Load Cover Trim Question

[mikeohope]

Does anybody know if you can buy rear laod panel trims pre cut for the load cover brackets and speaker?

 

After a recent disaster in back of the car the rear LH load space trim was damaged. I got hold of a good used load space panel but it had no cut outs for either the tonneau carrier or retainer brackets or a speaker.

 

I checked the pages on this forum looking for tips on how to cut out the holes and I am afraid that my experience was not a good one. Having been really really careful and avoiding any snags or pulls on the fabric (a major trial in itself).

 

Cutting the vynl sections is no problem but the fabric areas are a nightmare and I reckon it woulod be very easy to get a major snag in the weave.

 

Any way

 

The last hole I cut was oversized despite following the dotted guidelines exactly!!!!!!!! and cosmetically appaling. It would seem it should have been cut a good 1/2 cm in side the line at the top only.

 

I am going to order an new panel in the morning from Ford (

[pillboxhunter]

I used a dremmel mini tool on mine. You can cut through the "wood" into the foam beneath the fabric and remove the wood. Turn the panel over and cut through the fabric with a stanley knife. The dotted lines on mine were smaller than the load cover brackets i was fitting and the end results are very acceptable. I had to adapt the load cover though as it appeared to be from a gal without the rear heater.

Good Luck

[mikeohope]

OK half answered my own question.

 

The small retainer clip that fits at the back of the trim can be easily cutout with a knife or jig saw.

 

Its a small hole and the covering is vinyl so thats easy enough.

 

The trick to cutting the fabric cloth without snagging it is to use a soldering iron directly on the cloth from the front.

 

A small one is sufficient. It works like a heat knife and cuts through the weave without catching it or snagging it and then seals the edge to stop it fraying. Brilliant.

 

The speaker hole then, can simply cut from the front by piercing a hole through the middle of it from the back and then marking the diameter on the front with a pencil. Use the soldering iron to cut the cloth and then use a jig saw to cut out the hole. Make the fixing holes with a bradawl from the back then use the soldering iron to seal the cloth at the front then you can carefully drill a larger hole without fear of snagging the cloth.

 

The tricky bit though is the cut out for the main bracket that the load cover sits in. This one is the route cause of all my frustartion today.

 

Any ideas how to accurately transfer the dotted lines on the back of the panel to the front? I had an idea to pierce the trim with a bradawl in a few places and just join up the holes with a pencil to mark the line but it seems a bit of a bodge.

 

One good thing about this exercise is that I have become and expert in removing the blasted load space trim. I have it down to 20 mins. The first time I did it it took 2 1/2 hours to get it off and another 1 1/2 to line it up with the clips when refitting it.

[mikeohope]

The dotted lines on mine were smaller than the load cover brackets i was fitting and the end results are very acceptable. I had to adapt the load cover though as it appeared to be from a gal without the rear heater.

Good Luck

 

Hi thanks for your tip,

 

I retrospectively checked the lines on the damaged factory fit panel and the cut was well inside them. don't know why I didn't check em first. I normally do on that sort of thing but guess impatience got the better of me today.

[wonkydog]

Hi, was this a car accident or something else?

Maybe cheaper and less hassle to let the insurance co sort it out (fully covered?)

[mikeohope]

Hi, was this a car accident or something else?

Maybe cheaper and less hassle to let the insurance co sort it out (fully covered?)

 

not a car accident but it will be cheaper than than the excess on my insurance an consequent loss of no claims

[mikeohope]

Well new panel was ordered today, will be delivered tomorrow.

 

Nobody, not even the dealer seems to have a fool proof method of cutting this. Dealer wants 3 weeks to do it but says he has never done it before!

 

My local car audio installer reckons he could do it but was talking about hole cutters and saws which sounds like a recipe for disaster so I may Revert to my plan of using the soldering iron to cut the cloth and a jigsaw to cut the substrate. I thought about a dremmel but how do you accurately control the depth of the cut given the panel is curved and not a level plane?

 

Interestingly the dealer was might concerned about the misalignment of the template lines on the back of the panel and says that if he can have the cut panel back he may take it up with Ford.

 

I am not worried about the hole for the retainer or the speaker. Its the one that creates the aperture that the load cover bracket fits over that bothers me. The marks on the back of the panel are clearly wrong. I have a template form the original panel that I will overlay to ensure the size is right this time but is the method of cutting that I want to get right.

 

Any other ideas please?

[pillboxhunter]

I used the dremmel with a spherical cutter about 1 - 1.5 mm in diameter. It cut through the "wood" cleanly but didn't cut the cloth as i was able to feel when it went through the wood and into the foam below the fabric. The dremmel cut slowly and it was easy to control the speed and depth of the cut. The fabric can then be cut and folded back through the hole if desired. This was not necessary on mine, as I said before, the hole required is a lot smaller than the plastic part of the bracket and the metal part fits through easily too.

