In a new car, at first everything is so, however, during operation, the colors of the upholstery material begin to lose their brightness, rub off and become covered with stains that can no longer be cleaned. This problem is especially acute for light-colored interiors, when, after several years of operation, do-it-yourself upholstery of the car interior is simply necessary.
Of course, you can solve the issue by contacting a service where professionals will completely change the upholstery of the seats and the interior, but many can do the upholstery of the car’s interior with their own hands, so you will save a significant amount of money and be able to give the car elegance to your personal taste.
Step 1: choose the material
Everyone agrees that leather upholstery is the perfect solution for any vehicle, but this pleasure is not affordable for everyone, because it is not cheap.
However, today there are other upholstery materials that have earned popularity among car owners for their qualities:
- Carpet is the cheapest and most easily accessible of materials; a decorative pile coating is usually applied on top of its non-woven base. Its main advantage is a completely simple installation process and a huge selection of colors.
- Alcantara - has a basis of fine-fiber threads, the material is made using the technologies of the chemical and textile industries. Alcantara is a material with good characteristics of strength and durability, it is distinguished by softness, a silky surface and a dirt-resistant coating.
- Leatherette is a cheap and attractive material, which, unfortunately, has an impressive list of drawbacks. Its main disadvantages include an unpleasant odor that lasts in the cabin for a long time, increased elasticity characteristics, low resistance to mechanical impacts, as well as the ability to absorb odors, sometimes quite unpleasant.
When purchasing material for a future do-it-yourself upholstery of a car interior, be sure to look at the quality of the goods you want to sell, you should check the uniformity of the structures of any material. If you decide to opt for Alcantara, remember that the direction of the fibers can be crucial when cutting, otherwise it will turn out that on the same seat all the details will differ in shades.
Step 2: Prepare the Tools
Since the process of car upholstery with any material, be it leatherette, carpet, velor or leather, is carried out according to a certain algorithm, it requires tools, sometimes they even need to be bought on purpose. So, you will need: a sewing machine (you need it if you plan to replace the seat trim), soundproofing materials (at your request), a set of keys. And also a couple of tubes of glue, a hair dryer, a set of screwdrivers, scissors for working with linoleum.
Step 3: Getting Started
It must be remembered that depending on the model of the car, the sequence for replacing the interior upholstery may vary slightly. However, in general terms, it is the same for all:
- First, all fasteners and all fittings, such as visors, handles and decorative elements, are removed.
- In the car, the electrical wiring is disconnected, the connectors are removed, the decorating elements are unfastened and the old upholstery is removed.
- When dismantling is completed, the surfaces are cleaned of all contaminants
- All parts made of metal and plastic are degreased
- The future upholstery is being cut, for which the previous parts are applied to a sheet of cardboard, then it should be cut. It is advisable to transfer finished cardboard patterns to the prepared material only when you check that you have done everything correctly.
- When the details of the new upholstery are ready, they should be installed on the surface, having previously thoroughly smeared them with a layer of glue
- If necessary, you can use a hair dryer to smooth out the formed folds. In addition to steaming, you can beat off the upholstery seams with little force, then everything will look even more neat and beautiful.
- And in conclusion, all fasteners removed at the beginning of work should be installed in their places.
Do-it-yourself car interior trim: some useful tips for each part of the cabin
First, let's watch the video:
seats
If you are planning to completely replace the upholstery on the seats, and not purchase new covers, then first you need to cut the old upholstery at the seams, you will make a pattern along it. After the individual elements are ready, using a sewing machine, you should assemble them into a single product. Nowadays it is much easier to go and buy new covers, in auto shops there is a huge selection of various options for this product.
doors
Removing dirt is especially important when changing upholstery with your own hands on car doors. When you start your pattern, remember to leave about a centimeter of allowances on all sides of the part. Be careful when making the holes needed for the door handle and power window handle. In places where the upholstery is close to the door, be sure to apply a layer of glue.
Do-it-yourself car interior upholstery: ceiling
To replace the ceiling banner, an important fact is the complete dismantling of all backlights, plugs, handles and decorative parts of the racks. Only the fulfillment of this condition will allow you to change the ceiling lining as carefully as possible. By the way, if you chose a leatherette for the ceiling, it is recommended to heat it up a little before starting the installation, then it will be elastic, which means that it will be easy and simple to fix it.
Armrests
To tighten the armrests, they must first be removed, then patterns should be made using the previous details, be sure to leave small reserves of material around the edges. After that, the product is glued over the entire area, the edges are carefully fixed, and processed with a hair dryer.
And finally
In cases where there is a need or just a desire, before the final installation of a new upholstery, foam rubber or special insulating material is laid under the parts.
As it becomes clear from the foregoing, do-it-yourself upholstery of a car interior is a very real task. Of course, it requires investing a certain amount of money and several hours of time, but the result is worth it, because then you will be proud of the fact that with your own hands, without the help of professionals, you changed the entire upholstery in the car.
