2wheeler97

Has anyone done any custom upholestry in 96-98 tacomas or 4runners? I have an extra cab tacoma, and sowed my own covers for one of the fold down seats and the back rest, to match the speaker box which replaced the rear driver's side seat. i want to change or possible die the fabric on the door panels. Anyone have any suggestions. It looks like it would be a pain to replace the fabric, but i don't know how fabric die would do either? Thanks in advance for those who will take the time to try and help me.

butnut

Since I've been an upholsterer a long time, I plan to do a full kustom leather interior in my Runner...one day. One of my friends has an interior resto biz. He fixes steering wheels, rips, holes and carpet work. I'm very impressed with his work and especially the water based dyes he uses on vinyl and fabric. It's all custom colored to match and feels soft when dry. I'd say call around (yellow pages) for someone who dyes fabric. Ask to see their work first. Good luck. Here's a Nova I did...no...I'm not gonna do my Runner like this...
Diamond Tuck Nova

2wheeler97

thanks for the advice. There are a few upholestry shops in my town here, i will check around and see who has some decent dye. What exactly should i look for. It seems like the biggest concern would be the color fading out, but what should i look for in samples?

butnut

Some spray dyes feels crusty, you want something that feels natural. Also ask for any warranty for fading etc. Good luck.

Los Gatos?

I'm currently doing the upholstery on my '85. I'm doing it real low budget, all I want to do is dress it up a bit, and hide the acres of 18 year old plastic. I got some medium thickness (that's real helpful, huh?) fabric at a regular old fabric store. It's not clothing fabric, it's fairly thick, probably heavier than most automotive fabric, though. Then I removed and washed all the plastic panels in the truck that I wanted to cover. I sprayed a very thin layer of 3M "77" spray-glue-stuff on the plastic, and laid the fabric (cut in roughly the same shape as the plastic, a few inches larger to each side, to wrap around and to account for all the ridges and bumps etc) and pressed it down a bit, getting rid of all the "runs" (I guess?) in the fabric. I then cut the fabric more precisely. Then, I removed the fabric (it was only held on slightly) and gave both the fabric and the plastic a good spraying with the glue. Let it sit for like 10-15 seconds (directions are on the can) then press it down nice and tight, if you do it real well, you can make it look exactly like the plastic (IE all the ridges look the same, no air pockets etc) then, spray both the plastic on the reverse side (about an inch or so all around) and the overlapping edges of the fabric with glue. Then fold the fabric over the plastic, make it nice and tight, and edge the whole thing with your fingers so it's nice and smooth. There you go, brand new interior! Mine came out real nice. I wish I had a picture.