Skezza Posted February 17, 2014 Report Share Posted February 17, 2014 Just looking for some advice on this. I got my hands on a second hand set of Lupo doorcards for nice and cheap (well, next to nothing once I've cleaned up the electric window switches and sold them on). Any advice on wrapping? I'm going to be using leatherette. Should I rub the card down first to the fibreglass or simply go over the top of the cloth material? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deadmetal Posted February 17, 2014 Report Share Posted February 17, 2014 Pull the old material off.Take your time with the re covering. Find out if working from the middle out or from one edge to the other works best for you.I suggest getting the material stuck properly into the corners and tricky bits first.Trim fix high heat spray glue takes a little while to dry, so you get some time to play and stretch the material into the corners. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skezza Posted February 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 What's the easiest way to remove the cloth? Pull from the corners? Can it be done in a non destructive manner?Is it worth using a hair dryer to warm the plastic leatherette and make it more pliable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deadmetal Posted February 18, 2014 Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 The material came off in one go with a firm pull with my door cards.Not played with leatherette so can't help you there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skezza Posted February 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 The material came off in one go with a firm pull with my door cards.Not played with leatherette so can't help you there.Did you use vinyl then? Or alcantara?I was tempted to use alcantara, but it looks pretty tough to work with. I think leatherette is easier and it does look pretty cool when done right.Some will wince but it's a blue Tim Tom interior too haha. I know they're a bit rare lol. It's looking a bit grubby to be fair though, so even if I cleaned it, it might not come out nice, but yeah, some will say just sell it on and get a 1.0 interior lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattz341 Posted February 18, 2014 Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 Would be interested too see a how too made for this skezza! I might attempt it at some point got some dead door cards aswell to use Or maybe just a before, during and after shot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skezza Posted February 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 (edited) Would be interested too see a how too made for this skezza! I might attempt it at some point got some dead door cards aswell to use Or maybe just a before, during and after shot! Hey Matt, I'll definitely write a How To when I get round to doing it. I had a practice tonight with the spare grab handle that came with the interior I got from the scrappy. It was grey, covered in manky filth and UHS, fairly gross, so absolutely perfect for my little (p)leather handle experiment. I used Trim Fix Spray Adhesive, a hair dryer, and bulldog clips which were absolutely ideal for when pulling around the tight corners. In a strange way, I'm now very tempted to do the door cards, only because I reckon in a lot of ways doing the handle was harder. Very sharp corners, difficult to make it tight etc... I think the biggest issue with the door cards is simply size and timing and getting everything to sit nice and tight, air bubble free.A couple of notes, Trim Fix is a fantastic product, but is absolutely evil when spilt or whatever. The nozzle is really quite **** and I found on more than one occasion it sprayed erratically. I reckon doing it outside would have been a better idea. You have about 30 seconds to get any spray off your carpet or whatever, and it does lift off okay, but it's not very nice on your hands either. As it's my first attempt, it took me a good two hours, and required three attempts with a 45 minute sanding/filing session in the middle:1. First attempt, I cut out a somewhat wasteful piece under the assumption it would be easy to trim once fitted, but in actuality, you don't have that long to trim the excess if you want to keep it neat, especially on something like a handle and getting it tight into the corners is really important, otherwise it lifts when you're fitting it.It was too messy and was nowhere near tidy enough to go in.2. Second attempt. I cut out a better piece and was quicker with the trimming. I was starting to get the hand of the hair dryer and how pulling tight helped. This one was a much nicer attempt, but the added thickness of the pleather meant I simply couldn't get it to fit. It would never have fitted even if I'd spent all night. To be fair, there was still a bit too much excess on the material which didn't help either.So I cracked on with a coarse file. A dremel would have done this in about a minute, but mine is currently knackered and I'm not sure I'll be able to fix it. It took roughly 30-45 minutes to sand both edges of the handle off. The really cool thing about pleather is that because it's 'imperfect' by nature, you can get away with filing quite haphazardly. Once you've wrapped the handle, nobody will be able to tell. Surely a one up for pleather over vinyl or spraying.My previous two attempts... anyone know if I can use them again? I assume with residue of trim fix on they're pretty much useless? Or could I trim them and have another go?The manky handle now, looking rough as hell lol before final re-trim.3. For my third and final go, I decided the best way was to line up one particular side so it was close to the edge. This would allow a very fine cut between that, now flat edge, and simply provide extra excess on the other side which shouldn't be too difficult to cut off. For corners that simply wouldn't tuck in, a quick spray and a bulldog clip was perfect!! Here is the finished article, be nice it's my first ever piece of successfully wrapped trim Just need to sort the plastic surround now, which is a bit manky, most of the non-stick stuff has gone lol. Edited February 18, 2014 by Skezza 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattz341 Posted February 18, 2014 Report Share Posted February 18, 2014 Looks brilliant there dude! Good job! I suppose you get out what you put in don't you! I'll look forward too seeing how your other attempts go! Another qu, where'd you get the pleather from and for how much? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danyutz Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 That looks great! Congrats. I'm planning to get a can of plastidip and do all the plastics which have worn-out rubber, might be a good attempt? