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TR2/3/3A Cockpit capping

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Tinkerman

Tinkerman

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Afternoon all, working on the cockpit capping for my 1960 post 60,000 TR 3A. So far I have been working with vinyl and all of a sudden they switched to leather for the door and cockpit capping. Thats fine with me but I have never worked leather before so my question is:
What am I going to have to do differently with the l;eather? I understand it does not have the stretch that vinyl has but other then that are there other little" look out for's" that I need to know about.
All info greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Tinkerman
 
I did my whole interior with leather, including the dash and all of the cappings. It actually is probably easier to work with then the vinyl. You can use water and heat to help you along if needed, especially the dogleg piece behind the door.

You might want to make a jig to help out with stretching the leather. I believe the idea is from Geo Hahn, but if I'm incorrect, please advise.

The last pic is mine.

dogleg1.jpgdogleg2.jpgdogleg3.jpg IMG_0080C.JPG
 

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Thanks Art, pics very helpful. Did you prep the metal in any way? Both dog legs are rusty and I am bead blasting them as we speak, so to speak, heh. Usually I prime after bead blasting. Does it make sense to do that with the dog legs since they are going to be covered? Of course they won't be totally covered.

Dick
 
Moisture goes through leather, so you definitely need some sealant on it. Primer,paint, etc.
 
I blasted the dog legs and then used a rust fixer to lock down the rust. Then painted them with a rattle can. They were in pretty bad shape and I felt like this treatment was the least I could do before we stretched leather over them.

Good luck. Great photos Art. That's very good quality leather work.

pat
 
martx-5 said:
...I believe the idea is from Geo Hahn, but if I'm incorrect...
Click to expand...

Yeah, those are mine -- 13 years and 3 garages ago. This is the finished version from back then:

dogleg4_zps7aed188f.jpg


I soaked the leather quite awhile in warm water before beginning. As I recall the metal shell was held to that board with a small nail (or two) that was easily withdrawn when the rassling match was over and the leather forced to conform to the shape.

Seems to be holding up well in the years since.
 
CJD said:
...Do you remember what glue you used?
Click to expand...

Main thing I recall is that I used very little.

Probably a quick spray of 3M 8090 on the edges of the leather to make it grippy and another spray on the inside of the metal shell.

You only need to hold it long enough to let the leather dry (from the wetting) -- then it has assumed the shape and not much adhesive power is needed to keep it on.

Once it is installed it can't come loose as the tight fit of the cap over the top of the door clamps it in place.
 
I used the leather also and liked that over vinyl. I found the vinyl absorbed the sunscreen we used on our arms and discolored after awhile.
Jerry
 
Geo Hahn said:
...As I recall the metal shell was held to that board with a small nail (or two) ...
Click to expand...

I didn't use any nails, as I found the design of the jig was good enough not to require them. And I too soaked the leather in warm water for about 15-20 minutes. I also had a heat gun handy, but it wasn't needed very much on the cappings. However, the leather on the dash did require more use of the heat gun.

IMG_0073C.JPG
 
How are the dog legs attached? I think I will be going through this soon. Thanks.
 
Haven't done it yet but some pictures I have of some side screen TR's show that it is held on with the top door panel screws. If this is incorrect I'm sure someone will let us know. I will be putting the leather on my capping tomorrow. Excited to see how it goes!

Dick
 
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