DIY car interior trim repair

During the operation of the car, not only the mechanical components wear out, but also the interior. Consequently, restoration is periodically required to maintain its performance and appearance. This article discusses technologies for restoring various elements of the car interior from fabric, leather, and plastic.

Do-it-yourself interior restoration requires the use of special tools. They can be purchased at car markets and in car dealerships both separately and in the form of professional sets, which is most convenient. The cost of such kits is determined by the manufacturer and the number of tools. Most of the kits include tools for dismantling the trim and interior parts such as moldings, door cards, radio tape recorders, dashboard elements. Minimum car restoration kits include polyurethane paddles for removing plastic parts, keys for removing the climate control, and a plug for removing caps. The named tools are universal, that is, they are suitable for most vehicles.

In addition to tools, restoring a salon with your own hands requires materials. Their type is determined by the starting materials of the car interior. So, for the restoration of the fabric interior, the same material is usually required, while the repair of the leather interior is carried out using special compositions called liquid skin, and the restoration of plastic is carried out using a plasticizer gel.

Regardless of the type of work planned, first of all, it is necessary to clean the interior of the car from all contaminants. After that, you need to inspect the entire interior, as this may reveal damage that was not noticed initially. In this regard, the volume and technology of repair may be changed, and on the basis of this, the user can draw up an estimate of the costs of materials and tools.

Most often, damage in the form of scratches is found on the plastic parts of the car interior. The restoration of these interior elements includes several stages:

• At the first stage, the damaged areas of the plastic are filled with a specialized polymer mixture.
• After that, you need to restore the original pattern on the workpiece. To do this, a gel solution is applied to its adjacent area, which, after polymerization, gives an impression of the texture.
• Then it is applied to the damaged area of ​​the part until the polymer composition is completely dry.
• At the final stage, the restored plastic area is painted in the original color of the part.

If there are a lot of scratches on plastic parts during repair, it is advisable to use the method of restraining the damaged part with leather, vinyl or some other material.

First, you need to dismantle the plastic element from the car interior and take measurements from it. Then they sew covers on them and pull them onto the part, and at the end of the work it is installed in the car interior.

It is also possible to restore scratches on the interior plastic with your own hands using the methods of polishing and heating. Cracks are much less common on the plastic elements of salons: they are restored by gluing.

Seat repair technology is determined by the degree of damage and the material of which they are made. Depending on the degree of damage, local or complete repairs of the seats are carried out.

Local repairs are carried out with their own hands using a specialized chemical composition by applying it in several layers to the damaged area until the defect is filled. The chemical mixture must match the texture and color of the seat upholstery. For example, restoring a leather seat involves applying the original texture to the top layer of filler, while when restoring velor elements, fibers similar to pile are applied to the last layer of chemical composition.

Complete repair of the seats is carried out by means of constriction. For its implementation, it is necessary to dismantle these elements of the car interior and remove the original upholstery material from them. The seats are then measured according to the configuration to create the patterns.

To facilitate this work, you can use the old upholstery as a base. If necessary, during these works, in addition to replacing the upholstery, the geometry of the seat can be corrected.

Wrinkles and other irregularities must be avoided when applying new material. It should be noted that the considered works are very difficult to carry out with your own hands. They require the use of specialized sewing equipment and the availability of the appropriate skills from the performer.

This technology of car interior repair is quite simple to do it yourself. First of all, you need to remove the fasteners from the ceiling surface and turn off the interior lighting of the car. Then dismantle the overhead decorative panels and remove the upholstery, it is used as a pattern. When pulling on a new material, it is necessary to cut holes in it for the lighting elements. At the end, all removed elements are installed in the reverse order on the ceiling.

The pleasure of traveling by car directly depends on the quality of the interior space of your vehicle. The better the interior is made, the easier it will be to get real satisfaction from driving a car on a variety of roads. Sometimes it is simply impossible to stay in the car for a long time due to internal space problems. The driver is constantly annoyed by certain moments of the car's interior that require his intervention. There are many methods that can completely change the quality of your car's interior at a low cost. Do-it-yourself car interior restoration is a fairly simple process that you can perform during vehicle operation. Some functions will require money to buy materials and tools, but in most cases, the costs are low.

