MTAS

This is a LONG post
I finally started the project today, it is not something I'd want to do again. I'm just glad I'm not predispositioned for baldness It may seem like an easy task, but there are a few things to be mindful of:
1. The outside temperature when you start - you will be cramped in the rear seat, moving around quite a bit and working up one hell of a sweat, trust me Keep lots of water on hand in the garage with you.
2. The forward most edge of the outlined area slants forward - I had to cut a new piece of vinyl after I'd sprayed the adhesive on the panel, and applied the vinyl only to see that it wasn't big enough. That piece went in the trash needless to say
3. When you put the vinyl onto the panel and smooth it down, the adhesive may or may not keep it in place. To be honest, all I cared about were the outer edges. If the vinyl wasn't completely adhered to the panel everywhere else, so what IMO. It's the edges that matter to me. Believe me, I tried like crazy to get the whole thing to stick, but maybe my prep job wasn't good enough

What you'll need for the job:
1. V2819 w/aberdeen vinyl - this is the red vinyl that Ford uses on the door panels for cars with the ICAP. The dark charcoal is a different V number, but the aberdeen indicates the diamond shaped perforations.
2. I used both Elmers Craft Bond spray adhesive and 3M 8088. The Elmers was used on the passenger side, 3M on the driver's side. Why? I thought the Elmers wasn't doing the job, when in the end it looks like it should work just fine.
3. 220 grit sandpaper to rough the area so the adhesive has something to stick to. The plastic is impregnated with silicone. You'll see how slippery it is when trying to get masking tape to stick to it
4. I used a tack cloth to remove any dust, but also wiped the panel as well as a 2" permiter around it with rubbing alcohol to remove any interior dressing. This helped immensely with getting the masking tape to stick!
5. Spline tool - got this from Lowes for $3. It has 2 ends, one with a convex edged wheel, the other with a concave edged wheel. I'd recommend using the convex side just in case some overzealous pressure with the concave side might slice your vinyl prematurely
6. A good flat blade screw driver to get into the curved areas of the panel that the spline tool can't reach.
7. A roll of regular masking tape. I guess you could use the blue painter's stuff, but I didn't so I can say for sure.
8. Daily newspaper for masking everything off.
OK let's get started

Here are a few of the things mentioned above:






The rear area as we all know it:


After sanding and wiping down:


Masked off:


Vinyl applied - this is the toughest part of the job IMO. You obviously have to work pretty fast without interruption. Use the spline tool to push the vinyl into the u-shaped groove - it might seem like it won't go, but it will. Use the screwdriver to get into the curved areas where the tool won't go. You'll also notice the little wrinkle there where it takes the 90* down - I'm afraid that's gonna stay. As I said earlier, it was more important for me to make sure the piece would stay in the groove than whether it was completely smooth on the panel. Maybe a professional would be able to get it perfect, but who knows


Here's the driver's side after removing the newspaper, but leaving the tape on there. Why? The spray adhesive is on the tape too. Rip the tape off and I guarantee you'll rip your hard work off with it. It's best to let it sit overnight (IMO), then use a sharp Exacto/utility knife with a new blade to make the cut, then everything will just drop off.


OK - the next morning you're ready to proceed with the final steps.

The moment of truth!


And once the cut was made, it looked, well, OK at best IMO for an amateur/first timer. One thing I did to finish it off, and you can sort of see it in the final pic below, is get some screening spline, .125" diameter. The stuff comes in a 25' roll in a bag for $3 at Lowes. I used the spline tool (imagine that) and a screw driver (for the tight curves) to push it in. Now here's the finished product, with some interior dressing thrown on so it has the same sheen as the rest of the crimson material in the car:


And the driver's side - the reflections around the perimeter of the new insert is the spline material. I guess the flash caught it, and since it's not at an even depth around the piece, the light catches it and makes it look like there's an "uneven-ness" to it. Overall I'm happy with the result!

Is it perfect? Not by a long shot. Am I happy with the overall outcome? YES! It's in the back seat area, and no one will be scrutinizing it too much any way. Hell, only the trained Mustang eye will even notice that it's there. Now the only question remains is how long it will hold up. I hope the vinyl doesn't shrink too much in time. If it does, I'll have to see what my options are if/when that happens.

I know this was a long post, and thanks for sticking with it

CHDS PNY

looks great man...very nice job

nole_trainer

Looks good, I wanted this look too, but even my professional installer would not do it??? So You da man!!!

05GT-O.C.D.

Dave, sweet job. I've wanted that done myself.

Just an idea... maybe it'd be easier if you just took the trim panels off and outside of the car? Probably less stressful and you'd be a little more patient doing it in the garage w/ a fan blowing on you.

Thanks for the informative post and photos... I see a winter project in my future.

MTAS

Thanks guys, I appreciate it.
John - yeah, taking the panel out could possibly make things easier. But where the vinyl goes is not a removable piece, it's merely an indentation in the larger side panel. To remove that side panel would be possible, but you'd have to remove the lower rear seats, possibly the upper seat belt anchors, and who knows what else. In your case if you're not driving your car in the winter, then by all means it might be easier to go that route. Hit me up if you run into any problems once you decide to tackle it

redbullet

I just completed one side yesterday, myself. I pulled mine and did it on the bench.

I used a hairdryer to speed the drying and a 3" paint roller to smooth out the vinyl while drying.

The blue painters tape works as well.

MustangGuy

Very nice!!!

MTAS

NICE I'm sure that made it a lot easier

clintoris

Show us a pic of yours... to see how it turned out.

odiaz

Hi redbullet, any chance you can post those pictures? Where did you get the red perforated leather? I'm really interested in this. It bothers me that the back of the car doesn't match the front. It's more noticeable in a vert when you have the top down.

06GT4RAD

Nice RED X's

Richard

odiaz

MTAs removed the pictures because he did not like the way they turned out, that's why we're seeing the red Xs. I was hoping redbullet would not miind sharing his pictures. This is something I'm very interrested in doing but I'm not sure I'm artisitic enough. Mechanical mods are OK but I can't seem to handle anything more delicate.

rmays06

I'd like to see this mod too. If you could post some pix....

2007redgt

Please post up some pics!

MTAS

Updated process/pics http://forums.bradbarnett.net/showpo...5&postcount=11

05GT-O.C.D.

Looked good before, looks great now. Did you do the welts on your front doors too?

MTAS

Thanks John The first effort was my typical rushed/impaitient method of doing things, only to learn that it will need to be done over again to look decent. Yeah I also have the silver tinsel welt on the front doors. Trying to clean out the dried adhesive from the groove in the rear panels would be a nightmare to say the least. The welting takes care of business

06GT4RAD

Hey that's pretty nice. Good Job

Richard

semperfi65

Dave,
Great job! Where did you get your vinyl and welting?

rmays06

Dave it looks awesome, nice write up and excellent job.