ARTICLE: How to Upholster a GoCode Trim Kit

How Do I Upholster GoCode Trim Pieces?

Upholster a GoCode trim piece by cleaning the plastic, spraying two coats of adhesive on both the plastic and the fabric, and letting both get slightly tacky for 5 to 10 minutes. Then wrap the fabric starting with the hardest curves, using relief cuts and triangle cuts to avoid bunching. Finish with a low heat gun pass and a firm rub-down with scrap fabric.

Before You Start

• Kit: GoCode trim kit pieces

• Fabric: Marathon Tweed (shown in color Toast)

• Workspace: Open, well-ventilated area with paper, cardboard, or newspaper down to catch overspray

• Estimated project time by van type

  • Sprinter: ~6-7 hours

  • Transit: ~7-8 hours

  • ProMaster: ~5-7 hours

*Note: We recommend using a sewing machine for sewn in seams on Transit kits

Tools & Materials

• Tensor Grip P307 spray adhesive (low VOC, holds up to temperature and humidity changes)

• Contact cement for the folded seam, such as Weldwood (center overhead D only)

• Automotive prep cleaner, or any degreaser or cleaner with an astringent like alcohol

• Fabric, cut oversize

• Box cutter with a fresh blade

• One to two pairs of sharp scissors, one small and one large

• Tailor’s chalk that disappears with heat or blue tape (blue tape works if you don’t have it)

• Heat gun

• Vapor mask with a carbon activated filter (a particulate mask is okay, but a vapor mask is recommended)

• Sharpie or a reaming tool for holes

• Putty knife or Bondo spreader (optional)

• 110 to 120 grit sandpaper (optional)

• Rubbing alcohol and a clean rag

*Note: If you get any glue on the plastics, use dry cleaning fluid (ForceField)

Upholstery Instructions

1. Clean the plastic
   The plastic leaches oil over time, so remove the oil, dirt, and dust before gluing. Spray the piece with prep cleaner, wipe it down, and make sure it is fully dry. Surface prep is key.

2. Optional: rough up the texture
   If you’re worried about long-term adhesion, scuff the textured surface with 110 to 120 grit sandpaper so the glue has more to grab. Clean the piece again afterward.

3. Set up and test your spray
   Put on your vapor mask and lay paper down. Shake the can and test spray off to the side to make sure the nozzle is clear.

4. Glue the plastic
   Start on the back side. Spray a 1 to 2 inch strip around the whole perimeter, then flip the piece over and glue the show side. Apply two coats from different directions so the glue gets into the texture. Add a little extra glue around button holes and hardware openings.

5. Skip the areas that need to stay glue-free
   Do not glue the flange on the center overhead D. It needs to seat against the vehicle ceiling. On the center overhead D, also leave the curved edges unglued for now, because you’ll be making a folded seam there.

6. Find the bias of your fabric
   The weave does not stretch north to south or east to west, but it stretches a lot on a 45 degree angle, called the bias. Pre-stretch and warm up the fabric so it’s easier to work with.

7. Cut your fabric oversize
   Don’t be afraid to waste fabric. Being an inch short at the end is the worst outcome. Brad cuts about 80" by 2' for the center overhead D, and about 27" by 32" for the Sprinter B passenger and driver pieces (32" running north to south). Pick the orientation for each piece.

8. Glue the fabric
   Make sure you’re gluing the back of the fabric. Spray two coats, each from a different direction.

9. Let the glue get tacky
   Wait 5 to 10 minutes. Both surfaces should be just slightly tacky. If you stick them together before that, the glue won’t hold.

10. Position the fabric
    Orient the piece so the hardest curve falls on the 45 degree bias. On the center overhead D, center the piece on the fabric about a hand’s width from each side, with the flange 1 1/2 to 2 inches from the fabric edge. Set it lightly and press only enough to register it.

11. Do the hardest part first
    Do the hard curves first and the easy areas last. If you mess up, you’re at the start and can start over quickly. Keep the edges loose so you can borrow stretch from them. Work out wrinkles, gaps, and air bubbles as you go, and don’t press hard yet so you can peel it back if needed.

12. Work the fabric into the details
    Press the fabric into the crease where the body meets the flange. Push it into all the recesses and button holes (the center overhead D has four). Push it into the two long door closure slots too. A thumb, the end of a Sharpie, or a putty knife works.

13. Make relief cuts
    Where the fabric bunches, make a relief cut. Stop 1/8" to 1/16" from the edge of the plastic so there are no visible cuts on the show side. Brad makes a cut on the flange edge and a 45 degree cut into corners.

14. Trim the excess
    Leave about 1 1/2 to 2 inches of fabric around the edge. Cut 45 degree angles in the corners and small triangles along the curves, so the fabric folds over without stacking on itself. Straight runs don’t need triangles. Think of it like wrapping a present.

15. Cut the flange clean (center overhead D)
    Run a fresh box cutter blade along the flange edge for a clean cut, then trim any leftover with scissors.

16. Center overhead D only: make the folded seam
    To fold the fabric around the curved ends, make a relief cut from the fabric edge to the corner where the flange meets the body. Fold the fabric over and let the excess get caught in the seam. Pull it taut and press gently, so the fabric glues to itself. The seam should be an elongated diamond, ending in sharp points at both ends.

17. Glue and commit the curved edges
    Peel the fabric back where it’s stuck to itself, and spray the plastic you left unglued earlier. Apply two coats from two directions, wait 5 to 10 minutes, then roll and pull the fabric up the curve. Brad calls this a “pullover,” like taking off a sock. If you pull the fabric off more than twice, reapply glue.

18. Center overhead D only: glue the folded seam with contact cement
    Open the seam. Mark the line with tailor’s chalk, or tape it off, so you don’t get glue on the show fabric. Stir the contact cement and apply two coats to both surfaces, staying inside the line. Wait 5 to 10 minutes. A heat gun on low or a fan can speed this up. Warm it with the heat gun, which also makes the chalk disappear (remove tape first). When it no longer sticks to your finger, press the seam closed.

19. Cut the slots and button holes
    For the door latch slots, cut a line down the middle, then 45 degree cuts at each corner. Ream with a Sharpie and wrap the fabric around the back edge. For button holes, cut an X, then ream. Heat gun on low to clean up the edges.

20. Heat gun cleanup
    Use the heat gun on its lowest setting and keep it moving. It shrinks and melts fuzz in corners, seals edges, and reactivates the glue. Never let it sit in one spot, because it can burn or melt the fabric.

21. Final rub-down
    Take a scrap of the same fabric, glue side away, and rub it hard over the whole piece. Give extra attention to edges, curves, folded seams, and the flange. For spots that aren’t sticking, warm them on low heat first, then press down.

22. Clean up
    Remove glue bleed with rubbing alcohol on a clean rag or stiff brush right away. Acetone is too strong and will melt the plastic fibers. If you still see spots, use a color-matched touch-up marker, testing on the back first.

Installation Video

Step-by-step guides on how to upholster GoCode trim. In these videos, Brad uses the Sprinter Overhead D-Pillar and the Sprinter Passenger B-Pillar as examples.

Center overhead D: materials (0:16), prep (1:44), gluing (2:18), fabric (4:38), positioning (6:16), wrapping (8:03), folded seam (12:33), trimming (25:12), contact cement (31:43), slots and button holes (40:07), heat gun (43:48), final rub-down (47:12)

Sprinter B passenger: glue (1:59), fabric and bias (3:16), hardest part first (7:07), relief cuts (13:05), triangle cuts (16:56), heat gun (19:35), final rub-down (22:30)

Related Resources

• All GoCode Trim Kits

• How to Paint GoCode Trim