It is best to use professional advice when performing self-repair of your car interior. It is not uncommon for vehicle owners to start with the most expensive processes and do not get tangible visible results. Therefore, it is much better and easier to perform high-quality work with the restoration of a vehicle, starting with small, not too expensive processes that will not devastate your budget and convince you that you could drive with problems in the cabin. Contrary to popular belief, interior restoration is often necessary for expensive foreign cars as well. It is extremely important for them to have a very high-quality and attractive interior, because otherwise the meaning of operating such machines simply disappears.

The first problem with the interiors of most cars is worn plastic, which is simply impossible to put in order. There are several ways to deal with shabby and not-so-beautiful plastic that can be done without too much expense. By restoring the plastic parts of the interior, restoring their appearance, you can significantly change the sensation of a trip on your car. The beautiful interior is conducive to a comfortable ride and full confidence in your car. The main methods for recovering plastic parts are as follows:

• performing polishing with special gentle mixtures that make the plastic surface smooth and shiny for a certain time;
• the use of various materials that cover the plastic with a protective layer and fill cracks and scratches with a polymer material;
• painting the interior plastic, changing the color or refreshing the shade of some parts with the help of special types of paint for polymers;
• cauterization of plastic with alternating cooling for 1-2 seconds (this way you can tighten small scratches);
• purchasing various rugs and coverings that can be used as a visual screen from scratches and scuffs.

You can use any of the suggested methods to get a certain result. In some cases, you will have to resort to more expensive options for solving the problem. If none of the suggested restoration methods are suitable, it is best to purchase a new plastic interior part and install it to get normal visual data of your vehicle interior.

Another option to eliminate unpleasant moments in the interior of your car is to perform dry cleaning. This process cleans various contaminants from the seats, fabric door card inserts and ceiling. Dry cleaning relieves you of dirt and bacteria that will invariably start in the seats and other fabric parts of the interior of your car. This interior restoration process is quite complicated, but it can also be done without going to a professional car wash. To do this, you need to perform the following actions:

• buy a special mixture from the store, which is an excellent tool for removing stains, dirt and harmful bacteria from fabrics;
• prepare a tool for dry cleaning of the fabric parts of the interior of your car;
• apply the solution to a specific part of the interior and wait until the foam cleans the fabric from dirt;
• remove the foam with the released dirt, if the foam was too dirty, apply it again;
• this is how the entire car should be treated inside, but be careful not to get foam on the plastic parts.

Dry cleaning of the car interior should be done carefully enough so as not to harm. You can perform this procedure at a professional car wash, but then it will cost you at least five times more. Better to choose a quality chemical and do an excellent home cleaning. Moreover, you can use an expensive professional tool repeatedly, performing periodic cleaning of the fabric parts of the interior of your car.

There are a lot of drivers who would like to radically change everything in their car. They do not like the interior with old plastics, they do not enjoy the car ride. The most interesting thing is that this process can be performed quite simply and inexpensively. You can take advantage of the same interior restoration ideas that are used by most drivers today. Among car owners, in which it is time to think about something in terms of interior renovation, the following change methods are popular:

• purchase of a special braid for the steering wheel, which covers the old plastic and hides the steering wheel defects - the main visual element of the passenger compartment;
• purchase of covers for car seats, which will completely update the appearance and inexpensively improve the interior design of the car;
• the addition of various stickers, rugs, decorative elements that hide the flaws of a particular place in the cabin;
• covering certain elements of the interior of your car with genuine leather - it is mistakenly believed that it is incredibly expensive;
• purchase of some additional interior elements or replacement parts using showdown offers.

There are many ways to achieve beautiful changes in the appearance of your car that will seriously change the way you think about your own vehicle. You will see that it is possible to operate the car quite comfortably without getting annoyed every time you meet with your eyes any trouble. However, everyone has their own opinion about such options for updating the car's interior.

