How to recover your S13 glove box
I recently recovered my headliner in my B13 and thought I would try recovering my glove box in my S13. I had peeled off the door panel inserts because they were nasty and dirty and I have S14 seats so the only thing that has that tweed material is the glove box and the back seats...and the glove box looks out of place...so here we go.
Taking the glove box (gb) out is simple. There are two screws just below the gb - mine were 8mm/phillips...remove these and pull out the gb at an angle. Once out, there are about 14 more screws that need to be removed to separate the tweed covered front from the actual box. There are two plastic pieces on the bottom (from the 2 mounting screws you just took out)...these can be taken out after the pieces are separated (note the orientation). Also, the latch has a few screws and a round trim piece that surrounds the key hole. Store this somewhere out of the way so you don't accidentally kick them all over your garage and have to search for them on your hands and bad knees! :o
Next, peel the tweed cover off. I used a small, flat head screwdriver to pry up the small staples that were holding down the edges on the back.
Now the fun part...all that foam junk needs to be removed so you're new covering will stick and stay stuck! This seemed to be a lot more difficult than the headliner. The wire brush wasn't doing the job as well as I'd hoped so I switched gears a bit. Here's some of the tools I used...add a sharp razor blade to the list for trimming. Make sure to get around the keyhole and latch area very good.
I used the straight file around the latch hole, a rat-tail file around the keyhole (after new cover), and a drill with various wire attatchments for every thing else.
Note: after you have applied your new covering and are at the trimming stage, there should be NO material in the key hole...and a socket that fits the hole would have been a good choice to press the material in the recessed part of the hole. I used my finger with no gloves and I'll just say 3M glue is very good...do not recommend.
Focus on the edges...everywhere the material needs to fold over and stick needs to be clean. In retrospect, I probably spent way too much time here but I'm anal and like to do a job once!
Now for the material...I went with a black suede.
I went to JoAnn's Fabric...same place that has the headliner material (usually a printable coupon on the website too!). There are many options here! I was actually looking for another tweed or a nice p'leather. I didn't see anything like a tweed/bride-like material and the leather stuff look a bit thick and I thought it might be harder to work with...not sure though. They just didn't appeal to me as much as the black suede. I would not use a cotton or flannel material as they absorb everything. I'm sure this is faux-suede, which is made from polyester so I should be good.
You really only need about a 14"x21" piece of material for the S13 gb but the width of bolts of material are anywhere from 48"-60"...so I purchased a 14"x60" piece, cut it in half, and have enough to cover another one. I may do my B13 box which is half the size of my S13 box...and flat...should be much easier...we'll see. The material happened to be a welcomed 50% off and I had forgotten my coupon but was able to pull up the site on my phone and she scanned the coupon off my phone! SWEET! The material was less than $5!!
As for applying the spray glue...follow the directions. My directions said 3 coats on each surface but DON'T USE TOO MUCH! The trick here is wrist action! Spray while shaking your wrist side to side very fast. When spraying the glue you don't want it to goop up (technical term
) because it will soak thru to the nice side of the suede...mine did this in a couple of small spots but it's not too noticeable once mounted. I didn't figure out the trick 'till it was too late. Three thin coats on each, spray from a different angle each time for more complete coverage.
The corners and latch area are tricky and suede does not stretch like tweed so I trimmed the best I could and then added an extra piece. I'm not sure if I left that small piece seen in the pic above on there or not. The piece I cut to fit that area will look more like the one below:
It's not extremely critical because the latch actually covers most of the flaws but like I said, I'm anal.
One thing I failed to get a pic of was the trimming and work done to hold the material down on the back side. Similar to the headliner, I used tape to accomplish this. I chose some aluminum foil tape I had b/c I know it sticks really good. I'm sure other things could be used to accomplish this as well.
Once you're satisfied with the corners and edges, reinstall the latch assembly and box. For the latch assembly, put the screws in but don't tighten all the way until you install the small plastic trim ring around the lock. Don't forget to put those 2 little plastic pieces on BEFORE you tighten all those screws.
