help: how to add flames in upholstery

[mhorning]

I've seen some discussions on here and pics where you guys have added flames/logos to your door panels and upholstery. I wondered if anyone had any good links on how to do this.

[Prerunner1982]

the basic idea is to use foam underneath and good glue to hold the fabric down. talk to chevychic.... she can tell you first hand.

[chevychic]

It's not too hard to do. Just take your time.
I didn't have any links to follow. I just watched HorsePower TV back in Feb and saw them do a headliner so I just went with what they and the upholstery shop said.

Head on down to your local upholstery shop and get some 1/4" or 1/8" thick foam. I used 1/4". 1/8" is too thin IMO. You need some material that's easy to use...the more stretchy the material, the better. A lot of people use tweed. It looks good and is durable. I chose to not go with tweed because it is so popular and I like to be different. Also make sure it's automotive grade material. This stuff is treated to be UV resistant to withstand fading for longer.

Draw out your design on your foam and cut using a razor blade. Hold the razor blade at a 45° angle to give the design the look like it's part of the door panel. This also makes it easier to press the material to adhere (the sharper the corner, the harder it is to do).

Get yourself some good spray adhesive. Make sure it's high temp so the heat won't cause the adhesive to let go. You can get non-commercial grade at the upholstery shop that works great.

Prep your panels and dash by cleaning well. Read the instructions on the back of the adhesive for cleaning suggestions. Completely dismantle the door panel..all metal, arm rest pad, etc. If you've painted your panels in the past, you'll need to spend a good amount of time sanding as much of the paint off as you can.

Adhere your foam to your panels or dash...again, follow the instructions on the adhesive can.
Then start with the material...follow the instructions on the can ...start from one edge of the panel and work your way across, slow and careful. If you get a wrinkle, no problem...just lift up the material, remove the wrinkle and press down again. The adhesive is really friendly in that it gives you time to work. You don't have to rush with this stuff and you can lift the material up and press down again if it's not coming out straight or has wrinkles. The hardest part of this is around the arm rest. We had to cut a couple of seams in the material to get this part to work.

That's it...it's not too hard to do as long as you take your time and think ahead by looking at everything and planning for problems so you have an idea of what to do when you run into them.
There are some upholstery books you can probably pick up at the library or even pick apart your upholstery shop owners brain.

If you do tackle this, have fun and enjoy knowing how much money you're saving by doing it yourself

[1FaastC10]

gas and a match!

[mhorning]

Thanks for the info. I'm thinking of trying it out. I'll let you know how it goes.

[81chevystep]

is this what you are talking about?

[81chevystep]

just do not use any kind of spray adhesive in a can. as soon as the heat hits it it will let go i wused some good contact cement that i got from a local interior shop

[mhorning]

yeah that's what I had in mind. It looks great. I was also wondering. I once saw a guy somehow do something like that with a huge bowtie in the back of his bench seat. Anyone ever tried doing something like that?

[87 Shortwide]

If you are going to do something like a headliner, I have found that the 1/4 inch thick foam posterboard from walmart works very well. It is pretty sturdy so it will hold its form really well. Here is an example of it under regular headliner material for my wagon.