Thread: Forming multi contoured upholstery panels using sculpted foam and fiberglass

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Brian, it's too bad you're not closer to the Detroit area. Ididit has been holding a monthly seminar during the winter months the last couple of years. The March seminar was last week and the owner of RodDoors in Chico, CA was in to show how to do trim panels.

RodDoors has 23 universal trim-to-fit trim panels with different patterns already molded in to them. The panels are made from .125" abs plastic. There are also 13 different arm rests as well as other interior items to make the interior look good.

They also sell a base panel as well, but I'm sure you could find basic sheet plastic to base the trim panels on. In the case of the demonstration, ultra leather was glued directly to the abs plastic. He started at the arm rest area and moved outward from there. He said you can use foam (typically 1/4") and glue it to the panel and them glue the trim material to the foam. The foam was trimmed around the molded pattern so that it's not washed out by the foam.

I had been a little intimedated by the idea of doing the interior trim. I'm most likely going to try my hand at doing the interior and trunk trim panels myself. As I can't sew worth a damn, I'll leave my seats and headliner to the trim shop, I think I just found away to save a few thousand on trim labor.

They sell a video tape for around $20-$25. They also sell the material. Check out their website. Sorry to sound like a salesman, but the seminar was extremely interesting and has me fired up to back in the garage .

The funny part was that roughly 20% of those there brough their wifes. Guess who has interior duty? LOL!