Coming soon ,to a Mustang near you

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

I already cut the hole in the metal panel for the light but i will see if i can fill it in

[RPM 1,190]

Ok ,i ordered a couple of headliners today just incase i screw up one . Soon as they get here i will glue the material to the metal panels and i will be ready to make the molds .

Do not the headliners have seams in them? Or are the seams wide enough to fit the sail panels?

[Shep69 149]

I want the light hole but I suppose they can be drilled out later. Ridge were you planning on beefing up the area were the light sits in? I know the original sail panels had a steel ring insert were the light went in for a snug fit .

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

Do not the headliners have seams in them? Or are the seams wide enough to fit the sail panels?

The front of the headliner is wider than all the bow areas and it is just wide enough to work ,i bought 67 headliners and they are a bit wider to the first bow .

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

I want the light hole but I suppose they can be drilled out later. Ridge were you planning on beefing up the area were the light sits in? I know the original sail panels had a steel ring insert were the light went in for a snug fit .

Fiber glass will not need the metal ring, 65-67 Fast backs have the light in the rear fiberglass panel with out the need of a metal ring  so it should be the same for a fiberglass sail panel .

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

I may make two sets of molds ,one with the lights and on set with out 

[SWPruett 83]

I may make two sets of molds ,one with the lights and on set with out 

I'm in for a pair without the holes!

[mustangstofear 608]

69-70 used the metal ring because the sail panels were made out of cardboard. Since he's making them out of fiberglass they should be strong. But as I stated before I would just make a locating dimple for the customer to drill them out. Or you could make a scribe line on the back so it would be smooth on the front. We do this for our coupe headliners in case the customer doesn't want the dome light. 

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

The headliners came in today ,good thing i ordered two because i screwed up the first one just like i was afraid i would do . I added a short lip at the top of the panels so it would slip under the window gasket a bit more ,about 3/8th of an inch .they just barley went under before. I primered the panels so i could block them out before the vinyl was applied . The first panel went with out a problem ,the vinyl laid out perfect and smooth ,the second panel ...i tried to glue the whole panel and attach the vinyl and that was a big mistake ,it got lumps under the vinyl .This is where the second head liner came in handy LOL. I used some wind lace to hold the vinyl at the small lip because it kept lifting ,i will let the glue set for a couple of days and then attempt to make the molds just to make sure the glue is good and dry and the vinyl will not lift ..Here is the newly covered metal panels .

[MikeStang 247]

hell yeah... Looking good bud

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

I have burns on all my fingers from trying to rub out air bubbles ,but they came out smooth . I took a heat gun to them on a low setting and they really flattened out .There was quite a bit of heat still and they didn't lift so i may try to make the molds tomorrow .

[MikeStang 247]

Lol.... Sweet...can't wait to see what they look like when they are done...gonna be cool for sure

[RPM 1,190]

I have burns on all my fingers from trying to rub out air bubbles

Sounds like workers comp fraud :)

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

They say the third time is the charm ...well ,all the charm has just about worn off ! I can not find a glue that will keep the vinyl to the metal panel .The first attempt the glue turned to snot first time i set it in the sun ..The second time the glue just would not hold. One more attempt and if that doesnt work i will have to use a spray texture .I am going to try 3Ms super adhesive this time but i would bet it will not hold either . The second attempt ,i actually sprayed the gel coat and it looked like it would work but the glue just let go .The gel coat doesn't react with the vinyl ,in fact the grain from the gel coat i peeled off the vinyl ...after it let go ,was perfect .I glued the crap out of it this time and i am going to let it set for a few days before i try it again 

[MikeStang 247]

I know this may sound silly and may take some quick work, but get your hands on some 60 second 2 part epoxy....you will probably need 2 units of it... Be sure that you have the material cut and ready to go then squirt all the epoxy on to the panel and mix it right on the panel and hurry up and spread it out and lay the vinyl on and get it where you want it and its done...The stuff is amazing but it gets hard fast so you don't have much play time.

 

I have some adhesive that I got with my Mr. Mikes Fiero seat covers that would probably also work... I can get the name of it and you could order a can of it...its pretty amazing as well.

 

Hell If you cant get the skin to hold you could also use some bed liner material in the spray can and get a pretty good texture I would think.

[Kris 90]

My uncle use to own an upholstery shop and they used contact cement. It worked great and never let loose. Make sure you apply it to both pieces and let it almost dry to the touch before you try to apply it. If you try to use it wet it will take forever to dry if it ever does. Also have strips of cardboard put down after the glue is dry and before you put the vinyl down so it won't stick when you don't want it to. Then pull the cardboard one strip at a time and work your way down it so you don't get any wrinkles.

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

That is what i am afraid of , the glues are crap now days .I really want the correct grain in these panels and they turned out so nice this time i will SCREAM if they let go this time .

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

I know this may sound silly and may take some quick work, but get your hands on some 60 second 2 part epoxy....you will probably need 2 units of it... Be sure that you have the material cut and ready to go then squirt all the epoxy on to the panel and mix it right on the panel and hurry up and spread it out and lay the vinyl on and get it where you want it and its done...The stuff is amazing but it gets hard fast so you don't have much play time.

 

I have some adhesive that I got with my Mr. Mikes Fiero seat covers that would probably also work... I can get the name of it and you could order a can of it...its pretty amazing as well.

 

Hell If you cant get the skin to hold you could also use some bed liner material in the spray can and get a pretty good texture I would think.

3M makes a camera case finish that looks really nice ,and if i cant make the vinyl stay i will use that .BUT I WANT THE ORIGINAL GRAIN HAHAHA!

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

They came out beautiful this time ,no wrinkles nothing .I used some wind lace to hold the top lip and clamped a spot that kept lifting with a bondo squegee .I just hope letting them set a few days will make a difference with the glue 

 

[MikeStang 247]

Fabulous.... You can also get a box of binder clips to hold it in place lol

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

They leave marks in the material . I did a test panel yesterday with this other glue and it held long enough to gel coat and one layer of fiberglass mat ,the glue did melt but it lasted long enough to make the test piece .I will wait until this week end and try to do the panels one more time 

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

Well ,i got brave today and figured the glue has dried long enough .My test panel worked yesterday so i did the exact same thing with one panel ...i wasn't that brave .It looks like it may have worked this time ,i will not know until i remove the mold from the panel .

Cross your fingers ,cross your toes ..hell cross your eyes HAHA  .I  will know around 12 tomorrow .

[Midlife 814]

If it doesn't work, is velcro your last alternative?

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

It worked !!  I left it setting  near heat  lamps last night and it is well cooked . The grain is perfect although being the mold it is a reverse pattern . Today ...side two .  

The metal panel didn't even ruin ,it stayed perfect so i can do it again if i need to .

I will need to prepare both molds when finished ,may take a few days, and i will make the first set and send them off to our official tester for a fit check .

[Ridge Runner 1,113]

The first set is finished .The passenger side is perfect ,the driver side has a very light flaw, that turns out to be in the vinyl it self. It is so light you have to look up close to see .I don't think it will show in a pic.or in the car .

Both panels look good and have the correct grain ,and it shows well 

 

 

Now the good part ...they fit ,they have the correct contour and they fit with the fiberglass seat panels in place with no screws at all holding them in place .

I found a Fast back back glass gasket piece and the panel slides under it about a 1/4 inch .The windlace goes on just like it should in the front, the little cap will cover the front bottom corner just like it is supposed to . They will be made in black but will probably need to be painted just to match the rest of your interior . I have someone to test fit the first set ,just to see if i need to make them thicker ,thinner or if they need any thing to make them an easier fit .