posted
I fiberglassed my gauge pod to my a-pillar and tried covering it with some OEM material. The pod obviously sticks out a bit and the material doesn't have much if any give to it so I've ended up with some wrinkles and I can seem to get the splice on the back side to look decent. I've covered and recovered about 5 time now. Does anyone have a good DIY on this or a link? I could look into a local shop, but like most of you here, I'm a die hard DIY'er.
Posts: 63 | From: Chicago | Registered: Oct 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
not sure if this would help ,but when I fiberglassed my tweeters on the pillar I worked the pillar smooth and then I textured it then went to my local automotive paint supply store and had them mix some paint to match then painted the pillar and it looks factory except with tweeters . And this is on my 01 Xtreme. Hope this helps.
posted
You don't exactly say what type of material you are using to cover the pillar, but there is something inherant to all fabrics that have a woven substrate (cloth backing). All fabrics have what is called a BIAS, this is a term which describes the tendancy for fabrics to stretch in one or more directions more than another. In most cases the bias runs diagonally to the weave pattern. If you look at the back side of most professional grade upholstery materials you'll see a diagonal grid printed on the backing, this grid is usually aligned with the most stretchable direction, or bias.
Take a piece of the fabric that you are using and see which direction is most stretchable, then cut a piece big enough to cover your pillar keeping in mind that the bias should be aligned with the most difficult curves of your project. In most cases you'll need way more fabric that you originally expected to use, and if you are concerned with the look and feel of the finished product you'll want to pay extra attention to the natural lay of the fabric fibers or grain, making sure to flip-flop the fabric so the parts on opposite sides of the car have the same appearance when you're done.
posted
Thanks Mike, I'm basically using headliner material with a 1/8" foam backing. I have noticed the bias. I think I can smooth things out a bit better with this in mind and maybe using a blow dryer to heat it up a bit. My main problem is the seam. I can't get it to not look like something Frankenstein did.
Posts: 63 | From: Chicago | Registered: Oct 2002
| IP: Logged |
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
Printer-friendly view of this topic