If earlier the renovation in each apartment was the same - the same wallpaper, linoleum, doors and even furniture, then today everyone is trying to stand out. It's great when you decorate your space in such a style that no one else has it. Of course, the building materials market is now very widely represented, but not all options for decorating premises are popular in our country.
For example, in the USA, paint is a common option for wall decoration, while in the CIS countries wallpaper is most popular. In the West, everyone is accustomed to carpet, while here we don’t like this material.
As for today's topic, the material being discussed is a very uncommon style of wall decoration, which is available, but not popular.
First of all, leather panels are unpopular due to their high cost. If you want to decorate your walls with genuine leather, it will cost you a pretty penny.
However, there will always be those who are ready to give money for comfort and beauty.
What types of leather panels are there?
- So, firstly, the panels are made of genuine leather, as we found out just above.
- There are also panels that are created from materials that are not natural, but are not inferior in quality and appearance to natural leather. As a rule, this is eco-leather.
In addition to the material used in the production of panels, one can also highlight the external stylistic features of such panels
- The panels are made of smooth leather.
- There are also panels made of leather with embossing and perforation.
- Of course, you will be given panels of different colors and textures to choose from.
Re-upholstery process
Do-it-yourself renovation of a car interior includes the following operations: preparation, cutting of parts, upholstery, drying. This is the procedure for all parts of the car: doors, ceiling, armrests, instrument panel. As an example, let's look at how to reupholster a torpedo - the most complex part of a car's interior.
Sequence of DIY work:
- the car's dashboard is dismantled and pulled out;
- the previous coating is removed, the outer planes are polished, chips, cracks, and unevenness are eliminated;
- the torpedo is degreased - wiped with acetone, gasoline or alcohol, dried for two hours;
- the seams are marked, the patterns are removed using non-woven fabric;
- the material is cut according to the measurements taken, leaving 10 mm for the seams;
- components for the sticker are cut out and fitted to the surface of the torpedo;
- the flaps are sewn together using a special sewing machine or by hand;
- excess material is cut off from the inside of the resulting cover;
- the cover from the inside and the surface of the torpedo from the outside are smeared with glue, dried for half an hour, then the eco-leather cover is pulled onto the panel and rolled on top with a soft rubber roller;
- The dashboard is dried for two days, after which it is installed in its place in the car.
By analogy with the dashboard, the ceiling, doors, armrests, and pillars are reupholstered.
Eco-leather panels
If there is no point in talking about natural leather, because everyone already understands the advantages and beauty of natural material, then I would like to say a few words about eco-leather due to the fact that not everyone has heard of such material.
Eco-leather is artificial leather that has good strength, durability, pleasant appearance and good environmental performance.
Do not confuse eco-leather with leatherette or substitute leather. Eco-leather will not crack, will not turn pale and, in general, if handled well, will not show its differences from natural material.
Methods aimed at restoring torpedo plastic
Repairing the plastic of a torpedo, subject to independent “operative” intervention, can be done according to three main technologies:
- Painting the dashboard when there are a lot of scratches on the dashboard.
- Repairing the plastic of a car dashboard using the technology of covering it with self-adhesive polyvinyl chloride film. At a given point in time, the automotive market offers a huge variety of textures and colors that have increased wear-resistant characteristics and considerable strength. The main disadvantage of this particular technique is that not all film variations can provide proper diffusion with high-density plastic. For this reason, after a certain period of time, the film peels off.
- Reupholstering the dashboard using leather. The most expensive finishing method. Leather, regardless of whether it is natural or artificial, although it is a durable material with high wear-resistant properties, and, in addition, ensures a presentable appearance of the vehicle interior, is very capricious. To ensure that the material is not damaged in the process, it is better to trust the masters of their own craft and tightening the dashboard with leather.
If you are planning to change the interior design of your car, then you cannot do without reupholstering the front panel, or, as they call it in everyday life, the dashboard. You can choose a new color scheme and texture for it. Or you can use materials similar to the previous ones and only slightly refresh the scratched and worn-out coating. Many motorists do not risk re-tightening the panel with their own hands for fear of ruining the appearance of the interior. However, the biggest difficulty in this process is deciding to start work. In addition, if you already have experience in reupholstering other interior elements, this task will not cause you any difficulties either.
How to care for wall panels
Regardless of the type of material used, wall panels require maintenance.
In order for your interior to live a beautiful life, periodically perform the following manipulations with your wall panels.
- Using a soft, damp cloth, periodically wipe off dust from your panels.
- Do not scrub the panels with a hard brush to avoid damaging the surface.
- If a child has left a pattern on the skin, do not rub it with alcohol solutions, use ordinary soapy water and a brush.
- For those stains that cannot be removed with soap solution, purchase a special liquid for leather and eco-leather care.
- Never use solvents, alcohol, gasoline or other chemicals to clean wall panels.
Cleaning
Repairs should begin with a thorough cleaning of the vehicle. It often turns out that under layers of dust, dirt and accumulated debris, the car still looks good. This is where a vacuum cleaner will definitely come in handy to help clean your carpets and upholstery. It is also worth stocking up on a suitable plastic cloth and special foam that will ideally clean vehicle cabins. After cleaning the plastic elements, we can use a rinse aid, which still protects from dust. Then use suitable products to clean any stains on the upholstery. We recommend that you use MOTUL MATTE SURFACE CLEAN. This product from Motul is excellent at cleaning plastic from dust and dirt, leaving behind a protective film.
Finally, wash the glass with the liquid you need - because fatty deposits are deposited on the inside of the glass, which significantly affects the deterioration of visibility.
