SilverB

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I made a post in 'What did you do to your civic today' showing my armrests and center console pieces covered with a Faux Black Leather and some asked to see more detail so I thought I would make a post here. I did not get a lot of pictures but hopefully there is enough here to give some guidance on the process, materials and methods I used.

Total cost was less than 15 buck for the material and contact cement (I had some of the other materials already on hand) and total time was about 4 to 5 hours.


Honda Civic 10th gen Recovering Console and Armrests UP8


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Re-covering the armrest and console pieces.

For anyone looking for an inexpensive route to upgrade the loofah-like cloth on the center console pieces as well as the door armrests; here is what I did to upgrade to a black faux leather for about 15 dollars and four hours of work.

Important Notes:
  • I am not an upholsterer, but have experiences with similar materials and methods that allowed me to complete this job, if you feel you may not be able to accomplish this I will try to give you as much insight (TIPS) as I can so that you have as good a chance as possible to make a go at it.
  • There are many videos on Youtube showing the steps to get the door panels and center console pieces off, so I will not go into detail on that but I will post links to some of the videos I looked at below.
  • The door armrests are the easiest parts to cover, I would advise doing the rear ones first and front ones second to gain experience before covering the console pieces of which; the side bars are the most difficult.
  • This process is final. Meaning - once you apply the adhesive and covering, it's on, for better or worse. I decided that if I messed up I would just buy new parts as I could not live with the old ones any more but was determined to make a go of it. If you're not sure, look into a local upholstery shop.
Materials: (Photo 1)

Honda Civic 10th gen Recovering Console and Armrests Photo1

  1. Covering Material - 1 Yard minimum to cover 4 armrests a 3 piece center console.
  • If you look on sites like Ebay, Amazon and so forth you will find many suppliers of all types, colors and grades of vinyl that looks like leather. I decided I wanted to see and/or feel the material so I went to a local Hobby Lobby and purchased a 60" x 36" section of a simple black leather material that felt and looked good and also had a good stretching component.
  1. 1 Pint (16 ounces) of Contact Cement or equivalent.
  2. 5 or 15 Minute Epoxy
  • Warning: I used Contact cement to apply the materials, the kind I used is very strong and permanent. It's vapors are HIGHLY flammable and must be applied in a well ventilated area with ZERO ignition sources (outside backyard worked for me) Also you will want to let the parts sit for a while as they will gas off for a day or so. Read the Label. The company also makes a non-flammable version that would probably work as well.
Tools: (Photo 2)

Honda Civic 10th gen Recovering Console and Armrests Photo2


  1. Phillips screwdriver. . . . . (for removing door panels and trim screws)
  2. Flat Screwdriver. . . . . . . . . . (for prying up staples and/or trim pieces)
  3. Needle Nose Pliers
  4. Sharp Scissors
  5. Exact-O Knife with #11 Blade
  6. 3/8" Paint Brush
  7. 1" Paint Brush
Removing the sections from the Vehicle
  1. Remove the two screws under the base of the center console then pry it away from the frame base. (see this video)
  2. The two side pieces can be pried off by lifting straight up
  3. Remove the door panels (see this video - skip to 1:16 in the video)
  4. To remove the Arm rests from the door panels, remove the screws on the back of the panel (5 for the front arm rests, and 3 for the rear) then pry the front of the armrest upwards. (Photo 3)
Honda Civic 10th gen Recovering Console and Armrests Photo3

Preparation

WARNING: From this point forward there is no un-doing the steps, proceed at your own discretion.

Note: The three center console pieces are held in place by staples only while the door armrests all have the fabric applied to their base with contact cement so the preparation for these two sets are different.

TIP Before removing the covering of the console pieces or trimming the edges of the armrests, take a moment to look at how the stock covering is gathered and folded underneath. Also notice which side or edges are more visible when mounted in the vehicle and which sides or edges are underneath or against a panel or edge of other trim pieces and are therefore unseen.
  1. Remove the Staples and cloth sections from the three pieces that comprise the center console.
  2. Using and Exacto knife, trim away all of the excess material under the base of the door armrests, leaving the exterior material in place. (Photo 4)
Honda Civic 10th gen Recovering Console and Armrests Photo4


TIP: The three Console pieces each have a foam section, that will need to be adhered to their base before proceeding. Use the 5 minute epoxy to adhere the foam section onto the plastic frames making sure they are aligned correctly. I spread the epoxy to the outer edge of the foam only so that it held firm at the edges. You just need enough to hold the foam in place onto the base as you work the covering into position later.


