Member
2003 325i sedan, needs new headliner and pillars recovered. I have all the pieces removed from the car. Seems that the original material is thinner than the 1/8" foam backed material that is available now. Also when I remove the old material a kind of white backing material remains glued to the pillars. Looks like this is impossible to remove and that you just glue the new stuff right over the top of it. Has anyone done this with the 1/8" material and does the combined thickness of the old and new fabric make problems? BTW: I watched youtube videos until I was sick of looking at them and searched the forum as best I could. Located in Severn MD.
BMW e46 b pillars.jpg
Last edited by sharadn; 10-09-2017 at 02:37 PM.
Wagon meister :)
BMW Tech Expert
Have you tried to use a scraper and a goo gone? I would let the goo gone soak on the glue for 30 minutes to an hour and that should loosen it up a bit to clean off the gunk left behind.
Darin
Current:
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M-Flight Member
Member
I tried removing the backing material and only made a mess. I don't recommend it. I just covered right over it and it worked fine.
Senior Member
Supporting Vendor
Personally, I've never had too much luck recovering pannels and having them look as good as new factory panels. My best (using best loosely they still didn't last long) result was stripping as much of the material as I could off the pillar, then using a foam backed fabric to recover.
If after DIYing a few times you decided it's time for new stock. HERE is a link to the coupe and convertible panels, and HERE is a link to the sedan and touring pannels.
-James
Member
@ ESS pricing ($$$)...Instead took my A,B and C pillars to an upholstering shop and got them done for less....shop around....upholstery shops will remove/recover/replace the pillars, no messy fuss, and no DIY mess-ups when they don't come out right....sometimes a professional is better...just my two cents
Last edited by jc1kz; 10-21-2017 at 04:27 AM.
Member
Where did you buy the material? Veterans Fabric in Los Angeles sells material produced by the supplier in Germany.
Member
I bought mine from headliner magic. $89 for 5 yards. Very close color match. I did the whole thing and all in all it turned out pretty well. Not as good as a professional. The car is a 2003 325i sedan with manual vinyl seats so definitely not a rare animal or show car. Unless you really paying attention you probably wouldn't know it was a DIY. My wife is happy and you know how the rest of the saying .....goes....... More money for vacation!
Member
an automotive upholsterer will do these for 20-30 dollars.... why bother?
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The one I talked to would only do the b and c pillars. Told me I had to buy new a pillars. His fabric choices did not match the original BMW color. New a pillar covers alone cost the same as what I paid for the fabric and glue. In the interest of having everything match and without a big cash outlay I opted for the diy.
Member
wow thats ridiculous... the a pillars are the easiest to cover. An upholsterer can do them in 5 minutes including glue setting time!
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Member
The PIA thing is the covers for the air bag. It is hard to recover those thin strips and make them look good and fit back into the slots. I tried but they looked crappy. If your fabric does not match the oe color the covers stand out. These air bag covers are really the fly in ointment for the DIY.
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