Do-it-yourself car interior restoration should be of high quality. If you decide not to pay money to specialists, but to carry out an independent restoration, make sure of the highest quality of the work performed and excellent materials purchased. The quality of the interior will always be the determining factor in your driving mood. Among the important points, it is worth remembering the following features:

• the visual state of the car interior forms the driver's mood for the whole day, and it is better to let this mood be good;
• problems constantly remind of themselves and make you think about unfulfilled dreams or unfulfilled tasks;
• a damaged interior is often inconvenient to use, defects constantly interfere with normal operation;
• you lose confidence in your car and stop enjoying driving it, being ashamed for shortcomings in front of passengers.

Of course, each person will have their own reasons in this case. It is difficult to say that every driver is ashamed of any interior defects, but it is much more pleasant to drive a car in which everything is wonderful. This gives you a certain amount of self-confidence and allows you to pay more attention to the road and the trip, and not to any imperfections in the interior of your car. We offer a short video on how to paint interior elements with structural paint:

High-quality restoration of the car interior can be performed at specialized or universal service stations. But in most cases, car owners in our country tend to do this work on their own, since they are not too willing to pay big money for the services of specialists. Therefore, there are several dozen methods for solving each problem, among which you will have to choose the most suitable for all the features.

The high quality of the interior is very important for the car owner. In many cases, we stop paying attention to the shortcomings that have been in the cabin for a long time, but with each glance at the problem areas we remind ourselves of the need to fix them. Therefore, it is better to immediately start restoring the salon and perform this process efficiently. You can install new interior parts, supply used plastic parts from disassembly or try to polish old versions of parts. And what methods of restoring the car interior did you use in your vehicles?

• Car interior upholstery repair - how to fix minor flaws
• 1. Repair of the car interior trim (or how MacDrive brings to the repair of the car interior).
• 2. Materials for the repair of the interior trim.

The car interior is its component, it is subject to the maximum negative and at the same time constant impact from the driver and passengers who smoke, eat, drink directly in it. And sometimes even not very clean items are transported. All this subjects the interior trim to severe tests. And sooner or later this skin will have to be repaired.

In the car showroom, our children are constantly indulging and playing. If we need to transport something, then the salon simply turns into a real dump truck (especially when going out into the countryside or to the country house). All these influences do not pass unnoticed for the interior upholstery.

Remember how your whole family drove into MacDrive, took cheeseburgers, potatoes and a large cola for each. And then they set out on a journey, during which they actually had a meal.Later, on close inspection, you notice small mustard and ketchup stains on the seats, greased armrests, and cola spilled on the floor. Over time, all these spots become more and more, and they become more and more noticeable. And if such trips with MacDrive have already become a family tradition? Better not even think about the consequences for the interior trim. In general, stains from liquids, scuffs and burned areas on the upholstery, scratches on the plastic elements of the interior, cracks and holes on the control panel - this situation is probably familiar to all motorists. What to do in this case? It's simple - to repair the car interior trim.

There are two options for repairing interior trim:

1. Contact a car service.

2. Repair the interior trim with your own hands.

When choosing the first option, you will have to pay a considerable amount of money. Firstly, materials for repairing the interior trim are not cheap. A, Secondly, somewhere the same amount will have to be paid for the work of a specialist-master (if not more). In addition, very often car services set additional markups for their services. In general, the amount is decent. You will involuntarily wonder whether you should not ride for another year or two with the old trim.

The second option will cost significantly less, because you do not have to pay extra for the work of the master (you will do it yourself). In addition, you will be able to save on materials (often car services additionally "wind up" the prices of the materials offered). But the materials and repair kits will need to be selected on their own, which is quite difficult. But don't be discouraged. Remember, you can always seek advice from a sales assistant at your selected specialist store. Sometimes, for a full-fledged repair, it may be necessary to paint some elements in the cabin. Car interior repairs are carried out with the use of modern materials and modern technologies. And this allows you to make repairs right on the spot, without removing parts of the cabin or dismantling its lining, which is extremely convenient.

