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What thickness of foam for Door Panels? (KristKustoms???)

36K views 24 replies 12 participants last post by  jimchevy 
#1 ·
Hey,
I want to buy some Volara Closed-Cell Foam to do my door panels, but I don't know what thickness to buy.

I want to have pleats in the panels to match the pleats in the seat. I was thinking 1/2" foam, but I have also heard some people say to use 1/4" foam. I'm not sure which one I should get.

Thanks!!
 
#7 ·
:thumbup: Yeah shannon that looks awesome.. maybe someday i can do something that will look as good as that....

i'm using1/8" pvc board, then drilling the holes for clips then another piece of pvc board.. and i was planning on using glue.. i'm not set up for sewing yet... someday though if things go as planned we'll do it all... I do get worried about the glue holding though, but since everyone does it this way it must be ok...
how do you get the rounded edges,, do you just sand down the foam?? and what do you do at the edges to keep it from tearing through the vinyl? tape???

and the next question I have is, can you use vinyl to get the pattern that you used there or do you use a high grade immitation leather.. or do you just use leather??
all help is very appreciated... we have actually been working on the back panels last week.. and the foam just got here also... i like the look of the 3/16" foam.. but i only have 1/8" and 1/4"... hmm.. i'll have to decide which to use when i get to this point...
and once again good job shannon..
 
#8 ·
chadsbodyshop49119 said:
:thumbup: Yeah shannon that looks awesome.. maybe someday i can do something that will look as good as that....

i'm using1/8" pvc board, then drilling the holes for clips then another piece of pvc board.. and i was planning on using glue.. i'm not set up for sewing yet... someday though if things go as planned we'll do it all... I do get worried about the glue holding though, but since everyone does it this way it must be ok...
how do you get the rounded edges,, do you just sand down the foam?? and what do you do at the edges to keep it from tearing through the vinyl? tape???

and the next question I have is, can you use vinyl to get the pattern that you used there or do you use a high grade immitation leather.. or do you just use leather??
all help is very appreciated... we have actually been working on the back panels last week.. and the foam just got here also... i like the look of the 3/16" foam.. but i only have 1/8" and 1/4"... hmm.. i'll have to decide which to use when i get to this point...
and once again good job shannon..
Use the 1/4" foam for your pleats. Cut 1/4" "V" cuts into the foam. Just play with a small panel before you do the main panels. You should be ok use'n two PVC boards for each panel like you said. Make sure to let the gule set up utill it kinda feels dry to the touch. I use leather 99.9% of the time. I HATE Ultra Leahter. I would rather use Allante, Naugahyde or Symphony vinyl. East Coast Leather has killer close outs sometimes http://www.eastcoastleather.com/
 
#9 ·
thanks i will definetely have to check that site out.. I figured the immitation leather would be easy to work with.. what part of it do you not like? I figured the vinyl would be hard to work with.. i'm new to this so your advice is helping me much.. as of right now i placed a order with keyston bros but the guy i've been talking to doesn't seem to know anything about what he is selling..
 
#11 ·
well that's what I thought, but they still seem to classify it both ways... grrr.. i'll just have to check out the site you sent me and see if i can get a color list and just get it from there.. From the three vinyl's you listed what's the differences and workability of these products.. it's going to be hard for me to charge for the price of pure leather with some of the projects i'm doing now.. and i've had a few people that said some of the vinyl's are easier to work with and easier to maintain.. so i guess this all just confuses me..
 
#13 ·
Ultra Leahter is paper thin. It shows everything under it or should I say it's not forgiving. I've set up my sewing machine for it and it still will not pull the stitching down right when I sewing Ultra Leahter to Ultra Leahter. I have a set of seats here in my shop now that has Ultra Leahter on them. One seat is tight and the other looks like crap. They have not been done long. I'll try to get a pic.
 
#19 ·
kristkustoms said:
Weird, i love a good QUALITY leather and i also love UltraLeather. But on the other hand, i would never buy leather from east coast leather again, just the really nice stuff from a company like Garrett or Schmidt. Different strokes for different folks...
I have gotten nice leather from eastcoast leather a bunch of times. I just ask for large clean hides and that's what I get. Mainly I use Schmidt leather I have never tried Garrett. I HATE Ultra"vinyl"Leather it's not good QUALITY in my eyes it's paper thin. I'm redoing a car now that had UltraLeather in it a few years. There are holes in the driver seat and stress pulls across the front of it. The Passenger seat looks good because it was not used much. The owner did not know what kind of material it was untill I told him. He told me he did not want any more of that stuff.

When are you going to update your site again?? :smash:

Eastcoast leather pic 1

Pic 2
 
#20 ·
good to hear you are having good luck with east coast. everything ive ever gotten from them has been stiff as a board. plus i was lied to a year ago by someone in their midwest branch, then drove 3 hours to pick something up and it wasnt what i wanted, but it was "like" it. no more east coast/midwest for me!
 
#21 ·
PVC Board

Interiors by Shannon said:
Use the 1/4" foam for your pleats. Cut 1/4" "V" cuts into the foam. Just play with a small panel before you do the main panels. You should be ok use'n two PVC boards for each panel like you said. Make sure to let the gule set up utill it kinda feels dry to the touch. I use leather 99.9% of the time. I HATE Ultra Leahter. I would rather use Allante, Naugahyde or Symphony vinyl. East Coast Leather has killer close outs sometimes http://www.eastcoastleather.com/
Shannon, where do you buy the 1/8" PVC Board?
 
#23 ·
Ultra leather

Interiors by Shannon said:
Use the 1/4" foam for your pleats. Cut 1/4" "V" cuts into the foam. Just play with a small panel before you do the main panels. You should be ok use'n two PVC boards for each panel like you said. Make sure to let the gule set up utill it kinda feels dry to the touch. I use leather 99.9% of the time. I HATE Ultra Leahter. I would rather use Allante, Naugahyde or Symphony vinyl. East Coast Leather has killer close outs sometimes http://www.eastcoastleather.com/

Why do you dislike the ultra leather? What are the problems?
Just curious
 
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