Thread: do your own interior

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I am not a professional upholsterer by any stretch of the imagination. But I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express one night 30 years ago.
that being said I have been doing my own interior panel for years. I make the moulding forms out of sheetmetal, plywood or fiberglass then cover them.
I do not own a sewing machine but the only thing I have to farm out is the seats.

On Shirley's mustang we decided to change the entire interior so all of the current panels became obsolete. The following pictures show how simple it is to make the panel behind the seats.
#1 shows what the new sheet metal bulhead looks like. We decided to make a panel that would cover the top of the deck from cage uprights and down the new section part between the seats.
#2 shows how I used a piece of 1/4" plywood and cut it to fit the top. then I sawed kerfs 1/8" deep every 1/2" for the radius. I then screwed it to the bulkehead to make sure it fit .
#3 I simply used some fiberglass body putty to fill in the kerfs so they would hold the shape.
#4 I then pulled the panel off and used fiberglass cloth to reinforce the back so when I sanded the front smooth it would not loose it's shape.
#5 shows the 1/4" closed cell foam used to make the inital padding.

#6 Use 3M #74 spary adhesive. DO NOT use 77 or 80 because they will lose adhesion when the sun beats down on them.
you can use #74 or purchase professional adhesive by the qurat and spray it through your paint gun. I tried that and it is a lot easier and less messy to buy the 74 in spray cans.
#7 shows the foam glued on. I can show you how to cut it to fit around the edges and where to stop the foam to get the best look for your upholstery.
#8 show the padded panel in place.
Now is the time to add any graphics that you might want. Flames, lines or patterns. That is done with additonal foam cut into shapes. I will be glad to go into that detail if anyone is interested.

The next step is covering it with vinyl. I like to use Pleather because it looks better and is thinner so it is easier to pull into shape.

Wow! very neat and professional looking job. you are very talented.

Thanks Barb for the kind words, But it is really simple to do. Here are a few shots of some graphics I used in the Willys.

way cool graphics.

Flames, lines or patterns. That is done with additonal foam cut into shapes. I will be glad to go into that detail if anyone is interested.

Very nice work and yes I'd like to know the details. I'm planning on the interior of my F100 to be my winter project.

Thanks,

Yea, more details and pictures, that's cool! Just so I get this right, you carve out the graphics on the wood and then glue the pleather onto it with the adhesive???

Sean

Wow...me too. Pics please. I'm planning to do my door panels and the surround behind the seat. Every idea helps!

Dave G

Wow!!! That is realy sharp, good work.
We Need more people to show this kind of stuff.
Hey if you do your window felts or rubber around
your doors or rear deck lid. please show some photo's
of that. Maybe some one can reccomend a good book
for that. I need to learn that for my 65 ranchero.
Thanks for the pictures. Kurt

Holiday inn? I think you've got a budding talent you've been hiding from us! Nice work!

41 when you heat the pleather will the foam soften also when you are forming it . Did you apply pleather with the flames by hand or use some type of roller . Very good tech thread also I believe this is the biggest hurdle of the car hobby .

Originally Posted by sgo70

Just so I get this right, you carve out the graphics on the wood and then glue the pleather onto it with the adhesive???

Sean

Sean, No carving on the wood needed. There are a couple of different ways to get a raised or recessed affect. On the door panels in the Willys I first applied a layer of 1/8" foam to the panel and then drew one flame on the foam and cut it out exposing the wood which gives a 1/8" recess. I used another piece of 1/8" foam drew another flame on it and cut it out. I glued this second flame piece on top of the already foamed panel ajacent to and overlapping the now bare spot which then leaves you with three different 1/8depths, the wood, the first foam layer, and the second foam layer. Now you have a full 3/8" 3D affect to your panel. Then you glue your vinyl on top of all of that. the last picture gives you an idea of the 3D effect better. the second picture shows a dfferent effeect. I used 1/4" strips glued to the wood first and then cover the entire panel which gives a raise look.

Originally Posted by bluestang67

41 when you heat the pleather will the foam soften also when you are forming it . Did you apply pleather with the flames by hand or use some type of roller . Very good tech thread also I believe this is the biggest hurdle of the car hobby .

Bobby,

The heating process is very slight using a common hairdryer, just enough make the material slightly warm and a little more "stretchable". there are some techinigues to applying or laying the fabric on larger panels that help with the conturing. One of which is to have two people "drape" the material on to the form while slightly stretching it. This will use use up some of the excess material that might bunch up in the corners or recesses. I use a common kitchen dough roller. It is a double ended one with a 2" roller about a inch in diamter on one end and a 4'" x 1 1/2" diameter on the other. take it to the belt sander and round the sharp edges first, but don't take it back into house so your wife can see it.

What type of foam are you using?

Originally Posted by falconvan

What type of foam are you using?

ONLY use CLOSED CELL foam. It is especially made for this use. Open cell is way to soft. I get my foam from ebay. It is used on pool tables and poker tables. Look up "poker table foam". Or you can buy it from your local upholsterer but it will be more expensive there.
#1 pic is 1/8"
#2 pic is 1/4"