DIY Carpet Question

[JPSmit]

Some folk onthis forum have made their own carpet sets. I'm contemplating this to get a colour not offered.

How do you mold the carpet around curves? wheel humps. tranny humps etc?

TIA
JP

 

[jlaird]

I think the ladies call it a tuck or a dart. In fact Vs are cut out of the materal so it will curve nicely. Although in a Bugeye the only place this is done is the rear wheel archs. tranny hump is actually two peices.

 

[Jim_Gruber]

Fran K. did a nice writeup on this someplace but I followed Frank's advice and got a roll of carpet from Pep Boys and sowm 3M Spray Adhesive. Most of the cuts are straight not too many curves. Around transmission tunnel I trimmed and overlapped two pieces of carpet and used a razor to trim through both pieces at the same time. Make a cut at about a 45 degree angle from the bottom left and right of the hole for the shifter about 3-4" long. A little spray adhesive, brush up the nap, and you have to look real hard to see the seam. Wheel wells a whole lot tougher. You can use the same technique but I opted to simply paint. For < $25.00 I was able to recarpet Bugsy and even after 5 years things still look great. Try it, if it doesn't work you can still opt to spend $250 for a crappy carpet kit from MOSS that doesn't fit near as well as what you can do yourself for a fraction of the cost.

 

[rulle7]

"How do you mold the carpet around curves? wheel humps. tranny humps etc?"

Well, you don't.
Much like making a garment, I would imagine, you rely on slits and fitted pieces.
I found it easiest to work with stiff paper as pattern material when I made carpets for my Midget, where I didn't have the old carpet to go by.
Basically, if you can make stiff paper fit correctly, then the underside of the carpet will fit just the same.
Any stitching and edging needed can be done by most upholstery places or carpet stores.
It's good fun to get into and gives you a great sense of accomplishment when you see the results of your labor.

Good luck!

 

[jlaird]

There are a lot of overlaped peices in the kits.

 

[bugimike]

Having done some work in custom area-rug manufacturing in the past, I will add this little piece of advice. In lieu of stitching carpet together at seams (whether joints or darts), use the white, fiberglass sheetrock tape (available at Home Depot or Lowes) and a hot-glue gun to join your pieces of carpet together from the backing side (a brick or other flat, heavy weight placed on the seam just after gluing will provide a nice, flate seam). This is a most effective way to join carpet and is used by professionals when joining pieces of carpet together to make a larger piece!

 

[dklawson]

I have made carpet sets a couple of times and start with a paper/poster-board template fit to the floorboards as Rulle7 suggested above. That allows you to get the fit right before you cut any carpet.

I hadn't considered the fiberglass tape mentioned by Bugimike... but that's an excellent suggestion. What I have done instead was to use contact cement to attach strips of denim over the back-sides of the joints. The hot-glue and fiberglass tape sounds a LOT faster and easier.

 

[Trevor Jessie]

Why not use the carpet seaming tape that is already coated with hot glue?

 

[DrEntropy]

To contour the rear shelf pad on Herself's MGB I used a thick (1/2") piece of synthetic "horsehair" material and stretched/BEAT it to shape, then used contact adhesive to glue a layer of aluminised "bubble wrap" to it(as both stiffener and insulation). Those I made from individual cut-to-fit pieces. Some 'mitering' slits were necessary in the carpet to make it smooth but it worked remarkably well. I did it "on-the-fly" without a pattern, but it would probably help to be a bit more prepared ahead of time without having tried it before.

 

[bugimike]

Why not use the carpet seaming tape that is already coated with hot glue?

That would work equally well I suppose, except that most commercial carpet tape is paper-backed, which I thought in an open car would be subject to getting wet, hence the suggestion of the 'glass sheetrock tape!

 

[Trevor Jessie]

Hmmm... good point about the paper backing.

 

[Whitephrog]

If colour is the only issue, why not try Heritage or Prestige. They both have lots of color choices.

 

[spritenut]

Where are you guys seaming carpet in a Spridget?
I just finished the 58 carpet, no seams, never had any seams in any Sprites.
Wheel humps get a cut out Vee, a good start/stop spot is the seat belt bold knob. Same on the tunnel, do not try to glue it all in at once, work it top then sides.
A box cutter with a sharp razor blade makes a nice cut along the floor or any other area.
https://home.comcast.net/~spritenut/58rug.jpg
https://home.comcast.net/~spritenut/58tun.jpg