My interior plastic repair and resto

[madkaw]

I've been wanting to do something different as far as attacking the flimsy interior plastic in the early Z. I could buy some new and spend 500$ for a complete new plastic interior or try something different and maybe better to some. I finally finished off one panel today. Basically I just fiberglassed the back side of all my panels to strenghthen them plus repair any cracks or broken pieces. Then I plan to vinyl cover the panels. I thought the vinyl would match the rest of the interior plus provide some noise suppression and the panels would be much stronger and last my life time. I picked out the easiest panel today to cover with the vinyl(which i found a perfect match at Joanne fabrics). I learned today that i will have to getter better tools for the job. 3m is great stuff but i need a better way to spray the panel. The aresol can sprays to wide which makes for sloppy work.I also cut the material too close to the panel in several spots which i tried to show in the pic, but I think I know how to remedy that. I also odered the specific glue to spray with my gun. So far i have $ invested:

30$ vinyl

60$ glue and spray gun( that's a gallon of glue)

40$ fiberglass resin and hardener

20$ fiberglass cloth

As you can see i don't have a lot of money in it, but I didn't do this just to save money, I did this for the look also. I am not using the original vinyl, i will be carpeting everything else in the car. So there shouldn't be vinyl overload.I actually enjoy this kind of work too. Of course, once i get to doing the more complicated panels i might not like it as much

[twsutt]

Looks fantastic. I might have to go the same route soon, but I'm still working on the mechanics of the car. Wiring and interior are next.

[geezer]

That will work well and add quite a bit of strength. The only thing to watch out for is fitment interference. I have done this on small problem pieces that had started to crack and it worked well. Doing all the panels will be quite a project, but worthwhile. Good Luck!

[swbooking]

Very nice work, i also might have to go this route, the fiberglass strenthening was a smart idea those panels are just so brittle.

[Derek]

wow looks great.

You might want to check out this glue

http://www.glueplace.com/1081-spray-trim-adhe.html

This is the best price I've found

This stuff is really good. The spray pattern is very narrow and controllable.

Derek

[240ZX]

Provided one has the time, skills, and resources ($).....your method seems to be an excellent one! Good old craftsmanship and clever thinking are hard to beat.

Tom

[madkaw]

thanks guys! Like i said , that is the easy panel, the ones with the complex curves are going to be a challenge.

Derek, the spray can glue isn't really good at this level of covering. You need a more accurate spray from an actuall gun made to shoot glue. It's only 30$ so i sprang for it. Aresol sprays to wide an erratic and causes a big mess if your not careful.

I'll post as i go along here. I'm waiting on my gun and glue before I move on to bigger and badder things. I wish i was good enough to cover a dash:p

This is a cool site for interior stuff

http://www.yourautotrim.com/