my custom door trim

[ON_DUBS]

ok so for the last few days i've been working on re-trimming the NC armrests i had in my ED Fairmont.

velour removed and armrests recovered in a thick grey vinyl
Woodgrain has been sanded back to bare wood and re-stained + varnished

Heres the end result:
this is the only door complete the rest are yet to be put on the car



let me know what you think

i butchered the NC armrests i had in i still have the original ED Fairmont armrests wrapped up safe and dust-free

[ON_DUBS]

nine views and nobody likes it im a failure : :

[Dezza]

The woodgrain looks really good. The vinyl isn't bad but the bottom edge of it looks a bit rough though.

[Holbrookau]

nine views and nobody likes it

Probably don't wish to hurt your feelings..
Things like this take practice and patience. The vinyl appears to be too thick and doesn't like pulling around corners very well, the surface underneath is uneven (leftovers from previous covering or lumps in the glue), the viynl has lifted in a couple of spots due to being pulled before the glue was dry. Personally I think a contrasting velour would look better.
The wood trim is shiny but the finish has marks in it, either the grain hasn't been filled properly or it's marks from the brush.
Keep at it - practice makes perfect. ;)

[ROOSTA]

Well i dont like velour door trims.. i think they look tacky.. but i think as holbrookau said if you used a more contrasting vinyl it prob would have been a touch more pleasing to me.. but in the end you are the one who has to drive it so what ever tickles your berries..

Oh yer.. a heat gun can be priceless when working with vinyl..

Cheers,
Nik

[EFFalcon]

i like it, velour looks way better then vinyl, and the grey vinyl adds to the style.

[snypereb]

Looks pretty neat mate nice work!!

[mcflux]

It's 99% there mate,

As others have said the vinyl needs finishing off, and hopefully you can get the other woodgrain strips to come out the same as the one pictured.

Vinyl colour might be *slightly* off, but then again maybe it's your camera.

[XRated]

I don't like the vinyl - I prefer the square velour patter. The woodgrain needs a smoother finish (good buff) but the shade looks nice.

[ON_DUBS]

this is the first time ive ever worked with vinyl or anything like what ive done so its all been play by ear

this is only the first door so i have 3 chances to get it right still

the problem with the bottom of the armrest there is becuase i didnt secure the actual plastic down with the metal tabs, will have to take it off again and fix that.

the woodgrain looks and feels smooth to the touch so i'm not concerned about nicks in it brought out by the camera flash. no brush marks..


john what you said was a bit confusing...

Originally Posted by EFFalcon

i like it, velour looks way better then vinyl, and the grey vinyl adds to the style.

did you mean vinyl looks better than velour or that you dont like it?

i reckon the colour of the vinyl suits the rest of the trim well and looks alot better than the nasty nc velour i had on there.

@ xrated, i still have the square velour armrests dont worry i didnt harm them

[DEVL-XR]

hey its looking pretty good, i agree that the vinyl needs a bit more work around the bottom.

can i ask how you actually did it? what glue did you use?

cheers
braden

[Polyal]

Originally Posted by ea_silver_ghia

The woodgrain looks really good. The vinyl isn't bad but the bottom edge of it looks a bit rough though.

Ditto.

Good effort though!

[ON_DUBS]

Originally Posted by BradensEBxr6

hey its looking pretty good, i agree that the vinyl needs a bit more work around the bottom.

can i ask how you actually did it? what glue did you use?

cheers
braden

it was hard enough just to get the vinyl in any kind of shape let alone flat on the arm rest.

i used a tin of kwik grip cement.
i reckon the bottom will look better once i clamp the armrest down like its meant to be.


not sure how i'd go about repairing the surface under the vinyl..

[AUIII]

Hey good effort for the first door. You will have the technique down pat by the fourth door.

I know its not a e series but I just did something similar on my Au and the first one I did was a bit dodgy but they got better as I went along. I found the trick was to make a template of the insert then cut the viynl larger than the template then I used a butter knife to push into the gaps.
I didn’t have the arm rest to contend with though.

Here’s a pic of mine

[LUXO_8]

i like the woodgrain like that......rather than the fake look you get when you have clear "resin" over it....
leave the wood just as you have it.. looks very classy

ithe vinyl looks great except for the edge........get that right and it'll look awesome

[kraddy]

Looking good mate!

[EFFalcon]

sorry, i meant i like it
i like the velour on the majority of the trim (similar to mine)
and the vinyl ads a touch of class (like leather) again, similar to mine.
the woodgrain looks a nice shade, but as said above, smoother it would look even better.

[EDXR6T]

look's awsome mate

Did you clear coat the wood.? if no this will help in the smooth look and once the clear's seat you can cut it back and polish it it will look shmick as

A little bit more work on the bottom of the armrest and it will look a million buck's

p.s i still owe you an interior shot of mine:P im working on it

[ON_DUBS]

yeh its had a clear its just the camera flash that has made it look crap.
it really does look and feel nice and smooth when you're holding it.

why not chuck us up a pic in this thread mate?
tomorrow i reckon i take a comparative photo showing the original ED, the NC and the re-trim version

[EDXR6T]

^^

still to get pic's man:P

il get some pic's tomoro and be sure to throw them up

[DEVL-XR]

Originally Posted by FAIRMONT4.0

it was hard enough just to get the vinyl in any kind of shape let alone flat on the arm rest.

i used a tin of kwik grip cement.
i reckon the bottom will look better once i clamp the armrest down like its meant to be.


not sure how i'd go about repairing the surface under the vinyl..

iv had to add foam to two of my door trim inserts as two are off an eb and the other two of an ea (both fairmonts).

The reason iv had to add foam is because the ea ones only have a thin layer of foam on the armrest as opposed to the eb ones having thicker foam on the armrest. coming along pretty well. never done this kinda thing before so its all new to me! iv got this glue that you leave to almost dry first before bonding (sorry im not sure of the name, its 3.20 in the morning and im tired!!!). yeh so im not sure if i want to use vinyl which will look classy, or sweade which proberly wont look as good but will proberly be easier to work with.
i think i'll head towards vinyl tho.
well anyway...

cheers
braden

[SLYXT]

Originally Posted by FAIRMONT4.0

yeh its had a clear its just the camera flash that has made it look crap.

Thats right, Sometimes the flash can make things look a bit crappy.
i really like the look of the wood. just look at the part that isnt flashed and you can kinda tell that it would look nice to the plain eye without the camera flash.

good work mate.

[EFFANATIC]

Well done mate looking sweet, good to see your not rushing it eitheir plus i love that woodgrain to mmmmm.

good concept, mine a pretty similar to yours. heres a pic.

[hppsc]

John, go to bed! ;)

[ON_DUBS]

Originally Posted by John_xr6

good concept, mine a pretty similar to yours. heres a pic.

you know i wish it were a ghia, thats basically what i was trying to re-create with the vinyl

[CaRtZ]

i rekon it looks great! good effort! creates a feature of the trim. practice makes perfect...