Let's consider several options that can be used to restore various surfaces of a car.

If you had velor interior, then it can be restored using a special technology. According to this technology, special adhesive bases are used, on which the fibers of the same color and texture are applied by spraying or with a brush. After that, a Teflon film is applied and treated with an iron. The result is a velor interior that looks like new.

Leather or vinyl interior can be repaired without completely replacing the entire skin. A special material called "liquid skin" will help to do this. But remember, the procedure for using such material will not be one-time. It will take several times to apply the substance to the damaged areas (in stages) in order to completely remove the traces of damage. For complete masking, you will need to take an impression of the structure of the material (from a well-preserved area) with a special gel. And apply the resulting helium film to the area that has been repaired. Damage and repair marks will be almost invisible.

Interior plastic surfaces repaired with a special plasticizer gel. There are gels with different grain sizes, which allows you to reproduce the structure and external texture of any surface with a high degree of accuracy. Such gel-plasticizers have very good adhesive properties and after their application it is simply impossible to distinguish between a repaired part and a factory one.

Instead of repairing, sometimes it is better to carry out a complete replacement of the car interior trim (since sometimes it happens that the trim cannot be repaired).When making a complete replacement of the skin, the scope for imagination is unlimited (especially if you are replacing the skin yourself). For example, if you had a velor interior, then you can make it velor again, or you can choose natural leather or suede, or artificial vinyl material as the material.

If you decide to repair the interior trim yourself, then it is worth remembering that this procedure is far from being as easy as it seems at first glance. To carry it out, you will need a sufficient amount of time, special materials and tools, as well as the utmost care, accuracy and patience. But what could be better than a brand new car showroom? Especially if it has been renovated on its own. In addition, self-repairing the interior of the car will serve you as a further lesson, and you will treat it more carefully in the future, as well as teach your family to do it.

For professional repair of the interior upholstery, you need a special high-quality toolkit. Now on the market there are many diverse and inexpensive, but at the same time professional kits and repair kits for repairing the upholstery of the car interior. The price for such sets depends on its composition and manufacturer. What is usually included in such sets?

The composition of the kits for the repair of the car interior trim:

1. Tools for dismantling the interior trim and parts.

2. Devices for removing radio tape recorders, dashboard parts, door cards.

3. Keys for dismantling the climate control.

4. Forks for removing caps.

5. Tools for dismantling other elements of the car interior.

That is, repair kits mainly consist of tools that ensure the gentle dismantling of various interior parts. For better safety, some tools are even made of polyurethane. The main thing that is needed for the repair of the salon upholstery is special materials. These materials are selected depending on the degree of damage to the interior, the volume of repairs, and the features of the textures used in the interior. Different materials require different repair kits.

Interior trim materials are very important to ensure the reliability and durability of the new coating. Among such materials, the following are the most popular:

1. Plasticizer (a substance with excellent bonding properties for plastic elements, for which it is actually used).

2. Different types of glue (intended for bonding different surfaces; for example, A-Stitch glue sticks together damaged areas).

3. Sets of fibers (intended for coloring and filling damaged elements; there are about forty different color schemes).

4. Teflon coating (intended for heat treatment after repairs).

5. Hardener type B-compound (needed to fill in damaged vinyl and leather surfaces).

6. Transparent B-gel (necessary for repairing severe damage to plastic parts).

Modern manufacturers offer a huge range of materials for the repair of interior upholstery. So that every motorist, with due attention and patience, will be able to independently make such repairs. The main thing is to correctly select all the necessary materials. It is worth noting that the technology for using materials from different manufacturers is very similar, but there are also nuances for each manufacturer. So the most correct option is to carefully study the manufacturer's instructions before using this or that material.

Repair of the ceiling sheathing may be necessary due to sagging fabric, damage to it or heavy contamination. The matter begins to hang down, usually due to the destruction of the foam rubber on which it is glued. Sticking back the peeled fabric will not give long lasting results.The only correct solution to this problem is to replace the exfoliated matter with a new one.

