Interior trim advice required.........!

[Ren32]

I thought I'd already covered most of the nightmare jobs during this restoration, but it appears there's at least one left.........

For anyone who's trimmed a Vixen or similar:

How on earth do you get the vinyl covering to stretch/fit over the rear wheelarches sections inside the car?

I have a layer of foam glued over the wheelarch inside the car, to this, I'm trying to stretch the vinyl and secure with aerosol contact adhesive. Initially it appears to hold it's shape but within half hour or so, as the vinyl tries to shrink back into shape it just keeps puckering up along the top. There doesn't appear to be any other way of securing this in place other than glue??

If anyone know of any tricks in getting this to fit without it looking like a dog's dinner, I'd be very interested know??

Darren.

[ATE399J]

Hi Darren,

Did you try warming the material up first? I used 'Evostik' contact adhesive so once it was stuck it was STUCK! They didn't come out too bad but there is a little puckering at the very top but that was (mostly) hidden by the ttrim between the rear window and the wheel arch.

Phil.

[mrs dalesman]

I don't envy you this one - it's a really difficult job.

I trimmed both the 1800S and the Vixen (apart from seats and headlining) and the only problem I found using the spray contact adhesive and the Evostik in this area is that when the car is in the sun and gets very hot in the back, it all starts to come apart and you end up with one very sticky mess.

In the 1800S this area is carpeted and you screw it back - just a suggestion but maybe you could do the same with the Vixen. Small black round headed screws are fairly discreet against black vinyl.

Hope this helps.

Mrs D

[THREEFISHORANGE]

THE ONLY WAY I CAN KNOW TO GET THE VINYL TO STAY IN SHAPE OVER THE WHEEL ARCHES ,IS TO HAVE THEM SEWN TO THE CORRECT SHAPE,AS I ENDED UP DOING.AND PUT A BEAD LIKE JOIN FROM THE FRONT TO THE BACK, TO COVER UP LITTLE UNDULATIONS!!

[Ren32]

Cheers for the suggestions,

I think I'll replace the foam underneath first, as I'm sure that some of this is coming unstuck, contributing to the shrinking effect of the vinyl.

I'll try some gentle coaxing with some heat and see if that helps, hopefully I might be able to stretch it past the point of no return! Thanks for the tip Phil.

If no joy then I'll try either your idea Mrs D or attempt making a 2 piece part as suggested by Threefish.

At least I have a few ideas to play with now!

Thanks again for the suggestions.

Darren.

[heightswitch]

Another method I have seen is to glass up the rear arch areas to square them off allowing a nicely stitched trim panel to be made without the need to mould around complex curves

Neil.

[Ren32]

heightswitch said:

Another method I have seen is to glass up the rear arch areas to square them off allowing a nicely stitched trim panel to be made without the need to mould around complex curves

Neil.

Cheers for that Neil, sounds like a tidy way of doing it, I'll put that on the list of back-up plans!!

Darren.

[heightswitch]

A mate of mine in the west lancs club has done that and although non original the finished effect is excellent. If you decide to go that route, give me a shout and I will try to get a photo of the car.

Neil.