Hey, All, The interior panels for my '54 Chev have really nice upholstery on them. It needs a good cleaning, but otherwise it's very good. The only problem is that they are somewhat warped from long term storage. Does anyone have any tips on how to reshape these? I don't know if heat or steam would work. I'd certainly like to save them if I could. Thanks.
Can you put the old upholstery onto new backing? I did that with the original vinyl for my Pontiac, and it turned out pretty good even though the vinyl was ugly to begin with! I used some 1/8" particle board stuff, like pegboard without the holes and spray adhesive to keep the vinyl on. Hope this helps! Johnny
A few years ago the plywood panels on my 48 convert that the vinyl was sewn to were de-laminating. I used fiber gl*** mat and resin to repair them and then coated the entire rear side of the plywood panel with resin. It's been six years and they are holding up well.
Thanks guys. I thought I'd attach a couple of pics to show you what I've got. I hope it's visible. The PO apparently stored them for quite a while and not flat! They are mainly deformed at the upper corners. The don't appear to have any water damage. I'd just like to "de-warp" them if I can.
i would try clamping the eges with flat stock to take the wave out and do a layer of fibergl*** resin with the chopped fiberg*** mat. i did this to repair a door panel that i cracked the backing on taking a seat out.
Wipe them down on the backside with a hot damp rag, then get a sheet of plywood that covers them and put it on them with good side down on a old blanket. Pile the weight on until they are flat and leave them to dry for days or more. If that wont do it, then they can't be saved.
Thanks for all of the good advice guys. I certainly think they can be saves. I took a heat gun and heated the back side for a few minutes and they are much improved. I'll try the heat and steam on the back side and weight to flatten them till they dry and then go from there. Thanks again!
Replacing the backing is almost imposable because the pleats were top s***ched through the panel board.
Looks like that route would be a major undertaking for that reason. I'll definitely exhaust every other possibility!
Did you ever get them straight? I am about to try to repair a couple of panels from a '67 caddy and I can't see remaking them because of all the s***ching and intricate work that came OEM. I think I am going to try the hot rag and press method but would like to know if anyone has had success this route.
Hot and wet then put a lot of weight on them, like someone else said if this doesn't help whatsoever then you're SOL and will need to do new ones, which you can salvage the original materials and get a professional upholsterer to sew the white quilted lined part back in. I use a stiff 1/8" cardboard for my panels and back it with a heavier gauge plastic backing to keep moisture out. Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad
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