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The leather in parts of my 90 vette is coming up on the edges, the center console on the hinge side, it catches the bottom part when opening,
On the glove box, it is lifted up, also on the hinge side, and it catches when trying to close it, its pretty bad, i try not to open it too much.
and finally on the passenger door, it has come up a bit, but it is not causing any problems.
Does anyone know how I can get it to stay down?
I don't recall what the console lid looks like on a '90, but I had great results bonding the lid's cover to its base on both my '94 and '96. Here's how I repaired mine:
1. I removed the entire lid assembly from the console so that I could work with it on the workbench.
2. I disassembled the lid assembly so that the hinges and structural elements were set aside, and I was working only with the plastic shell, foam padding and soft cover.
3. I gently pulled back the loose edge, and brushed out the loose bits of crumbled foam padding underneath. I then cleaned the surfaces to be bonded with isopropyl alcohol (note that there are two grades of isopropyl available at pharmacies -- get the more pure grade, which is typically 91% or 99% and will leave less residue behind).
4. I wrapped the cover up with clear plastic cling wrap (the stuff that's commonly used in the kitchen for wrapping leftover food, etc), using the wrap to pull the stretched-out-of-shape material at the loose edge back into shape. I used care to keep the cling wrap stretched as smoothly and evenly across the lid as possible, so that it applied even pressure, and left no creases in the cover material -- applying only as much clamping pressure as was required to pull everything back to its original shape and contours without pulling it too tight. I left the thing wrapped up overnight.
5. I removed the cling wrap the next day. The cover material had returned pretty well to its original shape and contours, which, I'm convinced, made the remainder of the job much easier, and helped to achieve a better end result.
6. I carefully re-bonded the loose edge. There are many adhesives available that might be suitable for this task. I used the stuff we used to call "monkey snot" back in the day (black 3M Super Weatherstrip Adhesive, which is available at nearly any decent auto parts store). If used properly, this stuff grips like stink. I've been using it for 30 years with great results. To apply the stuff, I squeezed out a pool of adhesive onto a piece of scrap cardboard, and used a small throwaway acid brush to transfer controlled amounts of adhesive to the target areas, working the adhesive down into the loose/separating foam padding to the extent possible.
7. Before the adhesive set, I clamped the joint using a bunch of black binder clips with cardboard pads between the clamps and the vinyl cover.
8. The next day, I removed the clamps, reassembled the thing, and mounted it back on the console.
I'm very pleased with the result. I think it looks more than satisfactory, and the lid now moves freely as it should, with no more binding along the hinges as it is raised. Prior to the repair, I couldn't raise the lid to more than around a 45 degree angle because it was binding up at the hinges. It works like brand new, now, and has held up very well for probably at least ten years with no apparent separation.
When you apply the monkey snot, take care to make SURE you don't get the stuff where you don't want it. The stuff is as stringy as melted cheese on top of a hot pizza, and it can easily end up in places where you don't want it to be, and you'll play hell getting it off again. Use masking tape, etc, to protect surfaces as required if you have doubts about how well you can control this stuff. Follow the label instructions with respect to application/cure, etc.
I don't recall what the console lid looks like on a '90, but I had great results bonding the lid's cover to its base on both my '94 and '96. Here's how I repaired mine:
1. I removed the entire lid assembly from the console so that I could work with it on the workbench.
2. I disassembled the lid assembly so that the hinges and structural elements were set aside, and I was working only with the plastic shell, foam padding and soft cover.
3. I gently pulled back the loose edge, and brushed out the loose bits of crumbled foam padding underneath. I then cleaned the surfaces to be bonded with isopropyl alcohol (note that there are two grades of isopropyl available at pharmacies -- get the more pure grade, which is typically 91% or 99% and will leave less residue behind).
4. I wrapped the cover up with clear plastic cling wrap (the stuff that's commonly used in the kitchen for wrapping leftover food, etc), using the wrap to pull the stretched-out-of-shape material at the loose edge back into shape. I used care to keep the cling wrap stretched as smoothly and evenly across the lid as possible, so that it applied even pressure, and left no creases in the cover material -- applying only as much clamping pressure as was required to pull everything back to its original shape and contours without pulling it too tight. I left the thing wrapped up overnight.
5. I removed the cling wrap the next day. The cover material had returned pretty well to its original shape and contours, which, I'm convinced, made the remainder of the job much easier, and helped to achieve a better end result.
6. I carefully re-bonded the loose edge. There are many adhesives available that might be suitable for this task. I used the stuff we used to call "monkey snot" back in the day (black 3M Super Weatherstrip Adhesive, which is available at nearly any decent auto parts store). If used properly, this stuff grips like stink. I've been using it for 30 years with great results. To apply the stuff, I squeezed out a pool of adhesive onto a piece of scrap cardboard, and used a small throwaway acid brush to transfer controlled amounts of adhesive to the target areas, working the adhesive down into the loose/separating foam padding to the extent possible.
7. Before the adhesive set, I clamped the joint using a bunch of black binder clips with cardboard pads between the clamps and the vinyl cover.
8. The next day, I removed the clamps, reassembled the thing, and mounted it back on the console.
I'm very pleased with the result. I think it looks more than satisfactory, and the lid now moves freely as it should, with no more binding along the hinges as it is raised. Prior to the repair, I couldn't raise the lid to more than around a 45 degree angle because it was binding up at the hinges. It works like brand new, now, and has held up very well for probably at least ten years with no apparent separation.
When you apply the monkey snot, take care to make SURE you don't get the stuff where you don't want it. The stuff is as stringy as melted cheese on top of a hot pizza, and it can easily end up in places where you don't want it to be, and you'll play hell getting it off again. Use masking tape, etc, to protect surfaces as required if you have doubts about how well you can control this stuff. Follow the label instructions with respect to application/cure, etc.
Live well,
SJW
awesome, thank you! That is exactly what i am looking for, i will have to try it when I get home and can play around! Ill make an update when i try it out!
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Leather pulling up on edges
