During the operation of any car, upholstery materials gradually lose their original appearance, are frayed and covered with stains that cannot be cleaned off. Light interiors are especially susceptible to this problem, when after some time from the moment of buying a car, the upholstery of the interior becomes practically necessary.
Of course, you can solve the problem by contacting a specialized workshop, whose workers will completely replace the upholstery and seats, but you can also try to do it yourself, thus saving a significant amount of money. Also, you will make the car more elegant and unique.
How to drag the interior: the choice of materials
Everyone will agree with us that leather trim is the best option for any car, but this pleasure is not cheap and not everyone can afford it.
Today, there are other high-quality materials with which you can restore the interior. These include:
- Carpet. It is the cheapest and most accessible of all. Its non-woven base is often covered with a pile decorative layer. The main advantages of the material include a simple installation process and a wide selection of colors.
- Alcantara. This material is based on fine-fiber threads. The material is produced according to the technologies of the textile and chemical industries. It has excellent durability and strength characteristics, softness, silky surface and dirt-repellent properties.
- Leatherette. Attractive and inexpensive material with an impressive list of disadvantages. These include an unpleasant odor that remains in the car interior for a long time, high elasticity properties, low resistance to mechanical stress and the ability to absorb unpleasant odors.
When buying material for hauling the interior of a car with your own hands, you need to pay attention to the quality of the product you are offering. Check the homogeneity of the material structures. If you choose Alcantara, keep in mind that the direction of the fibers can play a major role in cutting. It may turn out that on the same seat all the details will have different shades.
Instrument preparation
Since the process of hauling a car interior with any material is carried out according to a certain algorithm, you will need certain tools that are sold in stores. So, you will need the following:
- sewing machine;
- scissors;
- several tubes of glue;
- soundproofing materials on request;
- a set of keys and screwdrivers for disassembling the cabin.
Getting Started
It is important to consider that, depending on the model of the car, the sequence for replacing the upholstery of the passenger compartment may be different. In general terms, the plan of action is as follows:
- All fasteners and accessories are dismantled: handles, visors, decorative elements, etc.
- The electrical wiring in the car is disconnected, decorative elements are unfastened, the old upholstery is dismantled, the connectors are removed.
- When disassembly is completed, the surface is cleaned of contaminants.
- All plastic and metal parts must be degreased.
- The details of the future upholstery are being cut. To do this, old parts are applied to a cardboard sheet and cut out. It is recommended to transfer the finished patterns to the prepared material when you are sure that everything was done correctly.
- After preparing new parts, you need to start installing them, after having smeared the surfaces with an adhesive mixture.
- If necessary, use a hair dryer, smoothing out the resulting wrinkles. In addition to steaming, you can lightly beat off the seams, giving the products a beautiful, neat look.
- Finally, everything needs to be installed in its place, namely the fasteners.
Do-it-yourself interior upholstery is not an easy task, but if you do everything according to technology and follow certain tips, you will not have any problems.
seats
If you decide to replace the upholstery of the seats instead of buying covers, you first need to rip the old upholstery at the seams and make a pattern along it. After preparing the individual elements with a sewing machine, everything needs to be assembled into one.
doors
Cleaning all dirt is very important when replacing upholstery. While creating patterns, keep in mind that you need to leave centimeter allowances on all sides of the part. Carefully make holes for the door handle or power window handle. At those points where the upholstery fits snugly against the door, coat with glue.
Ceiling
To replace the headlining, the following elements must first be completely dismantled:
- plugs;
- backlight lamps;
- pens;
- decorative overlays of racks.
This will allow you to carefully replace the ceiling lining. If you are using leatherette, warm it up before installation, giving the material elasticity. This will allow you to easily drag any surface with material.
armrests
To haul the armrests, they must first be dismantled, and then patterns should be made using the old parts, leaving some stocks of material around the edges. After that, you need to glue the product over the entire area, carefully fix the edges and process with a hairdryer.
Summing up
In the event that there is a need or desire, before the final installation of the upholstery, foam rubber or insulating material can be laid under the parts.
As you understand, hauling the interior on your own is a quite feasible task. Naturally, it requires some investment and time, but the result justifies itself. You can be proud of the work done, even if you did this for the first time.