Then, put your masterpiece back in with those two 8mm screws and call it a day!
Taking the glove box (gb) out is simple. There are two screws just below the gb - mine were 8mm/phillips...remove these and pull out the gb at an angle. Once out, there are about 14 more screws that need to be removed to separate the tweed covered front from the actual box. There are two plastic pieces on the bottom (from the 2 mounting screws you just took out)...these can be taken out after the pieces are separated (note the orientation). Also, the latch has a few screws and a round trim piece that surrounds the key hole. Store this somewhere out of the way so you don't accidentally kick them all over your garage and have to search for them on your hands and bad knees! :o
Next, peel the tweed cover off. I used a small, flat head screwdriver to pry up the small staples that were holding down the edges on the back.
Now the fun part...all that foam junk needs to be removed so you're new covering will stick and stay stuck! This seemed to be a lot more difficult than the headliner. The wire brush wasn't doing the job as well as I'd hoped so I switched gears a bit. Here's some of the tools I used...add a sharp razor blade to the list for trimming. Make sure to get around the keyhole and latch area very good.
I used the straight file around the latch hole, a rat-tail file around the keyhole (after new cover), and a drill with various wire attatchments for every thing else.
Note: after you have applied your new covering and are at the trimming stage, there should be NO material in the key hole...and a socket that fits the hole would have been a good choice to press the material in the recessed part of the hole. I used my finger with no gloves and I'll just say 3M glue is very good...do not recommend.
Focus on the edges...everywhere the material needs to fold over and stick needs to be clean. In retrospect, I probably spent way too much time here but I'm anal and like to do a job once!
Now for the material...I went with a black suede.
I went to JoAnn's Fabric...same place that has the headliner material (usually a printable coupon on the website too!). There are many options here! I was actually looking for another tweed or a nice p'leather. I didn't see anything like a tweed/bride-like material and the leather stuff look a bit thick and I thought it might be harder to work with...not sure though. They just didn't appeal to me as much as the black suede. I would not use a cotton or flannel material as they absorb everything. I'm sure this is faux-suede, which is made from polyester so I should be good.
You really only need about a 14"x21" piece of material for the S13 gb but the width of bolts of material are anywhere from 48"-60"...so I purchased a 14"x60" piece, cut it in half, and have enough to cover another one. I may do my B13 box which is half the size of my S13 box...and flat...should be much easier...we'll see. The material happened to be a welcomed 50% off and I had forgotten my coupon but was able to pull up the site on my phone and she scanned the coupon off my phone! SWEET! The material was less than $5!!
As for applying the spray glue...follow the directions. My directions said 3 coats on each surface but DON'T USE TOO MUCH! The trick here is wrist action! Spray while shaking your wrist side to side very fast. When spraying the glue you don't want it to goop up (technical term
) because it will soak thru to the nice side of the suede...mine did this in a couple of small spots but it's not too noticeable once mounted. I didn't figure out the trick 'till it was too late. Three thin coats on each, spray from a different angle each time for more complete coverage.The corners and latch area are tricky and suede does not stretch like tweed so I trimmed the best I could and then added an extra piece. I'm not sure if I left that small piece seen in the pic above on there or not. The piece I cut to fit that area will look more like the one below:
It's not extremely critical because the latch actually covers most of the flaws but like I said, I'm anal.
One thing I failed to get a pic of was the trimming and work done to hold the material down on the back side. Similar to the headliner, I used tape to accomplish this. I chose some aluminum foil tape I had b/c I know it sticks really good. I'm sure other things could be used to accomplish this as well.
Once you're satisfied with the corners and edges, reinstall the latch assembly and box. For the latch assembly, put the screws in but don't tighten all the way until you install the small plastic trim ring around the lock. Don't forget to put those 2 little plastic pieces on BEFORE you tighten all those screws.
Then, put your masterpiece back in with those two 8mm screws and call it a day!
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