  1. Using the epoxy according to it's instructions, attach the three foam sections to their bases, set aside until cured.

TIP: The vinyl materials stretch more in the lengthwise plain than they do in the width plain, this is important to know, as the cloth on the armrests also have this same characteristic. The pieces of cloth you cut must be oriented correctly so that the stretching material is where it needs to be for the best results. I found all Pieces needed to be cut vertically (in line with the stretchiness).
  1. Use the scissors to cut a section of the covering for each trim piece making sure to leave enough for all edges. Be sure to align the part properly before cutting. Make and inner line that will be the placement for first contact then an outer line ensuring there is enough material to wrap completely around all edges (Photo 5)
Honda Civic 10th gen Recovering Console and Armrests Photo5


Application

Note: If your using the same contact glue that I used BE SURE to read the instructions carefully. I am in Florida and found that at a temperature of around 90 degrees F, the contact cement only needed about ten (10) minutes between applying the glue to the surfaces and having it dry enough to start putting the covering onto the part. Remember, once the two surfaces with the contact cement come into contact with one another, the bond is instant.

TIPS: As I mentioned earlier, start with one of the door armrests first, these are fairly straight forward. To begin, do one part at a time from start to finish, (cloth cutting, glue application, bonding and trimming) then move to the next part, this will take longer but you will gain experience quickly.

Cover the entire backing of the material as well and the entire surface of the piece being covered with the contact cement using the appropriate brush, paying special attention to the underneath lip - this is where the final hold must be secure. Once the contact cement has dried on both surfaces to the touch, make sure the material is on a flat clean surface then place the part into the first contact area.

From there you want to start kneading the material around the edges slowly, alternating from the longest side first, then over to it's opposite side. You don't want o pull on the edges just yet and in fact there is more compressing of the material inward on the straight lines so that there is less overlap on corners so as not to end up with a fold on the visible porting on the part. Folds underneath are okay but you want o keep pressing and smoothing the wrinkles as you work.

9. Continue this process until all parts are covered.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Honda Civic 10th gen Recovering Console and Armrests UP6


Honda Civic 10th gen Recovering Console and Armrests UP7
 
Last edited:

peterZ

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I made a post in 'What did you do to your civic today' showing my armrests and center console pieces covered with a Faux Black Leather and some asked to see more detail so I thought I would make a post here. I did not get a lot of pictures but hopefully there is enough here to give some guidance on the process, materials and methods I used.

Total cost was less than 15 buck for the material and contact cement (I had some of the other materials already on hand) and total time was about 4 to 5 hours.


UP8.jpg


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Re-covering the armrest and console pieces.

For anyone looking for an inexpensive route to upgrade the loofah-like cloth on the center console pieces as well as the door armrests; here is what I did to upgrade to a black faux leather for about 15 dollars and four hours of work.

Important Notes:
  • I am not an upholsterer, but have experiences with similar materials and methods that allowed me to complete this job, if you feel you may not be able to accomplish this I will try to give you as much insight (TIPS) as I can so that you have as good a chance as possible to make a go at it.
  • There are many videos on Youtube showing the steps to get the door panels and center console pieces off, so I will not go into detail on that but I will post links to some of the videos I looked at below.
  • The door armrests are the easiest parts to cover, I would advise doing the rear ones first and front ones second to gain experience before covering the console pieces of which; the side bars are the most difficult.
  • This process is final. Meaning - once you apply the adhesive and covering, it's on, for better or worse. I decided that if I messed up I would just buy new parts as I could not live with the old ones any more but was determined to make a go of it. If you're not sure, look into a local upholstery shop.
Materials: (Photo 1)

Photo1.jpg

  1. Covering Material - 1 Yard minimum to cover 4 armrests a 3 piece center console.
  • If you look on sites like Ebay, Amazon and so forth you will find many suppliers of all types, colors and grades of vinyl that looks like leather. I decided I wanted to see and/or feel the material so I went to a local Hobby Lobby and purchased a 60" x 36" section of a simple black leather material that felt and looked good and also had a good stretching component.
  1. 1 Pint (16 ounces) of Contact Cement or equivalent.
  2. 5 or 15 Minute Epoxy
  • Warning: I used Contact cement to apply the materials, the kind I used is very strong and permanent. It's vapors are HIGHLY flammable and must be applied in a well ventilated area with ZERO ignition sources (outside backyard worked for me) Also you will want to let the parts sit for a while as they will gas off for a day or so. Read the Label. The company also makes a non-flammable version that would probably work as well.
Tools: (Photo 2)

