How to install RS carpet and make it look good?

porschenut · 03-10-2009, 06:27 PM

Calling all RS carpet experts....

I've taken all the factory sound padding out of the rear interior in order to reduce weight, and I want to put in a new RS carpet kit. Trouble is (at least I think it's trouble), the seat area and side/rear panel areas aren't flat - there are all sorts of large bumps and indentations and generally uneven areas over the whole area, so....

How do you make the carpet look smooth, like in the pics below? I think I'll be installing the Appbiz lightweight sound deadening pad on the rear deck, but what about the seat area, and sides?

Any ideas would be appreciated.

P.S. Pics stolen without permission.

If they are yours, thanks!

carslutt · carslutt's Garage

where did u get the carpet kit from? im going to keep a eye on this!....

whiskyb · 03-10-2009, 07:12 PM

Its a project I will be doing in the near future as well. Most kits say experienced installation, but if it is already cut to fit and edges bound I do not see the trouble. Hopefully someone who has done it can enlighten us with some instructions

Laneco · 03-10-2009, 07:24 PM

Work in sections. Toss each piece or section into the dryer for a few minutes (5-10). The trick is to get it warm and pliable. Glue and apply. The glue is REALLY effective when you do this so try to place it, adjust it quickly, and then leave it alone.

Hope others will chime in and add more. I haven't put RS carpeting in, but I've put carpeting in quite a few cars. This does works best on carpets that have a rubbery/plasticy backing, but is helpful on others as the heating/tumbling action softens the stiff material so that you can shove it into place and make it lay flat.

angela

porschenut · 03-10-2009, 08:34 PM

carslutt, I don't have the kit yet.

Angela, thanks for the info. I put new carpet in this car about 4 years ago, which I got from World Upholstery and it had no backing at all - just flimsy sliverknit. It was nice carpet but it was impossible to install without some wrinkles in the more difficult spots. If the RS perlon felt has a stiff backing it will help greatly.

Here's a lousy picture of my back seat area, but it's the only one I have at the moment.

See the rear seat area? Those 3 raised sections will make it awfully hard to make the carpet lay smooth. I can't just lay it in there or the bumps will show through the carpet. There are several other areas just like that. The factory sound deadening covered it all up and provided a smooth base for the carpet to lay on. I know others have taken out the sound deadening material like I have, and installed this kind of carpet. Hopefully they'll share their secrets.

Fishcop · Fishcop's Garage

I made my own carpet (I was bored and my wife wasn't using her sewing machine).

The key is heat... I used a paint stripper gun - be careful as it will melt carpet if you don't pay attention (in hind sight the dryer might have been a better idea). Make sure you use a good quality contact cement and follow the directions! I used a platic bag over my hands to allow them to slip easily over the carpet as I pushed it down. I also used weight plates at strategic points to hold the carpet down whilst the glue dried.

Good luck

F4 PLT · 03-11-2009, 02:39 AM

I bought the RS lightweight carpet kit from Pelican and the install went very well minor cutting was required to fit around the roll bar but I'm over all very happy with the product.

toddu · 03-11-2009, 05:32 AM

I don't think anyone is actually answering his question however.

I'm going through the same process myself. I haven't installed it yet, but I plan on putting some Dynamat in the seat areas to A) replace some of the sound deadening that was there, and B) to hopefully make the area a little more level so the carpet will lay more flat.

This is in theory however, so it might not help (there will still be some low spots with the Dynamat, but hopefully not as much).

Todd

p930man · p930man's Garage

I,m in the process of doing my 76 Targa. It is recommended that as you remove the old carpet

match it up with the new carpet and mark it's location. Of course real men don't follow directions.

I can do a Rubix Cube in about three min. I figure at the rate I'm going it's going to take about

three months. Good luck, I think it's a real PITA. I also got my carpet from Pelican, good quality.

Regards p930man

sc_rufctr · 03-11-2009, 05:44 AM

I like the Dynamat idea... You could cut smaller pieces (2 or more) to fit into the recesses and lay bigger pieces over the top. Would help flatten out the bumps.

This is permissible with Dynamat. On their web site they recommend using multiple layers in high noise areas.

axl911 · axl911's Garage

I installed an RS carpet set. The only way to make it looks smooth and flat like the pictures shown is to put a layer (or build up layers for indentations) of carpet padding under the carpet set. Be careful when laying or building up the carpet padding to make sure it is smooth without ripples, wave, or folds. The RS carpet is thin and would show any ripple, wave, etc.

martin_gibson · 03-11-2009, 07:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sc_rufctr

I like the Dynamat idea...

Prep

POR-15

36 ft2 of Dynamat - horrible stuff to install and some people still consider it's use as sacrelidge

Next step the RS carpet.

Martin

pdqcarrera · pdqcarrera's Garage

Martin, did you weight all that Dynamat by any chance to see what it's contributing? Personally if I were to do it all over again I'd do it your way. IMHO the extra few pounds is impossible to notice in a 2500 lb car anyway and the esthetics for me is still important. My RS carpet on the bare metal ain't pretty.

Kroggers · Kroggers's Garage

Anyone know how the factory did it?

DW SD · 03-11-2009, 08:33 AM

I used lightweight carpet "jute" as an underlayment. It is glued into place and can be lightly sanded to flatten out bumps. Jute is very lightweight cotton fibers glued together to make a carpet pad.

Enough to cover the rear of the car may weigh a pound or two.
Upholstery shops have access to it and it is very cheap.

Doug

gtc · gtc's Garage

Here is Don's (first picture) thread on his carpet install.

Axeman · 03-11-2009, 09:36 AM

I'm dealing with the same RS carpet install issue right now. I'll let you know which route I decide to go and post pics.

RWebb · RWebb's Garage

sacrilege ??

not sure why you say that, but combining the heavy asphaltic Dynamat with a light wt. RS carpet can be nothing more than cosmetic benefit. Not clear to me how much wt. the RS carpet saves vs. regular sliverknit, etc. anyway...

a search before purchase & installation will find you some better solutions...

porschenut · 03-11-2009, 09:44 AM

GTC, thanks for that link. There are some good ideas in there, especially the one about the camping mat (sleeping pad). That's really light stuff and it might make a good base for the carpet. Regular domestic carpet pad might work fine too.

I won't be going anywhere near Dynamat or any other heavy sound deadening. My #1 priority is weight loss, so anything I use will have to be extremely light. Once I get my car back together, I'll take it for a drive and check out the noise level. My expectation is that I won't care about sound deadening at all. Weekend joy rides are all I will use this car for.

porschenut · 03-11-2009, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RWebb

Not clear to me how much wt. the RS carpet saves vs. regular sliverknit, etc. anyway...

That's what I think too. I just like the look of the perlon over the sliverknit. Just filling up the gas tank adds 150 lbs. to the car, so it's hard to quibble over a couple of lbs. here and there.

I've done a number of searches but couldn't find the answer to my specific question, but I'm convinced at this point that I need to apply some type of underlayment to provide a relatively flat base for the carpet. When I call Appbiz about ordering the carpet, I'll ask Bob what he recommends.

Axeman, yes please let us know how it goes!