Thread: Another interior question

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I've read that PVC foam board is good to use to make door panels. Is this the same thing like lowe's sells, pvc foam board insulation? I've looked and that is the only thing I've found, the 2 thickness I've found are .75 or 1 in. Or is there something else that is better that can be picked up at a lowe's or Home depot?

I have heard some use the thin wood flooring, lowenn or loanne, not sure how to spell it.
It is the wood panelles, sub-floor I believe.

There will be experienced responses soon I am sure.
Just a thought.

Light ply, 3/16" or so can be used for door cards. Just pull your upholstery material tight on the front, and staple on the back of it.

The wood is spelled ..........luan. PVC foam board is ok to use, the problem is it will dimple if you push on it.
I did all my side panels in my wagon with luan. First making cardboard patterns and then transferring those to the luan. I used 1/4" luan and that means now you have to use 1/4" staples. I found if you use longer staples,there are the points sticking thru the front of your material.

interior foam board is not insulation. it is pvc board. you can form it with heat. the stuff from lowes is not going to work.

http://www.foamboardsource.com/sintr...Fe_m7AodUmUAzw

Many professional upholsterers are using ABS sheet stock now, another "plastic" material". It cuts easily, bends nicely, can be heat formed for more complex shapes, as well as easily glued to form odd pieces, and of course, it's water proof. Never heard of using PVC foam, but then some folks can get real creative when seeking alternatives......or.....you might have heard from someone that doesn't know one "plastic" from another and confused the nomenclatures.

Luan is a decent old school alternative to upholstery board, heck I've still got a couple sheets in the shop. It's sold as "door skin" among other names in the home stores.

Thanks guys. When I get that far I'm going to try and do some of the interior myself. The laun sounds better for me. Hope mine is 1/2 as nice as the black interior above, that is sweet.

Here's a pic of the ABS in my roadster. It's just under 1/8" thick which makes it easy to handle on curved shapes. Get much thicker than that and you'd better only be working on dead flat areas unless you really want to muscle it.

the 1/8 pvc foam board is pretty good stuff. it does tend to stay flat where just pvc sometimes bows. i've used both . i just prefer pvc over any other backing . black board is junk imo. luan is ok but can go south if it gets wet. also hard to sew to .

Where do you get the 1/8 pvc board? Or for that matter the abs that Bob mentioned. The 1 thing I was worried about was using something that would cause problems if it got wet.

The foam board you are seeing at Lowes in 1" 2" and other sizes is pure junk for your application. It is used for insulation. It will tear up before you get it on the door. Get rid of that thought.
The ABS sheet stock you can buy at a lumber yard is sold under shower panels. Unless you have an almost flat surface, forget it. Very stiff and hard.
Luan is only fair to use, almost as bad as cardboard products when wet. If you don't think you are going to get it wet, look at where the water goes when your car is rained on. Right down the bottom of the window and then right on the back of the panel. Don't kid yourself, it will get wet. Wonder why new cars come with plastic film over the door when you take the panel off, most think it is for dust control. Wrong, they don't want water to even bother with the plastic panels and glue they use. When you do your door, take a hint from them and tape a plastic film across the opening on your doors under the panel. 2 minutes and lots of protection..
Now, the best material for your panels: PVC foamboard. It is not polystyrene, nor is it plexiglas, it's foamed poly vinyl chloride which comes in 4' by 8' sheets. It has a film encasing the closed cell foam and you can use heat from a heat gun to bend it or form it to the curve of the door. Water does not effect it. You cut it with a knife or scissors. You won't find it at Home Depot or Lowes, you need to go to a plastics supplier, sign shop, or upholstery shop and ask for it by brand names of Sintra, Komatex, CelTec, or Palight.

As you may be seeing, nomenclature has a way of getting pushed out of shape. The ABS I'm talking about isn't used for shower walls, it is used by people who just might know a little bit about upholstery; https://www.lebaronbonney.com/cart/itemdesc.php?ic=3580

Google plastic suppliers in your area for local availability.

You might get some ideas from this article: http://www.hotrod.com/how-to/interio...do-upholstery/

Originally Posted by Bob Parmenter

As you may be seeing, nomenclature has a way of getting pushed out of shape. The ABS I'm talking about isn't used for shower walls, it is used by people who just might know a little bit about upholstery; https://www.lebaronbonney.com/cart/itemdesc.php?ic=3580

Google plastic suppliers in your area for local availability.

You might get some ideas from this article: The EZ Way To Do Upholstery - Street Rodder Magazine

Uncle Bob, thanks for those links. I used Luan plywood on the '33, and was not very happy with it - too thick in some critical clearance areas, and not friendly to modify to fit over hinge plates, etc. I was thinking that aluminum panels were going to be my choice on the '32, as I had totally forgotten about that article in Hot Rod not too long ago - CRS again.... I will definitely be looking at ABS when I get to that point, and may even follow the lead of the Hot Rod crew for some pre-sewn panels!

BTW - here's a link to one of the plastics suppliers info page, where they discuss glue to be used that's stronger than the original panels, etc - ABS Plastic Sheet: ABS Sheet Plastic Easy to Thermoform | Find Black ABS Plastic, ABS Plastic Properties ABS Royalite Sheet at ABS Supplier Curbell Plastics *

*This is the ONLY link that I've included in my post

Nice info on this thread guys. How tough is the pvc stuff to sew if a person has to? I've never done it and am curious in case I decide to go this route.

Very good info and thanks for the links.