On my '54 Hudson Jet, the original door cards are long gone, as are the armrests. A friend who did the interior on my old '37 Terraplane, showed me what he used for door cards, as well as kick panels and rear package shelves that are flat - smooth plastic that is roughly 1/8" thick and comes in 4x8 rolls, doesn't warp or water-soak, and is easy to manipulate to whatever size you want to cut it. One side is very smooth, and the other has a slight texture to it As soon as the weather warms up a little, I can start cutting the panels to fit the doors, and also make a couple of kick panels. The material I have is a very nice dark green vinyl that I got from an upholstery supply shop, that is the perfect color for what I want. I also bought a roll of 3/16" thick foam for padding on the panels. These are the first interior panels I'll be building from scratch, so I'm pretty pumped about getting started on them. My big concern before starting the project is ensuring that the glue holds the foam to the board, and the foam to the vinyl material. In applying the glue to both sides, how long (at room temperature) does one wait to stick the two together? Does the smooth side or the textured side of the plastic go towards the door? My guess would be the smooth side, but I don't know if it makes a difference or not? Basic stuff, sure. First door panel job, and I want it to look decent enough. My upholstery friend is in a nursing home, so asking him is out. Any ideas? Thanks.
I used Dap landau top adhesive, the dry time depends on temp and humidity. As soon as you can touch it without your finger sticking, it's ready to go.
some thoughts: - texture in or out is your choice. - you don’t say what glue you are using, but what do the instructions say? - if it is a contact cement type, be aware that any repositioning is not an option, needs to be right first time. - how about trying a few small peices to see what works and to get familiar with the operation.
We always used 3M contact adhesive and it worked very well, sorry don't remember the PN and it is best to follow the mfr's recommendation on use! Contact adhesives are applied to both materials and need to be dry to the touch before they are put together. As long as you don't apply pressure to the material you can usually lift it and reposition it if neccessary, then be sure to apply even pressure over the entire surface to finish the bond.
3M 90 applied to both surfaces. Attach before it dries completely. Steamer will reactivate glue if needed. The substrate I use is Sintra brand. Cuts without breaking, heat to conform. From 1/16 to 1/2" thicknesses. This example is standard foam, but closed-cell foam will provide a more dense, stable panel.
FrankenRodz makes a good point, the attributes of open cell vs. closed cell foam are quite different. Closed cell foam will give the panels a more padded and plush feel.
I made door panels for my coupe and had no patterns. I used some clear Plastic I bought at the fabric section of Walmart or hobby lobby and made patterns from them. you can see where all the holes need to be and mark them with a sharpie and cut out. once you have a nice fit transfer your pattern to your panel boards.
My concern is the use of this 1/8" plastic. It's possible I've used a similar product on our dirt track race car if it the stuff that comes in colors. My experience with it its pretty hard to cut and does move around from sun to cold. Using it or any other "plastic" surface, I would rough it up some before glueing. Minimum would be scotch-Brite pad and remembering to do the back side about 6" from the edge. Good luck.
Its been my experience that any glue that comes in a spray can is not very good. An like jimmy six said, scotch brite the plastic to remove the smooth surface so the glue will stick.
Thanks for the tips, guys. This is my second attempt at gluing vinyl to a surface. I've always been under the hood or under the car, and this is my first serious attempt at interior work, other than carpet. I wanted to try my hand at the interior panels on this Hudson. I do not have the glue, yet. I'll see what the local upholstery supply has for glue choices and see if they have what I see recommended. The panels won't be fancy, but I want my first try at them to be nice.
Lots of good information for you to consider. You might also check out some YouTube sites on upholstering a door panel and watch a couple of doors being done.
One technique that has helped me hugely for large areas is to mark the center line of your backer board with the foam attached and then do the same on the inside of your vinyl fabric. With the fabric just dry enough to touch, loosely hold it folded in half, glue side out, with the mark hanging down along the bottom length of the fold. Large pieces of fabric may need two people to hold each end so the glued areas don't touch together accidentally. Medium pieces can probably be managed by one. Lower the fabric onto the foam (which is flat on the floor) carefully aligning the center marks. Extra hands are helpful to guide this first contact. Then have your helper begin smoothing the fabric from the center outward as you continue to lower it slowly. This eliminates any chance of wrinkles or misalignment. once the two glued surfaces touch, there's no do-overs. They grab together like Jack The Bear. It's possible to do this with fewer helpers if you lay paper over the glue coated foam/backer exposing only about an inch of the area where the centerline is, then lower the fabric as above gently over the paper and lay it flat and aligned. Gently press the centerlines together, then pull the in-between papers out a few inches at a time while you press both surfaces together, center out, with your hands or a roller or a cardboard "scraper". When it's all attached smoothly spend a little more time rolling and pressing it together. Whatever you do, don't let it know you're afraid. It can sense that.
if you can get the glue from a upholstery shop then buy the cheap spray gun from harbor freight and spray it with about 25 # air pressure.
I used Sintra as well. It's actually PVC, can be heat formed and can be glued with PVC or superglue, I used it to make the rear inside corners of my A coupe transition from the rounded shape in the upper portion to the right angled shape in the lower half. Worked well and has held up. I used DAP auto contact adhesive -may be hard to find in your area, it can't be shipped to every state. This is a good site and you can order it here: www.yourautotrim.com/noname37.html. Grainger,too, I think. Make sure your vinyl is made for auto interiors and is UV resistant.
They make a glue in spray cans for this, upholstery supply places sell it, there is an upholstery supply place in most large towns. Cut out your door panel to suit the car, with holes for door handles etc. Lay the panel flat on your work table. Lay the foam on it and adjust until it is smooth and where you want it. Carefully fold it back over itself so half the door panel is exposed. Spray the glue on the door panel and foam When it is dry enough carefully smooth the foam onto the panel Fold the other half over, glue and smooth down the same way. Leave a little overlap, so the foam wraps around the edge Glue the vinyl or cloth to the foam the same way Turn the panel over and glue the edges. You may need to cut darts out of the corners of the vinyl to make it lay flat, don't cut them all the way to the edge. Velcro works great to hold the panel in place if you don't have the original clips. It is easy to get and allows you to take off the panel if you need to service the window or winder mechanism.
If you need holes for the original style clips that hide behind the material, use a hole punch thru the plastic or cardboard for that matter and remember to do them first. If you don't have a lead plate use the END of a 4 x 4.
In my profession, which is not upholstery, there are only three kinds of people: those who have had a problem with a particular task and will tell you about it, those who have had a problem and won't tell you about it and those who haven't done the task enough times to have the problem. Yet.
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