Dashboard retrim in black vinyl fabric
Dashboard top removed.
Reverse of dashboard top.
Remove the screws that fix the air venting to the dashboard.
Air venting removed.
I'll never be able to trim around that!
Or those...
Box of goodies from AS-Essentials.co.uk
Glue, thinners, brush and chemical guidelines.
A 10m roll of black vinyl material purchased from ebay seller the-fabric-wise
Close-up.
Close-up alongside one of the painted panels.
Speedo removed.
Structure removed, was really a case of pulling to find out where the screws were until it was free.
Steering column trims removed.
Dashboard structure.
Under-steering column cubby hole.
Cubby removed from fascia panel.
Fabric sections cut roughly to size.
Separate one needed for the glove box handle.
Remember those tricky grill sections?
A pair of clippers soon sorts them out...
On with the Orbital style goggles... (£4 from Maplin)
And out with the rotary tool...
To clean up the mesh bits.
That cubby is going to be a nightmare to trim!
Not to mention that one...
Mask up the glove box.
Clip it back in place.
And out with the foam to fill out the cubbies.
Straight after squirting.
Fully expanded.
Out with the hacksaw blade to trim the excess back.
First phase.
Excess.
A bit more to go.
Out with the knife to trim the excess from the smaller cubby.
Cut back almost flat.
Sandpaper and MDF to ensure it's sanded to a flat level.
Sanding complete.
Remove the glovebox.
Check it slides back in okay.
And opens in place.
It was catching a little so mark a line to cut back.
Adjust jigsaw to 45 degree angle.
Guide jigsaw along cutting at a slow a speed as possible.
The result of the angled cut.
Time to firm that foam up with some P40.
Sand it back using a file and sandpaper on board.
Skim it over with P38 Easy Sand
After a few repeats of sanding back and refilling...
Check that no imperfections are visible through vinyl.
Check that glove box fits fine and opens as expected.
Using a measuring jug and water mark the measurements for the glue and thinners.
Equipment.
Items laid out alongside their material cut-outs.
Final test-fit to ensure relevant parts are covered.
Check that the vinyl edges are covered when dash trim in place.
I then brushed the glue mixture over each item and it's vinyl, after about 10 minutes the vinyl started to curl up so I had to apply but after this time the tackiness seemed just right to allow me to apply to the items and peel back / adjust where necessary.
I couldn't believe just how easy it was to manipulte and stretch around the curved panels.
Time to trim around the edges with a sharp knife and trimming tool.
Completed trimmed structure with relevant parts clipped into place to test-fit.
Close-up of the trimmed area that was filled underneath.
Onto the dash-top trimming.
Initial application.
Majority of excess trimmed.
Gradually trimming closer to the edges.
Edges complete and airbag hole cut out.
Cut excess over vent holes but leave edge to double over reverse of holes.
I glued the vinyl to the reverse of the holes with superglue rather than fabric glue as I could hold them in place whilst drying and the brush is more accurate.
View of vent holes from above.
Dash top trimming complete.
Exposed vent holes.
Some mesh left over from my custom front grill.
Cut to shape for the vent holes.
Screw the venting back into place whilst holding the mesh in place.
Mesh fixed in place behind vent holes by venting.
Reverse of dashboard top.
Remove the screws that fix the air venting to the dashboard.
Air venting removed.
I'll never be able to trim around that!
Or those...
Box of goodies from AS-Essentials.co.uk
Glue, thinners, brush and chemical guidelines.
A 10m roll of black vinyl material purchased from ebay seller the-fabric-wise
Close-up.
Close-up alongside one of the painted panels.
Speedo removed.
Structure removed, was really a case of pulling to find out where the screws were until it was free.
Steering column trims removed.
Dashboard structure.
Under-steering column cubby hole.
Cubby removed from fascia panel.
Fabric sections cut roughly to size.
Separate one needed for the glove box handle.
Remember those tricky grill sections?
A pair of clippers soon sorts them out...
On with the Orbital style goggles... (£4 from Maplin)
And out with the rotary tool...
To clean up the mesh bits.
That cubby is going to be a nightmare to trim!
Not to mention that one...
Mask up the glove box.
Clip it back in place.
And out with the foam to fill out the cubbies.
Straight after squirting.
Fully expanded.
Out with the hacksaw blade to trim the excess back.
First phase.
Excess.
A bit more to go.
Out with the knife to trim the excess from the smaller cubby.
Cut back almost flat.
Sandpaper and MDF to ensure it's sanded to a flat level.
Sanding complete.
Remove the glovebox.
Check it slides back in okay.
And opens in place.
It was catching a little so mark a line to cut back.
Adjust jigsaw to 45 degree angle.
Guide jigsaw along cutting at a slow a speed as possible.
The result of the angled cut.
Time to firm that foam up with some P40.
Sand it back using a file and sandpaper on board.
Skim it over with P38 Easy Sand
After a few repeats of sanding back and refilling...
Check that no imperfections are visible through vinyl.
Check that glove box fits fine and opens as expected.
Using a measuring jug and water mark the measurements for the glue and thinners.
Equipment.
Items laid out alongside their material cut-outs.
Final test-fit to ensure relevant parts are covered.
Check that the vinyl edges are covered when dash trim in place.
I then brushed the glue mixture over each item and it's vinyl, after about 10 minutes the vinyl started to curl up so I had to apply but after this time the tackiness seemed just right to allow me to apply to the items and peel back / adjust where necessary.
I couldn't believe just how easy it was to manipulte and stretch around the curved panels.
Time to trim around the edges with a sharp knife and trimming tool.
Completed trimmed structure with relevant parts clipped into place to test-fit.
Close-up of the trimmed area that was filled underneath.
Onto the dash-top trimming.
Initial application.
Majority of excess trimmed.
Gradually trimming closer to the edges.
Edges complete and airbag hole cut out.
Cut excess over vent holes but leave edge to double over reverse of holes.
I glued the vinyl to the reverse of the holes with superglue rather than fabric glue as I could hold them in place whilst drying and the brush is more accurate.
View of vent holes from above.
Dash top trimming complete.
Exposed vent holes.
Some mesh left over from my custom front grill.
Cut to shape for the vent holes.
Screw the venting back into place whilst holding the mesh in place.
Mesh fixed in place behind vent holes by venting.