E21 rear parcel shelf recovering!

[Poon]

The E21 parcel tray is a bit more complicated. Unlike the 2002 shelf, you can't make a new board. The board is molded specifically to fit the E21 rear shelf, and is not flat.

You will need:
-Old tray
-Carpet
-Vinyl for the binding
-Spray adhesive like Contact cement (3m stuff probably won't be strong enough here)
-Sewing machine
-Staple gun + 4mm staples
-scissors
-Chalk


Here was my old tray. Pretty gross looking, and definitely destroyed by the sun.



1. Pull the old tray out. You've got to pop the panel clips out from the trunk, unhook the speaker wires , and then the tray should come right out.

2. Carefully peel the old carpet off the board, being careful not to damage it. Once you're done trace the old carpet on to a new piece, using chalk. Then cut it out.

3. You will need a 2 inch strip of vinyl, approximately 70 inches long. You can either buy vinyl stripping for carpet, or cut your own using a meter stick, and two yards of vinyl.

4. You've got to sew the vinyl stripping face down first, like you would if you were to do stitch in a ditch binding.

-German Squareweave carpet


-Sew right on the edge, with about a half inch allowance. Sew all the way around the parcel tray like this. You may not need a walking foor sewing machine for this (I used a Juki with a walking foot in my upholstery course), and could possibly get by using a heavy duty needle on an industrial machine.

-Leave the tray with the two faces sewn together. There should be a excess vinyl on both ends of the tray when you are done. It was like that in the factory, and gets covered by the rear seat, or you can trim whatever you like off.

5. Spray the hell out of your old parcel tray with contact cement. Trimmers always say not to use cheap spray adhesives, and especially in a situation like this where it is exposed to high heat, and not stapled all the way around, it is the only thing holding the carpet to the tray. Spray the back of the carpet as well, let the two tack up, and then put the board and carpet together. fold the vinyl over, pull it tight and staple it on the under side using 4mm staples.


When it's done put it back together the way you took it apart. You need to keep the panel clips for this one, as it will not sit completely flat without them.

-Old and very sundamaged tray


-Comparson








-Better than before!








I'd also like to say thanks to Al for supplying the unobtainable German Square weave. This stuff is simply gorgeous!

-Andrew Poon

In case anyone is interested, the E21 parcel tray used half of the stitch in the ditch method for sewing binding on to carpet. To complete the process, after sewing the two pieces face together, you fold the extra material over, and tuck it under the back side of the carpet.

Get it as tight as you can, and sew along the seam between the face of the carpet, and the face of the vinyl. This is called the "ditch" and if you get it tight, should look clean.

Carpet


2inch strip of vinyl sewn face together



Fold the vinyl over and sew in the ditch


Finished product




Next step is to finish making a carpet kit for the E21. My upholstery course finishes next week, so I doubt i'll be able to get it done in the time span, but I'm probably going to buy a sewing machine when it's all done.

Cheers!
-Andrew Poon

[epmedia]

Nice trimming!

Sure beats what I did with 3/4" pressure wood? and scrap fabric. It was tough getting the 3/4" to fit right.

Have fun, Robert

[epmedia]

Nice trimming!

Sure beats what I did with 3/4" pressure wood? and scrap fabric. It was tough getting the 3/4" to fit right.

Have fun, Robert

[g323]

Looks GREAT! I rattle can'd mine - looks good too but is abrasive.

[TheNeek]

I used flat plywood : Wife wrapped it in the fabric.

[540cosmo]

looks great ,nice job . i need to do the same

[epmedia]

I used flat plywood : Wife wrapped it in the fabric.

.
Reminds me of a pair of pajamas I had years ago. Gave them to the salvation army. Were'd yo get that fabric from btw?

Looks good on it!

Robert

[mikeswimbikerun]

Looks great. When I did mine, I looked high and low for that type of fabric. Could not find it anywhere. I finally settled for black speaker box fabric. Looks fine with the black vinyl, but I wanted more of an original look. Great Job!!

[TheNeek]

.
Were'd yo get that fabric from btw?

A pair of pajamas from the salvation army.

[fullswing]

not everyone has a MrsNeek

[jrcook320]

wow, great writeup. That looks great. added to faq.

[g323]

I spray painted mine black,,,looks great!

[Tx02Fan]

Great work! Thanks for the write-up.

[mosportcanada]

thanks for the well written and very helpful posting. although one question remains unanswered......where to find the german square weave carpet.

[cheap320i]

thanks for the well written and very helpful posting. although one question remains unanswered......where to find the german square weave carpet.

