Hoosier Daddy
SILVER Star
For those wanting covers for your third row seat mounts, here's a fairly simple DIY to make your own.
This is a 2-banana job, but it does require a heat gun. Be careful, and do this at your own risk.
Cost:
Less than $20 for materials.
Supplies needed:
- template (Luckily there's one attached to the bottom of this post.)
- Kydex (I recommend 0.125" thickness. If you get one 12x12 sheet you can make two covers, but you'll need to very carefully fit the template onto the sheet. I'd recommend buying a 12x24 sheet of Kydex to have extra for any mistakes.)
Tools needed:
- heat gun (I use the Black & Decker HG1300. If you don't own a heat gun, you'd probably use it more often than you think.)
- work gloves (You'll be handling very hot plastic. Don't try this without gloves.)
- jigsaw
- Sharpie or similar marker to transfer the pattern to the Kydex
- drill with a bit big enough to fit the seat mount bolt
Steps:
1. Print out the template. Important - You must use the "Actual Size" setting for your printer.
2. Cut out the template.
3. Trace around the template onto the sheet of Kydex, keeping in mind you'll be fitting two of these onto the sheet.
4. Flip the template over and trace this mirror image onto the Kydex. Passenger and Driver sides are mirror images.
5. Use your jigsaw to cut these out. Don't cut off your finger.
6. Use your drill to drill out the bolt hole (optional). Make sure the bolt goes through easily.
7. Put on your work gloves
8. Heat the back (glossy side) of the Kydex with the heat gun until the Kydex gets flexible. If you're using 0.125" thick Kydex, it will take a lot of heat to get it soft. Move the heat gun around, rather than holding it in one place. DO NOT apply heat to the textured side of the Kydex, as it will make it glossy and take away the texture.
For the next steps (9-12), you want to move quickly.
9. Now that the Kydex is flexible, gently fold the Kydex so that Pac Man's mouth closes. You'll want to have very gentle folds (not creases) where the dotted lines are on the template. Remember, textured side goes out.
10. While holding the Kydex roughly in this shape, put this Kydex cover in place on the exposed seat mount and insert the seat bolt so the cover does not shift around.
11. Gently mold the Kydex so that it sits flush against the wheel well.
12. Hold the mouth together until the Kydex cools and stiffens up again. This may take several minutes, but it is critical to just sit there holding this seam together in a straight line so that it looks pretty.
13. Assess your work. If there are areas that do not sit flush or do not look right, take out the bolt, remove your Kydex cover, and apply heat to that area (glossy side ONLY). Then put it back on the mount and re-shape it. It will probably take you several tries, so that is okay. Do NOT try to re-heat it in place, as you WILL melt the interior panel of your Cruiser.
You can paint this if you want to try for a color match. I'm a big fan of ColorBond LVP auto interior paints, so you might see if they have anything close to your color.
Reminders -
This is a 2-banana job, but it does require a heat gun. Be careful, and do this at your own risk.
Cost:
Less than $20 for materials.
Supplies needed:
- template (Luckily there's one attached to the bottom of this post.)
- Kydex (I recommend 0.125" thickness. If you get one 12x12 sheet you can make two covers, but you'll need to very carefully fit the template onto the sheet. I'd recommend buying a 12x24 sheet of Kydex to have extra for any mistakes.)
Tools needed:
- heat gun (I use the Black & Decker HG1300. If you don't own a heat gun, you'd probably use it more often than you think.)
- work gloves (You'll be handling very hot plastic. Don't try this without gloves.)
- jigsaw
- Sharpie or similar marker to transfer the pattern to the Kydex
- drill with a bit big enough to fit the seat mount bolt
Steps:
1. Print out the template. Important - You must use the "Actual Size" setting for your printer.
2. Cut out the template.
3. Trace around the template onto the sheet of Kydex, keeping in mind you'll be fitting two of these onto the sheet.
4. Flip the template over and trace this mirror image onto the Kydex. Passenger and Driver sides are mirror images.
5. Use your jigsaw to cut these out. Don't cut off your finger.
6. Use your drill to drill out the bolt hole (optional). Make sure the bolt goes through easily.
7. Put on your work gloves
8. Heat the back (glossy side) of the Kydex with the heat gun until the Kydex gets flexible. If you're using 0.125" thick Kydex, it will take a lot of heat to get it soft. Move the heat gun around, rather than holding it in one place. DO NOT apply heat to the textured side of the Kydex, as it will make it glossy and take away the texture.
For the next steps (9-12), you want to move quickly.
9. Now that the Kydex is flexible, gently fold the Kydex so that Pac Man's mouth closes. You'll want to have very gentle folds (not creases) where the dotted lines are on the template. Remember, textured side goes out.
10. While holding the Kydex roughly in this shape, put this Kydex cover in place on the exposed seat mount and insert the seat bolt so the cover does not shift around.
11. Gently mold the Kydex so that it sits flush against the wheel well.
12. Hold the mouth together until the Kydex cools and stiffens up again. This may take several minutes, but it is critical to just sit there holding this seam together in a straight line so that it looks pretty.
13. Assess your work. If there are areas that do not sit flush or do not look right, take out the bolt, remove your Kydex cover, and apply heat to that area (glossy side ONLY). Then put it back on the mount and re-shape it. It will probably take you several tries, so that is okay. Do NOT try to re-heat it in place, as you WILL melt the interior panel of your Cruiser.
You can paint this if you want to try for a color match. I'm a big fan of ColorBond LVP auto interior paints, so you might see if they have anything close to your color.
Reminders -
- Wear gloves
- Heat the glossy side only
- Don't heat the Kydex inside your Cruiser.
Last edited:
