My Door panels

[Guest DVSoul]

I do a little more extreme fiberglassing than some. here are some pics of the project im doing now.

also, here is a pict of the original panel. id like to keep the same integrity w/ the vinyl look if I can.

[Guest DVSoul]

Heres an interior shot, and another of the Dash

[Guest DVSoul]

Heres a shot of the sub box. I wish I could post more but im limited on space at this forum.

[Guest DVSoul]

Theres a place around here called jo-ann fabrics. they cary something called "whisper vinyl" (I think) anyway im gonna pick a yard or two up today and wrap something for practice.

Question: should I try to wrap these panels in one shot...or glue an area...stretch and apply vinyl, setup and dry then do a little more? (like workin small areas at a time) im concearned that by stretching the vinyl into some area it will "pull-up" the areas around it.

thanks

[Guest zolar]

one piece...one shot

you will need inserts, using the sub box as an example:

use a piece of mdf the shape of the amp to pull down the vinyl in the recess

and use speaker grills to pull it down in the speaker holes

the outside radius' will pull tight, the inside radius' will need an negative insert

of the positive recessed shape

I will try to find more pix

[Guest zolar]

That's some cool fiberglassing. We do very minor  molding if we have to make a rear deck or a speaker pod.

You don't have any way of having that seamed? It's just screaming for a proper covering job with seams and contours. We're doing a tour bus right now, and the last shop that did work for the company stretched and folded corners. It looked hideous. We're cutting panels and doing french seams to match the seating and it is coming out so much nicer. It looks more upscale.

On the bus stuff we're using UltraLeather. That is very very pliable and thin and contours down into a lot of recesses. It's also very durable. But I'm going to get some MEK and try taking the backing off some of our vinyls.

[*]396197

you aren't following me

there are no puckers, folds or any need for a seam

if it is done properly

I wrapped the entire dash with one piece

and because of the stretch the sides laid down smooth

it will look like it was vacuum formed

[Guest zolar]

conventional methods don't work

so I created my own method

it works.....dont belive the conventional people

go against the norm....be original

[Guest DVSoul]

ok, I got my gear.

Wisper vinyl...the most plyable vinyl that I seen in stores so far. stretches 4 directions. I did a sample peice w/ MEK. Boy, you dont need alot of that stuff do ya...wow. it pealed right off.

I gotta take my kids to a school thing this morning so ill be wrapping tonight....I wanna start now , but patients....patients.

ive got all the inserts I need...well see.

couple questions.

when working vinyl I would imagine that time is limited so. any special shaped tools or chemicals to have on hand?

if MEK gets on the face of the vinyl...will it ruin it or is there a cleaner?

if I over stretch the vinyl at one area of the project...and not the other will it apear distorted? some area will need to be worked pretty hard.

I know that I will learn this next one for myself as we all do but, what are a couple dos and donts?

I apreciate all the advice so far. I will post pictures as I continue.

[Guest DVSoul]

Great pics...did you start at the "gauge/face plate"?

also..the upper edge...did you staple that edge to the back?

[Guest sewing_guy]

I'm going to disagree....do it in areas. A project as big as that sub, if you glue the whole thing, it's going to dry too much on you, and the areas you aren't covering right then, the material will stick together and become a mess. When vinyls stick, you may be able to pull them apart, but if they get any pressure on them, right at the fold, there's a line. It's hard to take that back out. You have to respray the crease, and work it smooth again. Of course, w hile you're doing that, the rest of the glue is drying and bunching up.

On large items I fold the material back halfway, or even a quarter depending on size, spray the area (material and surface) then stick it down, then move on to the next area. The trick is making sure you can lift up the vinyl everywhere to be able to get glue in undernearth rightup to the previous glue area. But then again, I usually only do this on large flat areas. If there is a contour to the point that it might not stretch down, I panel it and sew to make the correct contour that won't need to be forced. Any glue, even the Weldwood Landau Top adhehsive, which we use on headliners and vinyl tops, can only hold up to so much tension. Especially when locked up in an interior pushing 150 degrees or so in the summer.

We just got done shoring up the headliner in a Baja boat. Same issue. It was a vinyl headliner glued to 2" foam backing. The heat loosened the glue and it fell in several spots. The foam was fine, but the glue let loose. The owner didn't want to spend the $2000 or so it would have taken to take it all down and start over, so we put support panels across the bad areas. Cobbling together a $60,000 boat. Oh well.

Whisper vinyl is one of the many brands of faux leather being produced. There's also Carrera (rough grain) and Allante (smooth). As well as Rave which is the hot thing right now, and several other brands specific to the maker.

Vinyls such as Whisper are nice looking and really resemble leather when used. But, they don't have nearly the pulling capabilities as regular vinyls (such as a naugahyde or spradling vinyl). They're good for sewing panels with padding underneath. But they're awfully thick and I don't know how those would stand up to MEK. The UltraLeather is a lot thinner and more pliable, but there is more cost involved with it.