If there are chrome interior parts in the car, then use MOTUL E6 CHROME & ALU POLISH cream to clean them and make them shine.
How to attach wall panels and how to repair them
Wall panels are attached in different ways, depending on the manufacturer of the panels.
Most often, such decor is glued with liquid nails; less often, wall panels are hung on a special frame and fixed with nails.
If you damage the upholstery of a wall panel, it will be difficult to restore it. You will only need to re-stitch a piece of the panel, or use a special liquid leather that can hide the “scars”. Liquid leather will not restore the panel to its previous condition, but it can reduce the effect of a cut in the leather.
Do-it-yourself car torpedo reupholstery
Reupholstering the front panel begins with its dismantling. This is a rather labor-intensive process. In addition, the pattern of fasteners and clamps is not the same on different car models. There are a large number of wires connected to the panel, and if you are afraid of damaging them, contact a car service center for help.
If you want to do this yourself, do not neglect the car’s operating instructions: all parts and fasteners are described in detail there. Removing a torpedo always begins with disconnecting the battery terminals. Once you have de-energized your car, you can begin dismantling.
Using wall decor options with fabric and leather
Leather upholstery technology is widely used in the furniture industry today. Covering walls with leather is also not a new trend in interior design, but the active use of such solutions began not so long ago. Today, exquisite walls made of expensive types of fabric and genuine leather are often used in the following specific interiors:
- conference rooms for high-level meetings and areas for television interviews;
- elite establishments that want to distinguish themselves with their unusual approach to interior design;
- pretentious and expensive residential interiors use leather as decoration for a small part of the wall;
- fabric solutions for walls often become the basis for decorating residential premises.
Beautiful and expensive solutions will help you abandon the same interiors, which differ only in some inconspicuous design inventions. Leather and expensive fabric for the walls of a residential or commercial space are an ideal opportunity to make the interior unique and give it a feeling of maximum luxury.
How to restrain a torpedo yourself?
When buying a new or used car, we often look at the interior decoration and shake our heads in doubt and disappointment, saying that we were expecting something more. There are many things that do not suit us, and there are many things we would like to change and improve. In particular, the re-upholstery of the dashboard could be much better on most new budget cars, not to mention used cars, where the entire front panel can be quite worn and scuffed. In general, the desire is quite adequate, given the fact that you have to drive not with the back of your head to this panel, but constantly looking at it.
In the end, not all dads even want the monotony of twin brothers, preferring something different from each other. However, in this world almost everything is fixable. Any diligent and patient driver can correct the flaws of the manufacturing plant or evil time by making a new thing with his own hands. To do this, you will need to read a little and then try your own. But, first, you need to decide on the technology, some features of such work and stock up on considerable patience, because the work ahead is not sanatorium work. In general, in short, it is not so easy to complete such a task without certain skills and/or without an experienced specialist.
Choosing an invoice
Seeing terrible cheap plastic in a purchased car, hardly every experienced driver, through whose hands at least 2-3 cars have passed, feels uneasy. Questions immediately arise. What greedy bastard skimped on quality materials? Who put on this nasty (sometimes smelly) plastic? What and how to fix all this? Damn it, you can only fix it with your own hands or someone else’s, although the latter cost money. First you need to select the material for re-upholstering the torpedo.
Firstly, many will want not only to update the panel, but also to make it bright, juicy, literally screaming - green, red, white.
Secondly, the material itself in this case does not have to be fabric. Of course, upholstering a torpedo with leather, and especially colored leather, will look much more solid, more expensive and will surpass any fabric in quality. The durability of leather is also much higher than fabric - this is a serious argument for those who are not going to repeat the update once a year.
Direct constriction
So, you've gathered your strength, stocked up on patience and materials, but don't know where to start. First you will need to remove the panel and everything unnecessary that might interfere with the reupholstery. Perhaps you won’t be able to do this on your own and will have to visit a workshop where there are special people - fitters who can dismantle everything correctly. Having disassembled the torpedo, you need to thoroughly degrease its surface with at least gasoline, or better yet, a degreaser sold in any auto store.
Then apply markings on the torpedo for future cutting. It is necessary to cut in such a way that there are no folds, holes or pits in the path of the seams. Craftsmen in the atelier usually use two materials - non-woven or arakal. Due to the complexity of the shape of the front panel, it will not be possible to stick the skin in one piece. This means that it needs to be applied in separate parts. After gluing the interlining, its contours are transferred to the skin and marking begins, taking into account the centimeter hem for the seams, after which the planned parts are cut off with scissors.
Naturally, you can sew flaps of leather by hand, but this is a long process and you can finish everything in a month. If you don’t want to wait that long, you’ll need a sewing machine. After stitching, you will need to cut off the skin on the back sides of the seams, otherwise, when sticking it onto the dashboard, the seams will stick out a little, depriving the product of a smooth aesthetic surface. The cover sewn in this way is pulled over the dashboard for fitting. If everything fits perfectly and you are satisfied with the work done, then coat the back side of the cover with glue and put it back on the panel, and then, pressing firmly with your hands, smooth it over the surface.
Actual advice
At first glance, after reading such information, it seems that there is nothing special or complicated about the constriction. But this is far from true. To perform a high-quality reupholstery, you need to have a keen eye, a steady hand and considerable experience. It is much better and more reliable to find a reupholstery master who will do everything to the highest standard, although, in fairness, it should be noted that this is a rare profession and even in large cities it is not so easy to find such craftsmen.
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