Cheers

[Pal]

I did mine with a sharp stanley knife. From the back I followed the template and just pushed the point of the blade carefully through periodically around the template. The tip of the blade was taken up by the foam and the slack in the cloth. Once right round I pushed it out from the front. I then cut an x in the cloth with scissors to fully receive the bracket.

 

This method did not snag the material and if any fibres were cut as the blade came through you certainly cannot see it as they are subsequently covered by the bracket.

 

Good luck.

 

Pal

 

[mikeohope]

OK New panel is here, Ford Dealer has the old one back and agrees that the template marking on the back of the panel is wrong had a lengthy chat with their body shop guru and he said they would have cut to the same lines I did and would have ended up with the same problem so watch this space for a refund!!!!

 

Having had the luxury of the original damaged panel to do some trials on I have to warn anybody doing this job that without the right tools it is incredibly easy to snag the cloth and cause a major pull in the fabric. A millimeter to far with a drill, dremmel cutter or perhaps a jig saw at the wrong speed with the wrong blade will cause havoc with the panel.

 

If you study the factory cut holes you will see that the fabric appears melted around the openings giving a clue that perhaps they are cut with a heat knife or similar. The hole is probably punched out with a custom made press.

 

I have tried four different methods of cutting and have decided on the following as each time I tried it I got a perfect cut along the lines I marked.

 

Small Hole for retainer clip

This will be cut with a high speed jig saw. I have trialled this many times on the original panel and it is a safe method. The finish on the panel is vinyl and does not get damaged by the jig saw.

 

Speaker hole

This hole is very slightly off a true circle . Not enough to worry about so this is what I am going to do. Plot the centre of the "circle" on the back of the panel and then measure the diameter. Then create a card template of the hole. Using a bradawl I will pierce the panel in the centre of the speaker cut out where I have marked it and then mark the same point on the front of the panel. Next I will do the same with the four locating holes for the speaker. Then use the card template to mark the area of the panel to be removed on the front of the panel. Using the hot knife (also known as a low power soldering iron) I will then remove the fabric in the area that is going to be cut. As long as this area remains inside the four locating holes it will be safe. I have also trialled this many times on the original panel and it is a clean and tidy method of removing the fabric. This method will also seal the edges of the fabric so it doesn't fray. The hole in the fibre board will then be cut with a jig saw. the four holes that locate the speaker will need to be enlarged from the original bradawl mark. I have trilled this by placing the tip of the soldering iron on the exact point to remove a bit of fabric and then just a drill bit to enlarge the hole. On the sacrificial panel a high speed drill cauased major damage to the weave in the cloth. Where as the method just described was perfect.

 

Load Cover Bracket Hole

 

The tricky one!!!

 

Be warned anyone who tries this on a MKII Gal. The dotted lines mark out an over sized cut out.

In fact the actual hole required can be substantially smaller than the dotted lines suggest. I will be using the same method to remove the fabric from the front as with the speaker hole and have a template prepared from the original panel. This will result in a much smaller hole and overall a much neater job.

 

Its going to be two stage job. Cuts tomorrow night in the garage. Install panel on Saturday morning. Having had the panels of about 4 times in the last fortnight I have got the removal down to 20 mins maximum so I reckon the overall time inside an hour.

 

Of course all this would have been avoided if I hadn't bought a car with a damaged panel in the first place!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Watch this space!!!!!!!!!!!

[mikeohope]

Unpacked the new panel today and it had a massive split down the back of the reinforcing material.

 

Back to the dealer and and a new one is coming Tuesday!!!!.

 

The more I get in to this car the more concerns I have over the build quality.

 

Nothing seems to have been thought through that well which surpises me given the supposed "German Quality" one would expect with what is predominantly a VW.

 

Oh well, at least I get to spend my weekend more mundane things!!!!

[mikeohope]

Got the next "new" panel today.

 

Cut apertures tonight very pleased with the result will post some pics later.

 

Right now off out to put the panel back in the car!!!!!!

[mikeohope]

All done, thanks to the guys that helped.

[Deanoecosse]

As a newbie Galaxy owner (bought a 2001 Ghia 2.3 last week) can anyone tell me if the load cover was fitted as standard to this model? From what I've seen on this thread it obviously wasnt standard on all the cars which I think is pretty poor for a

[gregers]

hi deano the reason you cannot see any pics is because you are new to the forum,once you have posted iirc 5 times you will be able to view them.

 

yes the brackets can be bought from the stealers,but try vw and seat as well as fords,but they sometimes come up on ebay as well,hth.

[lazyb5]

hi all,

just read this and must have been lucky i just followed the dotted lines. I cut from the back of the panel with a sharp stanley and all the way through had to score it a few times first. The bracket actually covers all the edges of the fabric on mine.

[supremegermalene]

Mike - nice job! It looks like you have the same interior to me and I don't have a load cover and wish to install one, any ideas what the interior finish is called or what shade fittings I need?

 

Oh and being such and expert :( could you let me know how you remove the panels? I'm hoping with your guidance I can start off at around 30 mins and not have to practice too much :P :D

 

Thanks

G