Working with trunk liner / carpet / whatever...

[ci5ic]

I'm building a "floor" for the back of my civic which will cover the entire hatch area and where the back seat used to be. I'm using 3/4" MDF, and I plan to cover the MDF with trunk liner or trunk mat, or whatever you call it... I'm just trying to find a decent how-to on working with the carpeting. Either that, or I was hoping someone here could help me out with a few questions...

1.) Where to buy trunk liner? Do they sell it at fabric stores or what?

2.) What kind of adhesive should I use on it? I've got some 3M 90 adhesive spray which is supposed to be very high strength ("Super Strength" is what it says on the can I believe), so I was thinking of using that... Also, what's the best way to use the adhesive? Should I spray it only on the MDF, or should I spray it on the carpet, or both?

3.) What should I do for prepwork on the MDF? Should I sand it or anything to get the adhesive to stick better?

4.) Any other tips/tricks that I should know? As I said, I'm only covering some flat pieces of MDF (and wrapping around the edges), so it shouldn't be too hard at all... Should I use a staple-gun to secure the carpet on the underside of the wood?

Anyways... hope I can get some answers. Can't wait to get this project done!

Thanks in advance!

Mike

[ci5ic]

c'mon... somebody has to have an answer to at least one of those questions!

Anyways... here's some pics of my progress on the MDF floor:

[Xclusive]

well, i can help you with one part. Spray the glue on both the carpet and the wood. Let them sit for a few minutes til the glue becomes tacky. then put them together, use a roller to press the carpet firmly to the wood. And just use a staple gun on the back of the wood to hold the carpet done.

[killah_xft]

I'd take the door off, and carpet it... you might want to make a bigger gap for the door to fit back in once there i s carpeting on the edges... I'd say shave 1/16 off each side so you lose 1/8th of an inch off the whole door, then carpet it, and see how it fits.. should still be nice and snug... and can I ask why you choose MDF? it's soo heavy... I mean what you have in there so far must weigh about 120 lbs.... changes the handling of the car, and reduces your speed...

[ci5ic]

Originally Posted by killah_xft

I'd take the door off, and carpet it... you might want to make a bigger gap for the door to fit back in once there i s carpeting on the edges... I'd say shave 1/16 off each side so you lose 1/8th of an inch off the whole door, then carpet it, and see how it fits.. should still be nice and snug... and can I ask why you choose MDF? it's soo heavy... I mean what you have in there so far must weigh about 120 lbs.... changes the handling of the car, and reduces your speed...

Yeah, I planned on carpeting all 6 sides of the little hatch-door, and planned to somehow shave about that much off too as it is now, it fits perfectly, but I know that if I added the carpet without making more room, I'd be screwed.

Yep, this MDF sure is adding some weight... no hope for racing this car at all, but then again, it's always been more show than anything else... Was there something other than MDF that I could've used? I didn't want to use particle board or plywood or anything like that. It's not too late for me to change materials if there's something better out there though, so if you've got ideas, feel free to share.

[Xclusive]

use the mdf if you dont care about weight

[ci5ic]

A few more progress pics... couldn't finish completely today, but about all I have left to do is make a template for the front floor area (above the back seat, and then cut it. Then just some carpeting and I'm done. Picked up some trunk liner today...

Finished up the front end of the wood frame and made the front piece:




re-routed the wiring for the battery... used some plastic grommets which will look nice with the carpeting:


And my absolute favorite piece that I did today:



So, it's ready for amp wiring... Turned out sweet.

[killah_xft]

well MDF is excellent for building speaker boxes, but the weight is a real thing with me... I would have gone ahead, and built a pocket for the spare, put a cover over that, and laid carpeting down, put my amp right over the spare... used plywood around the amp pocket (as a top deck for the trunk, and then done 1/2-3/4" lexan and punched a few 3/4" holes in it for breathing... put some neons/LED's down with the amp on the sides... and show that bad boy off. Your wiring looks really nice man.. Keep up the good work. and the carpeting if you go to any auto supply store, you can ask them about carpeting.. I believe they sell it in rolls... but most places have to order it...