Photo2.jpg


  1. Phillips screwdriver. . . . . (for removing door panels and trim screws)
  2. Flat Screwdriver. . . . . . . . . . (for prying up staples and/or trim pieces)
  3. Needle Nose Pliers
  4. Sharp Scissors
  5. Exact-O Knife with #11 Blade
  6. 3/8" Paint Brush
  7. 1" Paint Brush
Removing the sections from the Vehicle
  1. Remove the two screws under the base of the center console then pry it away from the frame base. (see this video)
  2. The two side pieces can be pried off by lifting straight up
  3. Remove the door panels (see this video - skip to 1:16 in the video)
  4. To remove the Arm rests from the door panels, remove the screws on the back of the panel (5 for the front arm rests, and 3 for the rear) then pry the front of the armrest upwards. (Photo 3)
Photo3.jpg

Preparation

WARNING: From this point forward there is no un-doing the steps, proceed at your own discretion.

Note: The three center console pieces are held in place by staples only while the door armrests all have the fabric applied to their base with contact cement so the preparation for these two sets are different.

TIP Before removing the covering of the console pieces or trimming the edges of the armrests, take a moment to look at how the stock covering is gathered and folded underneath. Also notice which side or edges are more visible when mounted in the vehicle and which sides or edges are underneath or against a panel or edge of other trim pieces and are therefore unseen.
  1. Remove the Staples and cloth sections from the three pieces that comprise the center console.
  2. Using and Exacto knife, trim away all of the excess material under the base of the door armrests, leaving the exterior material in place. (Photo 4)
Photo4.jpg


TIP: The three Console pieces each have a foam section, that will need to be adhered to their base before proceeding. Use the 5 minute epoxy to adhere the foam section onto the plastic frames making sure they are aligned correctly. I spread the epoxy to the outer edge of the foam only so that it held firm at the edges. You just need enough to hold the foam in place onto the base as you work the covering into position later.


  1. Using the epoxy according to it's instructions, attach the three foam sections to their bases, set aside until cured.

TIP: The vinyl materials stretch more in the lengthwise plain than they do in the width plain, this is important to know, as the cloth on the armrests also have this same characteristic. The pieces of cloth you cut must be oriented correctly so that the stretching material is where it needs to be for the best results. I found all Pieces needed to be cut vertically (in line with the stretchiness).
  1. Use the scissors to cut a section of the covering for each trim piece making sure to leave enough for all edges. Be sure to align the part properly before cutting. Make and inner line that will be the placement for first contact then an outer line ensuring there is enough material to wrap completely around all edges (Photo 5)
Photo5.jpg


Application

Note: If your using the same contact glue that I used BE SURE to read the instructions carefully. I am in Florida and found that at a temperature of around 90 degrees F, the contact cement only needed about ten (10) minutes between applying the glue to the surfaces and having it dry enough to start putting the covering onto the part. Remember, once the two surfaces with the contact cement come into contact with one another, the bond is instant.

TIPS: As I mentioned earlier, start with one of the door armrests first, these are fairly straight forward. To begin, do one part at a time from start to finish, (cloth cutting, glue application, bonding and trimming) then move to the next part, this will take longer but you will gain experience quickly.

Cover the entire backing of the material as well and the entire surface of the piece being covered with the contact cement using the appropriate brush, paying special attention to the underneath lip - this is where the final hold must be secure. Once the contact cement has dried on both surfaces to the touch, make sure the material is on a flat clean surface then place the part into the first contact area.

From there you want to start kneading the material around the edges slowly, alternating from the longest side first, then over to it's opposite side. You don't want o pull on the edges just yet and in fact there is more compressing of the material inward on the straight lines so that there is less overlap on corners so as not to end up with a fold on the visible porting on the part. Folds underneath are okay but you want o keep pressing and smoothing the wrinkles as you work.

9. Continue this process until all parts are covered.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

UP6.jpg


UP7.jpg
Excellent instructions! This will be appreciated and used by many! Thanks!
peter
 

hicompb18c1

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Amazingly good write-up man. You should consider selling the service for a price if people send you their covers, etc.!
 

Donkeyhotay123

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I've done my console with material already cut from Ebay, same for door armrest.
Got a picture of the results? I've only had my car since May and the left hand armrest is already showing a line that I can't clean off
 


Donkeyhotay123

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Hey that doesn't look too bad at all. Do you see any lifting of the adhesive or shifting of the seams?

Thats what im afraid of with the tape-on covers
 


 


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