holds well (this was done like over a year ago, still no lifting), but is a prick to work with since I didn't spray it on, just brushed it on. I did however use metho to get rid of the previous Nissan OEM glue that's under the tweed.

For the material I chose vinyl from Bunnings - it's black and it suits the other vinyl that the dash and door trim tops are from; and it's cheap. The only problem is that it's hard to get it into the shape of the trim piece - I was using a hair dryer to heat up the vinyl to get it to stretch into corners, etc..

Cheers,

-Kirill

 

yeah they had a stack of new paint tins, come to think of it i think i might have got 4ltrs of glue as the tins were 1,4 or 10 ltrs & cost was about $30 for the glue ($90 for material).

oh & of the 4 metres i bought I've still got about a metre left after doing a 2+2, just depends how you lay the templates out i guess.

 

if you use a good glue, it should not lift.

mine has been through 44 degree days parked outside and it has not lifted.

 

don't know about the dash mate but on the doors I first used some spray on adhesive which I'd also used on the other interior trim parts.

It's CRAP.

I then used Seallys Quick Grip (on the advise of others with show cars) which is a paste. DAMN that stuff does the job.

So easy to apply in all the right places and no need to mask up.

And sticks.....like glue lol.

Material - I used Micro-sued. Wouldn't do that again. I dont like it and it's very hard to work with unless you can have your pieces stitched to shape. It's just not stretchy enough to force it to play ball. I've heard some of the other perth guys say the same.

My prep was just a good clean and light rub with wet and dry.

Good luck. it's damn good fun and even though mines not perfect by a long way, it DOES brighten up the interior and make you feel better about being in the car.

 

Yeah that's the one I used, Selley's KwikGrip. Great for holding strength, a prick to work with!

-Kirill

 

Yep sorry that's the right spelling. KwikGrip.

I liked working with it compared to a spray but that's just me. I found if you did the object in logical sections, it was nice and easy to ensure the paste was covering all of the desired area's. Then roll the fabric into place, smooth out, and move on.

I'd guess it would be kind of slippery with a leather or vynal though.

 

Mine is leather. Being KWIKGRIP, how long does it take before the two joined surfaces adhere? I need something for my material that wouldn't take long before they stick...

 

it's not instant I can tell you that.

I used the "wet bond" method as instructed for when one surface is porous.

I left each section for a couple of hours before moving on to the next.

 

Selleys also have a product called GelGrip. It's identical to Kwikgrip in performance, but is a gel consistency so you don't end up with cobweb thingys when applying it.

 

In all seriousness, I was always going to do a full leather or vinyl swap for me tweed. This picture has almost convinced me to do leather chairs w/ velour for the body panels. I wouldn't choose that colour for myself, but I love the look you've got there...