gregeast

Been playing around with a technique for finishing interior pieces and thought I'd share. Flocking is the stuff that's used to line jewelry boxes, etc., it results in a suede-like finish.

Pretty simple process, at least for smaller surfaces:

1. Here's the guts of my ash tray


2. The tools & materials involved are simple: flocking fiber, glue, brush and applicator tube, all bought from Flockit.com


3. Start by brushing the glue on. Don't be shy, make sure you get even coverage.


4. Fill the tube about half full with flock powder. I put the ashtray in a plastic lined box to keep the mess to a minimum. Twist and push the tube and it puffs the powder out. Again, don't be shy, you can't put on too much.


5. Let it dry for ~12 hours, knock off the excess powder (it can be reused), put the ashtray back together and you get this:


It looks pretty but more importantly, the fibers damp the rattle from all the change I keep in there.

I've got an extra A-pillar trim piece I'm going to experiment with next, I think a tan headliner might lighten up my interior...

CyCloNe!

Nice write-up!

Tom M'Guinn

Great idea! How do you get the plastic off the ashtray without breaking it?

gregeast

At the risk of being a smart-***: Very carefully.

There are plastic tabs on either side of the metal tray, I used a couple of smallish flat blade screwdrivers to gently pry the tabs back far enough to the the side of the tray out. Best if the plastic is at least room temperature, I hit it with a heat gun a bit to soften it up so that it wouldn't break.

BTW, I flocked the inside of my console as well. The flock turned out great but in taping it off I pulled up some of the silver paint on the sides of the tray. Need to do a bit of clean up on that before I post pictures.

Techno Duck

Ive gotten so used to hearing all my change rattling and sliding around inside the ash tray, not sure i could live without it now!

teamcrossworks

Just when I thought your interior couldn't look any better...nice job as usual.

racerxrick

Greg...you are a hero

m73m95

Very nice.

I was going to do the same thing to both the ash tray and the radio cubby, when I first got my car, but never got around to it.

It is wonderful stuff

Rich Sandor

Nice job, does it give you the same finish as the inside of the glove box? I used to just cram wrappers and garbage in my ashtray until it was overly full.

I hate that glovebox particle stuff though.. it always flakes off little tiny particles that manage to wind up in my fingers and in my contact lens solution and almost always irritate my eyes!!!

911 Crazy

Very nice

gregeast

Thanks. Yes, it's the same finish as the inside of the glove box. I've never had any issues with my glove box flaking but then I don't usually itch there

m73m95

What length flocking did you use?

gregeast

I used the Rayon flock on the Flockit.com site, looks like it's .030".

Scott H

Great idea. My ashtray is rusted (seriously, how?) and I was thinking about fixing the rust then painting it black, but this is a much neater solution to hide all the pitting.

I have a hobby shop nearby with this stuff, but I'm almost tempted to just order it online. Hobby shop visits get really expensive for me very fast.