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skezza Posted February 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 Matt - absolutely. Two hours is a long time but it's also good practice and I've leant a trick or two. Really, I should have known the handle wouldn't fit without sanding the edges, after all, they're designed to be a tight fit. I sanded both sides but I reckon that was probably unnecessary, just the top side really needs to be done. I'll do the passenger side Sunday and find out.The pleather is just ordinary sheet pleather from Dunelm Mill. It cost about £8 for a massive sheet. I bought the smallest amount you can buy but I reckon there's enough to do at least three door cards and possibly four if you're careful. All in all, it would be a very cheap mod.Dany - I'd like to see more plasti-dip stuff. At least more people trying it, I want to try it myself, perhaps with alloys. Problem is, it's just so damn expensive over here. In the US, a can of plasti-dip is about 5-7 dollars at a local Wal-Mart which is a good price. It's only a dollar or so more than regular automotive spray paint. Over here, cans of plasti-dip are about £12 and that doesn't include delivery. For just a single can, you're looking at probably £15. Far far too much when you can get standard spray off ECP for about £3.50.I'm hoping it eventually comes down in price but i don't see it happening in the near future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattz341 Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 Can't remember who it was now (maybe Clayton?) but I've seen on here that someone plastidipped the backs of their rear seats! Looked really nice, gonna do that to my leathers as the backs a bit marked but agree totally, far too much to buy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skezza Posted February 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2014 Here's a question for someone who's got experience in wrapping/trimfix. If I pull a piece off, can I simply use it again? Like there's trimfix glue residue on the back. Can I just scrape it off and try again or should I really use a fresh piece? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red_gnome69 Posted March 4, 2014 Report Share Posted March 4, 2014 Hi Skezza,I've heard you can pull the fabric lining off the vinyl which makes it a lot easier to work with.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skezza Posted March 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2014 Interesting idea red_gnome. How would I go about that? Do you think it's just a case of scrubbing it with a knife perhaps or can it literally be separated? So far, my first door handle is holding up very well and I'm happy with it. Hoping to do the next one this weekend when I finish the boot light then I may well have my first crack at a rear door card. Definitely going to do the rear cards first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl_Mac_ Posted March 4, 2014 Report Share Posted March 4, 2014 Here's a question for someone who's got experience in wrapping/trimfix. If I pull a piece off, can I simply use it again? Like there's trimfix glue residue on the back. Can I just scrape it off and try again or should I really use a fresh piece?Not sure about the lupo specifically, but normally its a contact adhesive so can't be reused. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skezza Posted March 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2014 Not sure about the lupo specifically, but normally its a contact adhesive so can't be reused. yeah that makes sense. Just means you don't have much room for mistakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CLAYTONJONES Posted March 5, 2014 Report Share Posted March 5, 2014 Can't remember who it was now (maybe Clayton?) but I've seen on here that someone plastidipped the backs of their rear seats! Looked really nice, gonna do that to my leathers as the backs a bit marked but agree totally, far too much to buy!Yes it was me who has used plasti dip. The plasti dip on the rear seats has held up well but on my interior handles the plastidip started to peel off. Its good on any where that isn't constantly being touched.Highly recommend the stuff though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skezza Posted March 5, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2014 Yes it was me who has used plasti dip. The plasti dip on the rear seats has held up well but on my interior handles the plastidip started to peel off. Its good on any where that isn't constantly being touched.Highly recommend the stuff though I reckon vinyl wrapping, pleathering or spraying is better for handles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red_gnome69 Posted March 5, 2014 Report Share Posted March 5, 2014 believe it should just peel / separate, will be trying this myself soon for the door cards and probably gloss black spray for the handlesI'll update if you have managed it in the meanwhile.IT's looking good BTW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skezza Posted March 5, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2014 I might have a go peeling one of the older pieces that's cover in glue. Would give it a second lease off life I'm still trying to find out whether I can re-use the contact adhesive but I think Karl is right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red_gnome69 Posted March 5, 2014 Report Share Posted March 5, 2014 (edited) yeah fairly sure contact is one use, as it has a chem reaction, unless you get special stuff, and then it doesn't really stick, so defeats the point of it IMHO lol Edited March 5, 2014 by red_gnome69 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skezza Posted March 5, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2014 Wouldn't it be safe to layer contact adhesive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl_Mac_ Posted March 5, 2014 Report Share Posted March 5, 2014 You could apply more contact adhesive to the surface, but would you be able to get high enough pressure across the part to get a reaction without damaging the part? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red_gnome69 Posted March 5, 2014 Report Share Posted March 5, 2014 (edited) doh sorry just got the gist of what you were saying yes it would be fine to layer, only issue might be bumps if built up also do a layer on each surface to get better grip leave a few minutes to start curing before applying and stretching. Use heat only once stretched out properly as it will speed up the drying time Edited March 5, 2014 by red_gnome69 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fretwell Posted April 3, 2014 Report Share Posted April 3, 2014 Wouldn't it be safe to layer contact adhesive? Hi not been on the forum for months , ! Got fed up of abuse towards my **** posts I've used leatherette from dun helm mills. Probably the same as you are using I wouldn't use the same peace again as any lumps show up and look dirty one of mine is covered in them ! Bleghhhh once you have the material fully glued and pulled over the edges the best thing I thought of doing whilst it sets is using a vacuum bag and putting the door card inside and sucking the air out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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