7racer

I just got done completing this project. I saw that FD3boost and Ronkmiller did it to their cars so I thought I would give it a try...

However, I just wanted to do a write up as it wasn't as easy as it seemed.

First I purchased some contact adhesive and mineral spirits (to clean the glue off of everything you touch!!!).

You will also need some kind of knife. I used an exacto though if you had a good pair of scissors, it should be fine.

7racer

I then left the old vinyl on and just recovered it with the new. I cut out an approximate shape then got ready to apply the adhesive.

Here is the thing I found out....The high grade vinyl I purchased has a thick "cloth" backing. When I sprayed both the vinyl and tranny tunnel, the cloth would "absorb" the adhesive leaving little to adhere. I noticed this as I had some areas that "stuck" and others that bubbled up. I then peeled the new vinyl off and basically saturated it with adhesive. This allowed it to stick much easier.

A second point is that you should wait around a half a minute or longer to allow the adhesive to get "tacky", otherwise as you apply the two layers together, they just slide around....yes I found this the hard way too...

Finally, I used the exacto knife to cut relaxing cuts similar to the stock ones to allow the fabric to fold around the corners...I then applied more adhesive and stuck it in place. I found that even after it is set....you can massage the fabric and glue long afterward to really get that smooth factory look.

Finally, any little messes on the hands or adhesive that you carry and mess up the vinyl with will clean up with the mineral spirits.

Oh, I bought 3 yds of fabric....I think you only need 1! I plan to do the A pillars next.

7racer

Another angle

7racer

And here is a test fit...

7racer

And another....


For anyone in the DFW area...I have TONS of vinyl left if you want to do this for yourself

CCarlisi

Very nice writeup. Just out of curiousity why didn't you cover it with leather? Where did you get the vinyl from? I was planning on doing something similar using black leather. However if I can improve the look/feel of of the stock vinyl without killing a cow I'm all for it.

7racer

I just heard that vinyl would be easier for this purpose...I would have liked leather but wasn't sure about how much I would mess it up.

Maybe RonKmiller will chime in on the pros/cons of leather and adhesive to this area....

I got the vinyl from a shop Scalliwag recommended in Fortworth. I drove there this morning and got to choose the swatch I wanted.

I was looking for a low gloss/low texture pattern. They had others with super shiny gloss and deep wrinkles....This look was what I was looking for as it seems to have a nice appearance in my M3