What's a good material to cover the paneling with? I have a decent set of dark gray/black (probably faded black because the car I pulled them from didn't have any windows and was at the yard for who knows how long) panels, that are in better shape than my existing ones. The panels are badly scuffed and scratched, and I don't think plastic spray paint would do the trick. I will say one thing about covering the panels--I DON'T want to cover them in carpet. EVERYONE that has covered them has carpet, and I am looking for something a little different. If it weren't so hard to find and expensive, I would use neoprene (wetsuit material) because it's insulating in terms of both heat/cold and noise. Besides, carpeting is a bit of a pain to install, as I have learned building sub boxes.

 

Nobody has used vinyl or anything like that to cover their interior panels? Guess I'll be the first then...

 

i was thinking about using vinyl with some thin sponge stuff behind it so it feels like the more high end expensive interiors

 

What about headliner material? I've seen it in several fabric stores and it comes in either 5 or 6 foot wide rolls. It has the "spongy" material on the back and comes in several different colors.

 

The question is how much material does it take to cover all of the panels? And I wouldn't mind using headliner material... That needs to be redone as well, or it will before long (there's a hole in the roof panel that surrounds the upper part of the hatch where the paneling screws to the body)...

 

Tweed or vinyl/leather will work. You could also look at a spray material (sold in craftstores).

 

What is this spray material you speak of?

 

i think he means spray adhesive cuz ive never seen any kind of "spray material"

 

What do you guys think of the stuff they make jeans out of, denim, in black? I looked on evilBay and saw a large piece (63" by 18 FEET!!!) for dirt cheap. I would think that a piece that big would cover all of the panels, don't you?

 

a denim interior? man straight outta the '80s(pretty appropriate actually) but dude not feelin it. maybe it would look better actually done but in theory, dont think so

 

Tweed looks great, and you could have it dyed black (if you can't find black tweed). It really makes the whole interior warmer and more inviting. I'll either use tweed or headliner material for mine - my problem is that my interior is burgundy.

 

every look into alcantara? its a beautiful thing. or a small grain leather with a backing foam. alcantara is soft enough you dont need a backing, and smoe leathers are thick enough you dont need backing either, but for things like the consol or door panel a backing definately helps when your arm is gonna rest on it.

you might want a non-hardening adhesive too, something that stays pliable. this also helps so it doesnt soak into the fibers and make the material all hard and stuff

Im currently re-doing my door panels in alcantara/leather.

 

I'm not doing the console or the door panels. The console doesn't need it (picked it out of a j/y fresh 91 and the only prob with it is a crack in the lid), and the door panels WILL be getting neoprene (in black and red), when I can find a place to recover my deluxe panels cheap.
Tweed is for old men, IMHO, and I don't see the leather thing happening either. I'm not a big fan of it, other than in my coat/jacket and boots.

I think I'll try just a couple of small existing panels for now and see if I like them enough to do the whole replacement set with the covering. If not, it's not like I'll have done some panels I'm stuck with.

 

Some paels are a b%%ch to recover, especially panels with concave (Curves inward) areas. I would use either vinyl or alcantara. Depending on the material, I would use something stretchy. You can heat it in the oven (150 degrees) and wrap it then.
Good luck!
P.S. Most hotrods still use tweed.

 

thats the beauty of leather, its so damn stretchy