Is it possible? Kinda like that 4th gen door panels, but keeping the 3rd gen ones, but covered in leather??

 

Anything is possible. But is it worth all the money? What about pleather? Looks the same, but costs about 1/4 (or less) the money. A lot of new cars come with pleather on the headliner and door panels. But hey, if you got the cash, go for the leather.

 

leather, pleather, as long as it looks the same, which brings be to another point.. how exactly would it look?

 

hey when you figureanything out with the pleather door skins let me know, and does anyone know where to get the material???? maybe a fabric and craft store???? i think i'll tuck n' stich this one for sure and i'll let you guys know how it turns out when i get around to it.

ShibbyFbird, master uphulster ( )

 

I know that you can get the material from a good fabric store. I looked at some to do my headliner with (kinda like the Audi's) and it was about 3.99 a square yard. Headliners need about 2 or so yards, so the material is not very expensive. I think that it would look good on the headliner and door panels (dont know about the sail panels). Got my headliner out now, so just might do it then post pics. Plus the stuff comes in a whole lot of color choices.

 

would it look to cheezy to do the headliner and door panels leather/pleather and leave the dash/other trim the original plastic? or perhaps interior panel painting???? hmmmmmm?:rockon:

 

You can do other parts with the material also. The only limit is your imagination. Maybe do the door handles and the upper door panel with it. Look at an Audi or Benz and see how they do it and sorta copy it. Just dont go overboard. I guess you could also do some panel painting with a color that matches.

 

i dont know about pleather, but i would just use vinyl. it is cheap and easy to get and use. i think most "leather" surfaces in new cars are vinyl. and i hear real leather is hard to work with because it doesnt stretch much. check out www.selectproducts.com if you want the good stuff. check out jo-ann fabrics or whatever you have locally to save some cash.

 

good call! when i said pleather i meant vinyl but in case you guys can't read my mind, lol, vinyl was what i was thinking of. i'm still not positive on the tecnique to use to fasten the material to the panel, headliner, etc. but my guess is that the material is probably too heavy for adhesive spray, maye a small staples or something on the back of the panels to secure it, any ideas i'm love to hear them, even email me at pmpnthebuick@aol.com or drop me a pm, it's all gravy

:hail: FIREBIRD

 

I would like to know about how to redo the door pannels, dash pad, etc with vinyl as well. Yes, I know I should have searched the boards first to see if someone has already typed this up so just point me to the post if it already exists.

 

there was someone that did their dash pad in white or tan (cant remember exactly) leather/vinyl to match the seats.. it looked really good IMO that way..

 

If you don't want to do the work yourself, www.mrmikes.com has a set of Leather door panels for like $300 and leather Seat Covers to put on yourself for $600.

Also look around for places to do your dash pad. I had it qouted to cover the dash pad in vinyl for $150 and thats including the material. THey would defiantly have to fill in the speaker grill with spray foam or something. But defiantly a good idea. If I wasn't doing my interior in all black, I would do this, but I found a good dash pad that wasn't kracked, and now Im just going to try to keep it that way.

 

I helped a friend do some interior work in his van. We used the vinyl with the texture like real leather, he got from a local fabric shop. It's real inexpensive like $2.95 a yard. On the ceiling we used 1/4 in plywood as a base and secured it. he also bought some 1/2 in foam. Here comes the important part, DON'T USE spray adhesive from a rattle can, it does not hold worth a #@!*. You need an old cup gun, air compressor and CONTACT CEMENT. cover anything you don't want glued and with even steady strokes we applied the cement directly to the plywod. We then sprayed an even coat over one side of the foam, and let both set up until tacky to the touch( depending on weather and humidity about 15 minutes) then starting at one end we used a plastic license plate as a big squeegee and working from the center out made sure that it was smooth and straight.( get it set right the first time because as soon as it touches it's not going to be moved, trust me).
After the foam was in place we rolled out the vinyl material and again sprayed the foam first and then the vinyl allowing it to "Tack-Up" before we attached it. Using the same method starting in the middle at one end we attached the vinyl and smoothed it out to the edges. We finished off by trimming the edges and gluing them before we rolled them over( make sure you have enough foam and material to "Hang Over" on all sides) we finished off his headliner by striking lines in a diamond pattern and attaching matching buttons (covered in the same material) at the point where all the diamond points intersected. Since he used 1/2 in foam, when we attached the screw buttons it pulled in and gave the classic "Button-Tuck" look. Your imagination is endless. Moral to this story, use professional strength adhesive for a professional looking job...........
:hail: