w114 coupe interior restoration notes

[subforry]

Hi all,


I thought I would share my notes and experiences with restoring the interior of my 250C. The original vinyl color was cognac but is being changed to black. This has made some tasks very easy. The cognac is two color vinyl which would be hard to reproduce with paint or dye. I can fill/patch parts then simply paint them black.


The interior is the original and a rat had lived in the car - nasty rats nest behind the back seat. Mrs Rat took a bit out of every thing in the car.


I plan to make several updates to this thread, but first I am going to start with a materials list.


Adhesives:
3M Super 77 - nothing better than this. I tried others and this is the only one that provides consistent results. The more rubber cement type glues are too fussy about timing when to join the parts.


Weldwood rubber cement - sometimes the intimidate adhesion with out using an aerosol can is needed.


Polyurethane glue - used for surfaces that have gaps, for example gluing the rear seat back, cover top must be glued into the frame slot. The glue foams up and fill spaces. If you wet the surfaces then foams up even more. Not it does not really adhere to face of vinyl.



Fabric glue - works on the back of vinyl and fabric. Also glues to foam.


Thick/gel CA (crazy glue) and accelerator - this is the only thing that seems to join the face of vinyl. I also used it to repair a cracked map pocket (though ABS cement or epoxy would also work).


Epoxy - Used for filling the cracks in the upper door panel parts. The more flexible/plastic epoxy is a better choice, its labeled for plastic.


Coghlan's vinyl repair - this stuff does a great job of repairing air mattresses and pool toys. It actually melts vinyl. Perfect for small tears.


Liquid Nails band Projects multi-purpose repair adhesive in a tube (not the not the stuff you put in a cocking gun) - I used this to fill the bite holes in the door armrests. I applied several layers to fill the hole, then sanded down smooth. When dry it has about the same hardness as the armrests.


Vinyl cleaner:
Simple green - usually started with simple green and hot water.


Triclean ATC - used this on all surfaces before dying. Does not damage vinyl or plastic.


Dye:
VHT Vinyl dye - I am amazed at how good this stuff is. It dries fast, adheres or dyes permanently to surfaces. I have yet to see how it holds up in CA sun and high wear points, but I think it will be fine.


Seat Covers:
SJS Carstyling - see my thread about these covers.


Extra Vinyl:
Black from World Upholstery - It has the correct grain and is a good mid weight vinyl. Used for sewing replacement front and rear armrests.


SJS Carstyling - kit came with some extra vinyl and did use the pieces for the rear metal part of the door panel. Their vinyl is thick and does not need any foam behind it.


Carpets - kit from German Auto Tops. The pieces are just ok. Stitching is wavy and edging joints are not clean or folded. They sent me a RHD kit, which I didn't notice until months later when I was ready to install the carpets. They quickly fixed the problem - very good customer service.



Foam:
I will cover this more when talking about the carpets and installing the seat covers.




That is all for now.