The base of the headliner can be made of fiberglass, plastic or thick laminated cardboard (on older cars). On this base (substrate) non-woven fabric is glued, which may have a soft base.

It is better to repair the ceiling sheathing in a well-ventilated area, since the glue used in the repair is quite toxic.

You should start by measuring the ceiling sheathing in order to understand how much material you need to buy to replace the front part.

To repair the ceiling sheathing you will need:

A special adhesive is required to glue the new fabric onto the headliner. Usually, it can be bought in the same place where the matter is sold.

• Trim Removal Tool Set
• A wire or plastic brush with stiff bristles (for removing glue or foam)
• New cladding material
• Special spray adhesive. You can usually buy in the same place where the fabric for the ceiling sheathing. Depending on the size of the headliner, 2-3 spray cans may be required. The glue must be resistant to temperature extremes, as it can be hot or cold in the cabin.
• Scissors and / or blade.

For a high-quality repair of the car ceiling sheathing, its dismantling is required. To do this, you need to remove all plastic trim parts that adhere to the headliner and prevent it from being removed. It is also necessary to dismantle the interior lamps (in the front), sun shields, plastic handles and all clips that hold the trim in place. The plafond, which is located in the middle part, must be removed last, as it will keep the trim from falling down while you unscrew and dismantle all other parts. Each car has its own characteristics of removing various elements, therefore, if difficulty arises, it is better not to exert excessive effort, but to find instructions on the Internet. It is often enough to know where you need to insert a flat screwdriver in order for the part to give in.

Removing the trim from the passenger compartment may require the front passenger seat to be removed.

So, when all the edges of the headliner are free of fasteners, you need to unscrew the interior shade and pull the trim out of the passenger compartment to the workplace where it will be repaired. On cars with a fifth door, this will be easier, but on sedans, you will have to contrive to stick the headliner through the door. To remove the removed trim from the passenger compartment, you may need to bend (or twist) it a little. You have to be careful not to bend it too much.

The front passenger seat may need to be removed and removed from the passenger compartment so that it does not interfere with the removal of the headliner from the passenger compartment.

• For repairs, the casing can be laid face up on a table or uprights.
• The next step is to remove the fabric from the skin. This can be done quite easily with your hands. Separate the fabric from the edge of the back side and pull gently, peeling off the entire area.

Remains of glue or foam can be removed with a stiff brush.

• Next, you need to clean off the remnants of glue or foam rubber from the solid substrate. If old foam remains, you can use a wire or hard plastic brush to remove it. Here you need to be careful not to brush too deeply. This is a rather lengthy process and can take from 30 minutes or more.The reliability of the adhesion of the matter will depend on the preparation of the surface.
• After removing old glue and foam residues, vacuum the headliner backing and degrease.
• If the substrate has cracks, fractures or other damage, it can be repaired by gluing additional material. Depending on the backing material, you can use heavyweight cloth or fiberglass for this. Wrinkles on the backing can be filled with putty. Remember that if a thin fabric without a soft backing is used for replacement, then every unevenness in the backing will be visible after the material is glued.

• Lay the fabric face up on a backing sheet so that each edge protrudes equally. Next, wrap the fabric in half or 1/3 (see photo).
• Wrap the fabric so that the back is outside. Spray the adhesive in even passes, first onto the substrate and then onto the fabric. Do not skip the edges of the backing and fabric. After spraying, wait about 10 minutes. The glue should dry a little, but still be sticky. This is necessary so that it is not absorbed into the fabric, and there are no dents left when smoothing.

Wrap the cloth and apply the adhesive to the backing and to the cloth itself, then wait 10 minutes to prevent the adhesive from absorbing into the cloth.

