Carpeting my car

[foxxnelson]

i was wondering how one would go about putting non molded carpet in my car, like if i could find non molded car carpet how would i put it in? also where would i find non molded car carpet?

[lxndr]

How well can you pattern and sew?

A "non molded" carpet can be tricky to install without the proper tools and experience.

There are two ways to go about this:

1) glue the carpet in place and carefully cut it to fit around corners and curves. This will require a high quality carpet since the cut edges will be butted up to each other and glued to the floor. This means that the edges will tend to fray if a poor quality carpet is used.

2) You will have to pattern and sew the carpet using a binding material, then glue each piece in seperately. This method will give you an outlined look.

When gluing carpet you will need to use a high temp/strength adhesive, otherwise your carpet will come apart on the first hot day!
When sewing carpet you MUST use an industrial sewing machine. A home sewing machine just won't be strong enough to work!
You may also need an industrial steamer in order to get the carpet to conform to curves a little easier.

Molded carpet is the easiest way to replace the carpet in your car. Any good upholstery/trim shop will have many different colors and styles to choose from, ranging from stock colors to bright yellow. The only reasons anyone would use a "non molded" carpet is if there is no kit available for their car (try finding a kit for a custom built street rod!), or they want the ultimate in custom work and/or luxury.

For flat carpet check with your local carpet store (look for Berber carpeting, it works well) or check with your local upholstery/trim shop.