[biged04]

Ok........ heres how I made the nova trunk board, you can apply the same idea to door panels, kick panels, package trays or even hard headliners.
Dan..... if this needs moved, please do so cause I took alot of pictures so people can see step by step how I did this.


#1 make your bowtie pattern out of something easily cut, I used a scrap piece of door board I had laying around


#2 glue both the closed cell foam and the plywood used to make the trunk board, be sure to let the glue dry


#3 find the center and trace your pattern there along with the stripes... I cut the stripes out a 1/4 inch bigger than the strips I use to make the black stripes, reason is because when you glue the vinyl down in the recess and cover the strips with vinyl it takes up some room and if you dont do this, your stripes wont lay flush with the board ( see pictures )


#4 cut out your design with a razor blade, there sharp and give crisp edges

[biged04]

#5 peel the design up off the board

#6 now your ready to glue your vinyl and foam, again wait on the glue to dry to the touch

#7 lay the glued vinyl on the foam, I use some scraps over the stripes to keep the vinyl from sticking to the foam because you start working from the middle to the ends, when sticking the vinyl down in the bowtie cutout it pulls the vinyl down and in, making it a little shorter, this way, it wont be stuck at the stripes making it harder to get the vinyl to pull down in the stripes when you get there

#8 now, start working the vinyl into the bowtie, I always work the edges in first then the flat stuff

#9 now you can pick up the vinly and get ready to push it in the stripes

[biged04]

#10 push the vinyl down in the first edge then the second and work your way right across

#11 there it is finished

#12 cut your strips, mine were 1 inch wide and covered with black vinyl

[biged04]

#13 what it looks like with the stripes covered and laid in place

#14 now you can leave it like this or add some accents like I did, here I add some chrome buttons that I got at hobby lobby for like 3 bucks for 50 of them, a couple of pictures to see how they work, just drill a hole in your stripe and bend'em over....... pretty simple and a cool touch

now once all this is done, turn your board over and pull all your vinyl over the backside good and tight and I used 1/4 in staples to staple all the way around the edge of my trunk board, so when you do this, after making your trunk board out of 1/2 plywood just be sure to make your vinyl big enough to wrap around the backside of the board, staple it to it really good and cut the excess vinyl off.

Ok guys......... this is how I did the trunk, not to tough a task once someone shows you how, especially with pictures!....lol
hope this helps someone a little and makes you want to give it a try yourself !!!!!!!! good luck !!!!....... Eddie

[DanTwoLakes]

What glue are you using, what do you apply it with, and what is the most important thing you need to know about gluing closed cell foam?

[biged04]

landau top glue dan, applied with a 20 dollar harbor freight 1.6 to 2.0 paint gun and I guess your hinting to sanding the closed cell foam to remove the film that it has on it from the molding process ? so the glue adheres to it better, one of the pics shows the paint gun in my left hand and another pic shows some 180 grit sand paper laying there,
sorry....... forgot to mention both.......
everyone out there whos gonna do some upholstery over time should buy this glue and a cheap spray guy to apply it with, I always buy a 5 gallon bucket but I think they sell smaller amounts like a gallon, because those 20 a can spray cans from autozone and advanced auto parts will never hold like the landau top glue does.

[DanTwoLakes]

Yes, that's exactly right. If you don't scuff the closed cell foam the glue has a hard time grabbing the foam. Not a huge deal in some circumstances, but anything overhead could become a nightmare.

DAP Weldwood Landau Top and Trim adhesive is available in gallon cans. http://www.yourautotrim.com/noname37.html