Waterfall Finishing

[TigerBill]

I fretted a long time over how I was going to finish off the waterfall. I just completed it and it turned out pretty good so I thought I would share what I did in case this can be helpful to others, particularly those with less than professional skills but want to do it themselves. I decided to go with two colors to match the paint scheme and I did not cover the outside panels that cover the door jams. I painted this area to uncomplicate the covering process even more.

Given that this is a large area and is a 3 dimensional shape, it seems like some cutting and seaming was required. The manual says to cut it in each corner. Add in a second color and sewing was definitely required. So I got out my wife's sewing machine and started practicing. I can do it sometimes, but not consistently good and since there are at least 4 seams and a transition to the painted sections, the chances of getting them all to come out looking good and then positioned correctly during the gluing process seemed unlikely.

So I stumbled onto this piece of upholstery trim called "Hidem" used to hide staples when used in upholstering. So I essentially cut all of the pieces of vinyl (5 total) and glued them down just butting them up to each other (used technique described in manual). Then I glued a 1/2 piece of hidem (cut a piece of full width in half lengthwise) on top of the seams. It looks like it was sewn in. The hidem was also a good transition from the vinyl to the painted door jams. Hope this helps someone.

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[BrentM]

That looks awesome, I may need some of that for mine. I was thinking I would need to take mine to an upholsterer to cover, but this is an excellent option. Thanks for posting!

[H R Lucky]

It looks fantastic Bill, great job, where did you get the 'Hidem' trim?
Are those roll bars from the FFR Roadster?

[TigerBill]

It looks fantastic Bill, great job, where did you get the 'Hidem' trim?
Are those roll bars from the FFR Roadster?

I ordered the hidem and vinyl from Gary's Upholstery on-line. mainly because they had the shade of orange vinyl I wanted. almost all of the online upholstery sites have the hidem. However, I ordered a second batch (its only 2.90 per yd) before I decided to split the hidem in two (so now had twice as much). The second batch was made from a different vinyl and had a crinkled surface. The first was more smooth like the sheet vinyl and matched better. I thought I ordered the same thing, but appearance was a good bit different.

The roll bars are not FFR issue. I made a drawing and found a company in Wisconsin online (Sharpe Products - $650 total). They provided the pipe, bent it and provided the four sleeves per the drawing. I welded the sleeves in and drilled holes for the pins. Its 304 stainless steel. I thought that matched better with the brushed aluminum grill and windshield frame vs. chromed steel. The bars themselves are 2" OD, 11 GA, sleeves are 2.25" 12 ga. This gives just enough clearance to slide them in but not too loose. That's about as big around as you can go and still fit them in. any bigger and you can't push them back far enough to keep them inside of the waterfall vertical wall.

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[wallace18]

Very nice job!

[bbksv]

Looks good....

On a side note...make sure you do a THOROUGH inventory. I never got any vinyl for the waterfall..or door handles..didn't realize it until a year and a half later

[TigerBill]

Looks good....

On a side note...make sure you do a THOROUGH inventory. I never got any vinyl for the waterfall..or door handles..didn't realize it until a year and a half later

bbksv - I see you are in Summerville. I grew up in Hanahan right down the road. Small World

[Robert Andrew]

Darned nice job. You look like a pro!