help to cover an interior custom door.

[3AM]

ok cheers for clearing that up

[EldarO]

i did my Van's doors, fortunatley for me, unfortunatley for you, mine were a flat door card.

i used 9 or 10mm MDF, cut with a jigsaw, neatened up with a file/sandpaper.

went to spotlight and got that batting stuff to make it a bit squishy, and got some black cotton too..

what i did was, cut everything to shape, used some of that spray on adhesive on the door, put the batting down, then adheisive over that, i stuck one side of the cotton to the other side of the board with some contact adhesive sellys quik grip i think...

pulled it tight, same on the other side, and the other sides, for the holes for handle, speaker etc.

i just cut the material out and stuck the strips down much like the outside...

i didnt get the finish i liked, so, i thought... how can i do this...

i did something dodgy, i used a heat gun to heat up the material to pull it tight....

the result?

a few light passes, and it heated it up, stretched the material tight, and looked a million bucks...

i didnt take any pics because the van was a peice of shit... but it aint hard...

Eldar.O.

[horse]

Mainly heat is applied to gain a better stick with the contact adhesive.

nope. heating up vinyl makes it easier to stretch over any contours. the adhesive should be tacky by the time u actually go to put the vinyl on. cold vinly isnt the most agreeing thing to work with. and once warm (dont make it too hot ) it will be easier to stretch over all those funny curves and corners.

Cheerss

[barned01]

that makes it interesting for when i need to sew it.
If i mark everything out and lay it when cold, and sew onto the bits that need sewing then when i heat it up the marks will be all out because it will stretch.
does that mean i heat it up and stretch it, work out where the sewing lies should go and sew while warm?

[Invid]

If you're going to stitch vinyl make sure you have a good machine that will handle the thickness of fabric. Also a good Upholstry thread, not any of the dress making threads you buy at Spotlight.

[Invid]

Oh, I forgot, a few sharp needles. If you try sewing too fast you can break the needle, and you'll need a few spares.

[barned01]

hmm all my stock came from spotlight...ummm anywhere better suggested?
I was just going to use cotton thread and whatever needles fitted the GF's Parents sewing machine....now you have me concerned.

[TA-022]

with the needles the thicker the stronger.

but you'll have to compromise on size verse the stitch hole it leaves behind and the thread thickness that fills the holes.

[Major Clod]

hmm all my stock came from spotlight...ummm anywhere better suggested?
I was just going to use cotton thread and whatever needles fitted the GF's Parents sewing machine....now you have me concerned.

Spotlight do sell thicker thread that is fine for upholstery... If you can snap it in half easily with your hands then it probably isn't strong enough

[horse]

generally its a good idea to work with the vinyl slightly warm, which in my case means near the heater and not outside in the damn freezing garage. just do a test fit first and then stitch. keep in mind that stitching is usually done on components that dont actually need stretching to cover. eg gearboots, handbrake boots, seats etc as they wont be under that much tension, however that is also dependent on how much stretching will need to be done on your door.

if its just a low tension area you will be fine. however i'd reccommend that you double stitch your seams if the are visible or a high tension area so that ur dont get any stretching of needle holes.

thread and needle wise, generally id be looking at Denim or higher grade items, and make sure that the sewing machine you use will handle it, those little plastic ones dont do jack, where as the usual factory ones made of metal will do the job fine.

[Invid]

I wouldn't worry too much, as long as your GF's parents machine is half decent you should be ok. You will probably want a new needle as the sharper the better. When the needle gets blunt it tends to move slightly rather than punch throught the fabric. This can sometimes break the needle if the fabric is too thick. I was sewing through two layers of thick fabric, 10mm foam, and backing calico, so I had to use an industral machine. For two sheets of Spotlight Vinyl you should be ok with a domestic machine.

[barned01]

yeah they just pointed me out to the 'upholstry grade thread' will get needles tomorrow.
I Plan now to sit in front of nice warm heater, test fit, cut, sew.
I don't want the material Uber tense as i plan on putting a thin layer of low density foam underneath just to give it a slight cushy feel when you put your arm on it.
so by the sounds of it, just heat it up enough and pull it taught to get rid of any wrinkles, then measure the cut lines and sew?

[horse]

pretty much mate. its also a good thing that u are putting some thin foam backing on it too.

[Invid]

Definately more comfy with some padding underneath it!

[The Witzl]

Step 1: remove 80% of the wood in those door structures
Step 2: wrap speaker grille cloth over the lightweight wood frame and staple on the rear side
Step 3: paint fibreglass resin onto the grille cloth to make the curved face of your buildout with strength
Step 4: sand it smooth like a mofo...
Step 5: use a GOOD contact ahesive and a relatively lightweight vinyl, heat gun to stretch it, and apply evenly
Step 5: ?????
Step 6: profit