Veteran Company - Importer of Automotive Fabrics

[dictator]

i know this is an old thread but can we get some new pictures

[jimjim69]

cheap320i I like Veteran Company - Importer of Automotive Fabrics
this very close to oem e21 recaro IMPORTED ORIGINAL GERMAN BMW VINYL
CHARCOAL CHECKERED
BM9104
CHARCOALPLAINCHECKERED
BM1165
CHARCOAl
F388
BLACK




James

[jeff323]

cheap320i I like Veteran Company - Importer of Automotive Fabrics
this very close to oem e21 recaro IMPORTED ORIGINAL GERMAN BMW VINYL
CHARCOAL CHECKERED
BM9104
CHARCOALPLAINCHECKERED
BM1165
CHARCOAl
F388
BLACK




James

YES!!!! Thanks for posting this! The top fabric (BM9104) does look REALLY close to the OEM Recaro fabric! You have potentially saved me a lot of leg work looking for a good match to the original fabric!

[3twenty]

Before I begin, anyone on the fence about doing this, should dive in! I estimate that it took me about 3 to 4 hours to do, but I did it in stages and didn't keep track of time (includes removing/installing seats and upper rear seat belt bolts but not time gathering/buying materials). It is a nice interior improvement; my only issue is since I've done this it has made my dried out and pretty cracked-damaged rear top seat vinyl look way worse. Oh well...I'll figure something out on that.

When I did mine I didn't see any posts on what to do so I just started from scratch. Also, I didn't have time to read all the posts here just skim the OP.

Things I learned on this project and I hope this helps a newbie like myself:

> I didn't sew anything or use thread: just a stapler and staples (hate to admit it but I was able to feebly use a standard office stapler then had to gently hammer the staple in using pliers to hold stapler because I didn't have the right industrial stapler setup), adhesive and fabric (may need deck lid fasteners). The only tools used were: a hammer, 2 skinny chisels, an awl, scissors, utility knife, and a small section of semi-coarse sandpaper. I did use some black tape on the backside of the deck lid, but I think the staples were sufficient?

>my local auto upholster where I got my carpet fabric from advised NOT to use white or a very light shade of carpet/fabric because it will reflect off the back window in the day.

>note the location of the panel fasteners when removing/installing the rear deck lid (see green plastic fittings on 4th pic)

>take your time when pulling the old carpet from the old. It helps to start near the speakers and all the edges and work your way to the middle from both sides. I found using a small chisels worked very well, but use caution around the speakers as the deck lid material is thin and mine started to break there (see blue tape I put over area on 4th pic)

>when: pulling apart old carpet from deck lid, sanding/smoothing old glue/adhesive from panel, and attaching new carpet from deck lid be careful not to break fasteners; One fastener was broken upon removal of deck lid (I don't think it could be helped but now that I know approx. where they are...) and another broke while I was sanding. Mine were glued rather well and I didn't think to try to break the bond and remove them. It would have made things easier to do so. Luckily the upholsterer I went to had some of that size/type and gave me a couple.

>the chisels worked very good at cleaning up the glue/bonding material from the old carpet that stuck on the deck lid.

>I should have cut the new carpet a little longer in the back to fold over more of the lip to staple/glue. The spray adhesive I used to hold the folded over carpet wasn't strong enough alone so staples were necessary (just like it was done with the original carpet). So far the adhesive (3m) has worked well on the top side of the rear deck because it is straight and there was more surface area.

>pierce the carpet with an awl at speaker screw locations before installing deck lid

The condition of my original rear carpet panel was faded and sandpaper rough to touch and give off fine carpet particles whenever something was placed on it and slid from it.

Pics (from left to right) are from the panel removed

full view - original carpet
close up - original (both carpet removed {using chisels}from panel)
full view - original carpet backside (shows how strong bonding agent was)
laying out rear deck lid to measured/cut new carpet (used black carpet after pic taken)
full view- new carpet on deck lid with speakers

If anyone is interested I hope to complete a better write up this weekend of this project and touching up other areas of the interior (speakers, door panels, window track re-greasing, side mirror rewiring & spray painting) on my website.

[fullswing]

i like this thread

[Clio320i]

3twenty: yes with the write-ups! I am especially interested in window track re-greasing as I've had to do my drivers window two or three times in the last few years. Obviously I am not doing it right... Would love to compare notes.

[Kpeters]

I wish this thread still had pictures! Sounds like a great weekend project for the E21.

[EBMW21]

I wish this thread still had pictures! Sounds like a great weekend project for the E21.

ill ask him to load up the pics again.

[E21fun]

please do i would love to see them!

[Poon]

Alright gents, sorry for the loss of pictures, I didn't realize organizing my photobucket would ruin the links for the thread. Josh told me some people wanted it fixed, so I went back and reinserted the photo's as best as I can in my coffee fueled late night frenzy. Hopefully it makes some sense.

Going back and looking at all this makes me want to cry. I miss my E21 already, and it's only been a few days. The new DD E28 is sitting on the hoist tonight being a POS too.

I need a sewing machine. I miss doing upholstery work, and I've still got rolls of vinyl, squareweaves and some recaro's and other interior bits begging to be redone.