Interior side panel carpets - part 1

It's taken me 9 days to find the time to post this, so here it is...

I chose Megavanmats 'silver' carpet for the interior due to all the good reviews. It is nice and thick and although it was about 6 degrees C when I was sticking this in it was still pretty pliable, although a hairdryer to warm it up makes all the difference.

To acclimatise myself I started off with the cards (re- using the factory fitted hardboard one for the smaller card on the pillar, and 6mm ply for the one above the wheel arch). Cut the carpet - I used sharp scissors as the stanley-type knife I had, although new, was rubbish at cutting - about 50mm wider than the card, lay the carpet on a flat surface, spray the glue on both surfaces and stick 'em together. Creases shouldn't really be a problem, but if they are they can be easily smoothed out. Glue the back side edges of the card (I wish I had bought some brush on adhesive rather than just spray, for exactly this sort of situation) and glue the carpet edges back. Where the carpet ruffles up, pinch the edges and do a tight cut with a pair of sharp scissors - simples!

Feeling brave I attempted the whole of the nearside in one go, including the wheel arch (having never tried this before but buoyed by what I have read on the T4 forum), and I am pretty pleased with the results. So long as you take your time you should do a pretty good job. Having said that, if I had attempted this ten years ago in my early twenties I would no doubt have rushed and bodged it up completely.

The wheel arches are actually very pleasurable to do, although cutting around the floor edge can be tricky. The window wasn't too difficult. Cut a 'X' in the carpet where the window is to allow the carpet to stretch into the crevices, then fold the carpet around the metal. The finish is pretty good but I still think I will try and find some aftermarket rubbers to put around the edge to give a professional finish.

I then cracked on with the wheel arch on the other side so it wouldn't be a major hassle after the Rib seat was fitted.