• Next, glue the section with the applied glue and wrap the non-glued cloth in order to repeat the process on the next part. Smooth the fabric from the center to the edges. You can smooth the matter with your hands. Do not press hard with your fingers. Smooth gently with light pressure around the edges and around the holes. Smooth out each outline. When smoothing the fabric, take your time, the drying time of the glue is at least an hour, do everything carefully. There should be no "bubbles" and wrinkles. You can, if necessary, peel off the just glued fabric and level it again.
• The next step is to wrap up the excess fabric and glue them to the edges on the back. It is very important to do this with the edge that is near the windshield, as it will be visible. Other edges, which will be covered with interior facing parts, do not have to be wrapped and can be cut off. Use sharp scissors or a razor blade to cut the headliner to size. Cut crosswise with an “X” at the holes. The resulting edges can be easily folded back and glued.

It is better to install the casing in place after a few hours or the next day. It is better to have an assistant, but you can get by with one. It must be inserted back into the passenger compartment and attached to the ceiling in the opposite order of removal.

When reassembling, remember to reconnect all plugs that have been disconnected.

If everything is done correctly, then such a repair can last at least 5-10 years.

The salon, perhaps, suffers and suffers more inconvenience than all other components of the car. This is understandable, because it is in the salon that we, the people, are. In addition to the fact that we move inside the cabin as a driver and passengers, we eat, smoke, use lipstick and perfume, and sometimes clean our shoes.

Our children play and indulge in it. And when we need to transport something, the car interior turns into a dump truck body, especially when we move out of town: to the dacha or to a picnic. Naturally, all our vigorous activity in the cabin of our car does not pass without leaving a trace for the interior of the cabin.

Spilled liquid stains on the seat upholstery, scratches on plastic parts, scuffs and burnt areas of the upholstery, small or larger holes, or cracks on the dashboard and armrest are a familiar situation. In such cases, it is required to repair the car's interior trim.

There are only two options for repairing the car's interior trim: go to a car service, leave the car and go home for money. The bill for the repair of the salon will be rather big. Indeed, in addition to expensive materials for repairing the interior trim, the work of specialists will also be included in the bill.

The second option, of course, will cost you half the price - this is the repair of the car interior trim with your own hands. Based on what part of the interior trim is damaged, you select materials or repair kits for the repair. Of course, different materials for repairing the car interior are required for different auto materials that are used to sheathe the interior of the car. And sometimes it is required and car interior painting.

Textile... The velor interior is restored using unique technologies, when a special glue base is applied, on which it is then applied with a brush or by spraying fibers of the same texture and color as the interior. Then a special teflon film is applied to the repair site and heat treatment is performed with an iron.

Leather... Car interior upholstery repair made of leather or vinyl is carried out using a material such as "liquid leather". The process is not one-time. You will have to apply the substance to the damaged area several times in order to "cover up" the traces of damage. Then, after the repair of the leather upholstery of the car, a cast of the skin structure is taken with a special gel and the resulting film is applied to the repaired area. Everything. The trail of damage has "gone cold".

Plastic... For plastic parts, the car interior trim is repaired using a plasticizer gel. A certain grain size of the gel allows you to accurately reproduce the texture of the repaired surface. The plasticizer gel has strong adhesion properties to plastic surfaces. After using it, it is difficult to distinguish a factory part from a repaired one.

Repair of the interior trim is carried out by hand using modern technologies and high-quality materials. All materials for repairs allow making it on site without removing the trim or dismantling parts of the cabin. Agree - it's very convenient.

• the plasticizer has strong bonding properties to plastic surfaces.
• sets of fibers - about 40 colors of fibrous velor for coloring with each other and further filling in the damage;
• a variety of adhesives, such as A-Stitch glue for bonding damaged areas;
• a hardener, type B-compound, used to fill damaged leather and vinyl;
• teflon coating for heat treatment after repair;
• B-gel transparent for repairing deep damage to plastic parts.

This list of materials used to repair the upholstery of the car interior can be enumerated indefinitely. Only one thing is clear - the modern manufacturer did not leave us alone with the problem of interior repair, which can be carried out efficiently and with minimal costs for the family budget.