I have an E36 and my door panel inserts have deffinitely seen better days. My plan was re-wrap them in vinyl but All my attempts failed due to the glue not sticking. My backup plan is to wrap them in carbon fiber and finish it with a matte clear so its not so flashy. My only questions is this: How should I go about doing it? Which method?
This is sorta what I want to do to the panel except no seam lines and actually use real carbon fiber, not some cheesy fabric. Then area that is causing the greatest difficulties are the valleys where the panel is flat and then bumps out. The vinyl fabric that I was using could net stretch enough to get into valley and then the one time that I got it to stretch in there and stay, the glue failed a few days later. I figure wrapping the panel in CF will make it look 10x better then it does now and I wont ever have to worry about the fabric separating from the panel like the stock ones do. Ive been doing some reading into vacuum bagging and have found quite a few DIY sites that list everything needed for a <$70 vacuum bag setup. My thought is that the vacuum bagging will give the best finish product and will force the CF into the valleys that Im worried about.
when you wrapped it last time, did you use adhesive spray? I’ve wrapped alot of obscure shapes and I personally hate any adhesive spray. even 3m super 77 which everyone raves about. I always use contact cement. it works wonders. If you get a good vinyl that has stretching ability(cheap vinyls dont stretch), it could be done without issue.
as far as carbon, i’ve never used the vacuum bag setups, but I’ve seen alot of DIY’ers come out with decent final products using that method.
If you need a place to do it, I volunteer my garage, as I would like to see how the vacuum process works in person
In these contours, no it doesn’t. If you take an E36 door panel insert to a upholstry shop, most of the guys there will tell you that they don’t like to work on our panels because the glue doesn’t stick for more than a few days/weeks. The only correct way to do the inserts is to stitch 3 panels of fabric together and then glue it but even then I would have to take it to someone to have done and it wouldnt be cost effective.
Back OT: Which resin should I get to give me UV protection? After looking into it more, carbon comes in different weaves (example: fabric is 1k with a 2x2 twill weave) what does all this mean and how do I know which is best for my application?
What kind of material are you planning on using for this? Sometimes material choice will make a huge difference and allow you to use one solid piece. Like in LAFENGAS’ DIY thread.
Obviously the challenge is reducing the residual forces from pushing the material to the shape of the plastic, so if the material stretches enough, it will reduce those forces alot. The vynil you had on there, probably doesn’t stretch much at all compared to alternatives.
Also, if you already had a 3-pce section of material, and it didn’t stick, that’s because the shape probably wasn’t proper. If you modify the template to fit better, there should not be a problem.
when I did the 300zx, the vinyl I used decided that since it was shitty, it was going to shrink in the hot sun. Looked great for a little bit until the sun hit it a few days later all the pieces that I tediously stretched into place has just shrunk and the glue couldnt hold it.
That was the same contact cement that I used and it didnt hold. My panel is also a little more curvy then yours. I wrapped my headliner in fake suede and it came out great. The door inserts are just VERY complicated even if they dont look it.
Im trying to get AWAY from re wrapping it in vinyl. I want to give the CF a go just to say I tried it.
That is exactly what is happening. There are multiple ways to skin a cat but Im not a skinner. If I had ALL the tools need, im sure I could get the fabric to work and stick but the reality is that I dont.
aaahhh, I get ya. Well you don’t have to use vynil. Why not a better material.
the c/f idea is cool, but don’t plan on getting it on your first try. Search Google for step by steps on how to make them. You need to make a mold of the panel itself which isn’t too hard, but is time consuming.
If I were to do it again with the vinyl, I would use a blow dryer and preshrink it while the glue is still freshly laid. That will shrink it and let it set the way it wants to.
Are there any forums that I can do some more research about this? Ive been doing all of my research on automotive forums and just seeing how other people are doing it. I would really like to start learning about the different type of fabrics and resins and get some more professional advice.
lafengas did it with alcantra and said that it didnt/wouldnt shrink. That is expensive/hard to find, but I bet the other less expensive synthetic suedes would be a lot easier to use than vinyl.
