Refinishing Interior Vinyl-Covered Plastic

[Jeemy]

Or plasticised vinyl, I know not what.

I have all the pieces removed that I am going to treat now.

I'm going to fill the holes with a 3M vinyl repair kit caused by the driver scuffing the sill and the seat rubbing against the B-pillar. This should allow me to fill, match colour and regrain.

After which I don't know if its worth for the light scratching and so forth trying to buff it out with very fine sandpaper, and just clean it to within an inch of its life with something like Meguiars Interior Detailer, or whether I should repaint the lot with a "vinyl paint".

Has anybody ever used this type of product?

http://www.kolorbond.co.uk/vinylkote.html

They will match it to a colour sample if you send. This sounds ideal for matching to the main dash, which of course I am not going to remove.

The only issue I will have is that if I recover the door vinyl, unless I do something wacky, its unlikely to match the dash. However as its going to be offset by the cognac leather, it shouldn't offend the eye too greatly unless you examine the interface between door and dash at the A-pillar.

[epipete]

Having read this thread, I contacted Kolorbond to enquire about their product. Their polite reply was that each vinylcote aerosol can is 400ml however this is 50:50 paint & propellant.

A litre of paint covers 4 sqr metres, i asked about coverage and this will provide sufficient depth of colour over that area!

Therefore 5 cans = 1 litre of paint = 4sqr mtrs coverage at a unit price of £16.00 (ex vat) per can, additionally, £12.00 + vat carriage for up to 12ltrs

Cheaper than recovering, even cheaper if you have your own spray facilities!

[theelanman]

I get that to be about £90 then......

[theelanman]

I get that to be about £90 then......

sorry forgot VAT....make that £110.......

[epipete]

Yeah, that's what I figure too; each door card is 0.5 sqr mtr, the Dash is about 2mtrs and the Centre console is about (but less than) a metre, so 4 sqr mtrs but then there are other plastic pieces that you may wish to do as we'll - B post pillars, fuse cover etc etc.

I was quoted £700 (incl. hide) for my dash and £100 (incl. vinyl) for each door card so if it works, and is important to you then it's well worth the money assuming you can achieve the necessary professional finish. The real winner, IMHO, is their ability to match the colour to whatever refinishing of the seats etc that you have already done!

[Jeemy]

I've bought 2 of the 3M vinyl repair kit. The undamaged vinyl is in excellent condition and should clean up well, there are just gouges in the offside B pillar where the drivers seat has rubbed against it, and in the same side sill cover.

So the kit should match the colour and fill the holes. I couldn't find it anywhere in the UK, 3M direct never responded, so had to import it from America which meant spending over $100 at the shop, and $50 shipping, but still works out pretty reasonable.

Once this is done, if the repairs look patchy, I will consider whether to treat every piece. At present I plan to use Plastidip to recover the inner portion of the dash; the dials/console area which has 2 cracks so needs removed, repaired and then sprayed - the other issue I have with that is it is not flush with the outer portion; how to affix the two, and close the gaps, I will work out once I have it removed.

Plenty updates to post in my main thread shortly!

[theelanman]

IIRC there was a thread on repairing the door escutcheons.......similar methods I think...
I'll see if I can find it

[theelanman]

my mistake...its was for the plastics

viewtopic.php?f=80&t=5653

[epipete]

The other issue I have with that is it is not flush with the outer portion; how to affix the two, and close the gaps, I will work out once I have it removed.

Looking at your pictures of the facia the worst gap is to the left of the radio, there is actually a forked piece of tin bonded on to the facia that married to, and bolted, on to a threaded pole fixed to the dash - with a nut - in your case it looks like something is loose here!

[Jeemy]

Cool. Good to know that once I get it out there will be something to fix and it will work better.

Otherwise my plan was to do something along the lines of:

- enlarge it with fibreglass
- fill the gap with some kind of sealant and then put a thin piece of plastic tube against it to cover it
- insert some kind of bolts to the reverse
- hot glue it and clamp the whole thing together

I'll get it hook or crook. Right. Sun's out. Going outside to get fired into her.

[madbilly]

I know you want to make it look neat and tidy and you won't expect to have to take it apart again any time soon, but if you glue/seal it all together you could make it extremely difficult to get apart next time, and in the process could damage it. I've found getting at stuff behind the dash, without taking the fascia off, very difficult indeed (the relay box over the centre tunnel for instance).

[Jeemy]

Point taken. I do indeed expect by the time it goes back on, its never going to have to come off again.

Equally I'm hoping once I get it off, I'll be able to find a non-destructive way to refit it and get it more flush.

Will wait and see.

[norman lovie]

Jeemy, I use these helpfull and practical guy's for various resins - specifically clear coat twin pack epoxy - as used for carbon fibre or ground glass fibre
anyway they also have a range of products for doing hobby moulding in a range of materials - I see a solution for any of the fittings and interior plastics using these techniques - for example if you used the twin pack epoxy resin as the filler - it's a lot more flexable than normal fibreglass resin
http://www.resin-supplies.co.uk/mouldmaking.htm