Interior Carpet How To

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jmlcolorado

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 23, 2010
Messages
1,839
Location
The flat plains of Elbert County, CO
I'm looking to install some sound deadening material on the inside of my rat PU then cover with some interior carpet.
The floor is relatively flat and i have a pretty good size trans tunnel.
My question is, is there a specific carpet utilized for automotive interiors that lends itself to the flexibility for installing in cars and trucks?
Also, is there a specific way to fasten the carpet to the inside?
The cheapo way i would figure would be to glue it, however, with a sound deadening material adhered straight to the floor of my cab (see-Peel & Seal from Home Depot), is there a better way of fastening?
My guess would be a metal strip trimming everything out around all edges.

photo-141.jpg
 
That is a good question. From what I have been able to learn, the carpet sets you buy that are premade for specific cars are molded into that shape. They evidently have some process where they heat, or whatever, the carpet and stamp it into that fitted shape.

When you take your car to the upholstery shop and have carpeting done they don't have that molding process so they cut and seam it to go around curves. Automotive carpeting does seem to have more ability to shape itself around bends than house carpeting, so maybe something like steaming it will form it.

Don
 
jml, what i've done is do the flat floor in two pieces around the tunnel then a third piece for the hump. Contact cement usually works, if it's not weather tight you might go with the trim idea so you can take it out and dry it when mother nature gets mad at you.
hope it helps
:rolleyes:
 
jml, what i've done is do the flat floor in two pieces around the tunnel then a third piece for the hump. Contact cement usually works, if it's not weather tight you might go with the trim idea so you can take it out and dry it when mother nature gets mad at you.
hope it helps
:rolleyes:

Is there an issue with it starting to frey at the edges, like at the door openings? I might be looking into this too much since it IS a rat after all, but if i can learn the right way to do something in the mean time, might as well.:cool:
 
I think I'm going to pickup an old sewing machine (with intentions of not looking like a girly man :cool:) then pick up some edge moulding and try my hand at carpet.
New car carpet is fastened with screws through the trim at the doorway, but the body's are also double walled. If I jamb screws through the floor or my 50's international, I'll have a bunch of nice spots for water to get in (since I hope to drive the truck rain or shine) and cause mildew to build up. S I think I'll use the peal & stick then contact cement to adhere the two together.

I want to just carpet the floor, but use thin wood vener on the cab walls and doors so that'll be a whole other process. I might end up making metal trim around all the wood then riveting it to the cab.
 
I was thinking of trying to use some velcro (the heavy duty semi-permanent kind) to help hold the carpet in place at the corners.... Anyone ever sew that stuff to the back of the carpet in strips or what not?

And then fasten the mating piece to the floor.
 
yeah walmart!

used too they sold a non backed carpet at walmart in the auto section by the floor mats and its real flexy like a tick felt. its sold by the roll and says its for trunks and stuff. Perfect for speaker boxes by the way. Not sure how well it would hold up after a few years since Ive never put it on a floor. ive heard of steaming other carpets to mold them into shape. edging with a sewing machine or heating a knife to melt as you cut keeps the ravels down. you can screw it down, glue it down , or weld metal tabs to the panels where the carpet stops then slit the carpet put the tab through the slit and bend it over. would look kinda factory and no screw holes!
 
How about the velcro that has the glue on the backside of it? Stick a strip or patch where needed on the floor and the corresponding half on the back of the carpet. Holds it in place, yet it can be taken out if needed. No holes, no screws. Or large dome snaps, would do the same kind of job. Pop rivet the male half to the floor and use the female half and rivet/cap on the carpet. I've seen the caps in chrome, brass or black finish. It's the only part you would see with them. Most fabric places have both the velcro and dome snaps on hand. Tandy Leather has a whack of snaps, even a skull head dome cap for the female side. Either or, at least then you can take out the carpet if it gets wet, and dry out the whole works.
 
I used to have an old Honda Civic from the '70's, it had multi-piece carpet from the factory. The main thing would be to leave an inch or so overlap from piece to piece. Do the tranny/driveshaft hump first, then overlap the two big floor pieces on either side.

I've often seen carpeting with a vinyl "edging" or "welting" sewn on all around the outer edges, looks the most finished to me.:cool:

I also think the GOOD peel and stick type velcro would be your best bet. You might want to check around some local upholstery shops to see what they recommend....

Regards,
Shea:)
 

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