DIY leather wrapped dash
- Thread starter e85van
- Start date
SqerrNipz said:Usel said:Nice work, looks great
Cheers Rob, need another project now :lol:
Hope you’re well mate
You're cracking through the mods at quite a rate so bar painting the inside of the chassis rails I'm out of ideas for you
I'm all good, thanks for asking, hope you're enjoying the excellent top down weather atm, the heated seats and steering wheel have come at the right time
SqerrNipz said:Spent the last couple of nights trimming my dash pieces in nappa leather. Overall great fun, but definitely some learning points! I found the wayside glue I used dried so quickly, that any accidental overlap with the brush caused the glue to bunch up and become claggy. This has led to some slight undulations and much like when I squeeze myself into my leather minidress (it’s purely a weekend thing, don’t tell the missus) the thin nappa leather is very unforgiving and shows every slight lump and bump.
Very nicely done
Beautiful work! Your post has given me something to think about. My original plan was to wrap the aluminum section of the dash and the leather section of the door cards in leather/vinyl; my goal is to add some color to the otherwise black interior. After some research, it looks like the door cards are a real PITA to get at (thanks BMW), so I was rethinking that part of my plan. In your post, I see that you've covered the aluminum section of the dash and the centre console. I hadn't thought of that up until now, but I'm thinking this might just give me the splash of color I need without having to deal with the door cards right away.
Please tell me, how challenging was the centre console to cover? It is a rather complicated piece, with many curves, etc. Also, did the Napa leather impact fitment of the newly wrapped centre console?
Thanks!
Evan
Please tell me, how challenging was the centre console to cover? It is a rather complicated piece, with many curves, etc. Also, did the Napa leather impact fitment of the newly wrapped centre console?
Thanks!
Evan
Mojito said:SqerrNipz said:Spent the last couple of nights trimming my dash pieces in nappa leather. Overall great fun, but definitely some learning points! I found the wayside glue I used dried so quickly, that any accidental overlap with the brush caused the glue to bunch up and become claggy. This has led to some slight undulations and much like when I squeeze myself into my leather minidress (it’s purely a weekend thing, don’t tell the missus) the thin nappa leather is very unforgiving and shows every slight lump and bump.
Very nicely done
I ordered the same glue based off of your post and recommendation
Relieved to know it won't all peel off at the first sight of sun (not that we're likely to get any soon!)
Thanks for the info in your original post - I liked it so much, it inspired me to do mine
e85van said:
From my experience the centre console was probably the easiest part to wrap. The curves are all quite gradual and there's some good, natural orifices to tuck into on the rear. I used 1mm nappa leather, which was nice and stretchy too. Removing/fitting it is a mission though, as it feels like you have to take half the car apart to do it! :roll:
Update - finished the wrapping of the dash in the pumpkin/teak leatherette…. Looks amazing, but the heater/AC vents don’t want to go back in now. I get one side in and apply pressure the get the other in, and the first one pops out. I even made extra relief cuts in the vinyl for extra space and have filed down the center section of the air vent.
Anyone run into such fitment issues?
Anyone run into such fitment issues?
I started with the light switch as it was the smallest piece. Despite its small size, this one was actually the most challenging to fit properly! Then moved on to the upper aluminum dash. That was fairly straight forward... just had to make numerous cuts around the inside and outside corners for it to fit properly.
I also had to deal with my setbacks... they were falling apart and falling off! My son suggested I recover them too. I had enough material so I went for it. They look great too!
I also had to deal with my setbacks... they were falling apart and falling off! My son suggested I recover them too. I had enough material so I went for it. They look great too!
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Now I have to decide if I want to also do the centre console! Would appreciate advice from the group on that. It's a fine line between just enough and too much..... Wondering if others think adding color to the centre console would improve the look, or detract.
Im also conscious that pulling out that centre console is a PITA.
And yes - that's orange stitching on the hand brake and gator (from the good folks at JF Customs).
E85van
Im also conscious that pulling out that centre console is a PITA.
And yes - that's orange stitching on the hand brake and gator (from the good folks at JF Customs).
E85van
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Scottish Borders
Congratulations..well done…on my E89 chickened out doing it myself..got a professional to do it..I’d made it more complex with edging trim that needed lining up correctly..took a lot of clamps to fii in..the extra thickness was a killer..
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Looks great, you've made a really tidy job of it I considered doing the roll-hoop covers, but thought it would be too much of a faff. Sprayed mine matt black instead, but yours look really good.
I don't think the centre trim would be too much. I reckon it would help to tie the pieces at the front and rear together. It is a ball-ache to remove though! :lol:
I considered doing the roll-hoop covers, but thought it would be too much of a faff. Sprayed mine matt black instead, but yours look really good. I don't think the centre trim would be too much. I reckon it would help to tie the pieces at the front and rear together. It is a ball-ache to remove though! :lol:
Ohio
I know it's years later, but this post is still content gold to me. This is exactly what I want to do.Hi Evan,
I've wrapped my aluminum dashboard in Nappa leather - twice!
My first attempt was using a a pre-stitched kit off ebay - a special order one in Nappa leather. Nappa is more stretchy than the standard leather they use, but for a beginner like me trying to glue it down and get the stitch lines straight it's a pita of a job. I got a fair result, but decided to do it again with a piece of unstitched leather. Simple reason was my Z has a custom leather dashboard with stitching and the stitching on the aluminum trim was just too much stitching :lol:
I purchased a piece of Nappa on Ebay, lots of suppliers and plenty of colour choice and I have to say I'm well pleased with the result. A few tips that worked for me, but I'm no expert. This was my first effort working with leather and a proffessional leather trimmer would probably approach it differently, but it worked for me.
Use a high temperatrure contact adhesive - I used Wayside Adhesives HTA 1000.
I mounted my Ali trim on a board using bolts screwed into four of the rear fixings and set into holes on the mounting board. This meant I could concentrate on handling/glueing the leather without the trim moving.
I used 0.7m Nappa - thin and stretchy
I glued the leather down in one go. Line it up, allowing plenty of overlap all round, stick just the very edge down at one thin end and then lightly stretch and apply it down the length - see photos. Stretch and roll the edges round to the back and stick it down. There is a danger that if you stick the main part down in several sections you might not get a totally smooth surface between the different appications of contact adhesive. Any imperfections will stand out like a sore thumb on this trim piece - that's the greatest danger
I lightly roughened the Ali trim and cleaned the surface with alcohol to degrease.
It all sounds a bit daunting, but frankly easier than it sounds. Good luck - what colour have you have in mind?
