Katzkin interior, painted top, and custom headliners

[The Crusader]

Yesterday, I had my Katzkins installed. They are black and gray with blue stitching. Today I painted the interior of the top black with Krylon Fusion satin. I cut 3/4" insulation panels to match the recessed areas in the roof and freedom panels and glued the fabric of my choice to them using Gorilla Glue. I put insulation tape in the recessed areas under the panels and attached the panels to the roof using velcro tape. Materials for the roof cost me about $150 and it took me about 5-6 hours to paint, make the panels, and install them. Let me know what you think.

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[KWin]

Looks great! I wish I had thought to paint mine black before installing my headliner. It looks a lot sharper.

 

[azmojave]

Looks fantastic! Nice job

 

[The Crusader]

A better look at a freedom panel.

 

[JackalopeSean]

Super cool, looks really good

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Those panels DO look good! Did you roughen the panels to give the paint "tooth"? I've never used Krylon at all and don't know about this "Fusion" stuff - is it made for adhering to plastic?

The 3/4" insulation panels - are those the solid type insulation you find at Home Depot? If not, what is it and where do we get it?

Same questions on the "insulation tape" - I don't know what that is or where to get it. Is it necessary to paint it or will it not show once the panels are installed?

Sorry for all the questions but enquiring minds (nosy guys!) want to know!

 

[The Crusader]

Those panels DO look good! Did you roughen the panels to give the paint "tooth"? I've never used Krylon at all and don't know about this "Fusion" stuff - is it made for adhering to plastic?

The 3/4" insulation panels - are those the solid type insulation you find at Home Depot? If not, what is it and where do we get it?

Same questions on the "insulation tape" - I don't know what that is or where to get it. Is it necessary to paint it or will it not show once the panels are installed?

Sorry for all the questions but enquiring minds (nosy guys!) want to know!

Krylon Fusion is the name and it is made for plastics. I didn't roughen it up at all. I used heavy duty 3M velcro tape and lots of it. The Insulation tape is white and 1/4" thick. I used 3 layers in places that were not visible with the panel installed. The Insulation was a 4x8 sheet from Lowe's. It's a little flexible and not brittle at all but still pretty firm. I put the foil side towards the roof for better adhesion and better sound absorption inside. I used a battery powered oscillating tool and a sheet rock sanding screen to shape the panels to fit. The Gorilla Glue worked great and the fabric stuck great to the Insulation. I looked at hundreds of fabrics on Joann's website. I found a customizable fabric and chose a thick cotton for my chosen pattern. The spray glue did not seep through.

This video was my guide. The JT panels allow for thicker insulation. His fabric choice is hideous, but his execution looks flawless.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Yeah, "strokes/folks" but I agree his fabric choice is not remotely what I'd consider using. My truck is Stingrey so I'd like pick some kind of muted gray or possibly a dark red to go with the red dash. I'm not so certain he used enough Velcro but that will show itself if a panel drops on your head!

 

[aceisback]

Krylon Fusion is the name and it is made for plastics. I didn't roughen it up at all. I used heavy duty 3M velcro tape and lots of it. The Insulation tape is white and 1/4" thick. I used 3 layers in places that were not visible with the panel installed. The Insulation was a 4x8 sheet from Lowe's. It's a little flexible and not brittle at all but still pretty firm. I put the foil side towards the roof for better adhesion and better sound absorption inside. I used a battery powered oscillating tool and a sheet rock sanding screen to shape the panels to fit. The Gorilla Glue worked great and the fabric stuck great to the Insulation. I looked at hundreds of fabrics on Joann's website. I found a customizable fabric and chose a thick cotton for my chosen pattern. The spray glue did not seep through.

This video was my guide. The JT panels allow for thicker insulation. His fabric choice is hideous, but his execution looks flawless.

Did you happen to go a little wider on each layer for the valleys to give it a more level appearance?
And did you paint the entire surface to include where you put the Velcro strips.
I think I’m in the minority here as I kind of like the fabric in the video. Would I use it in mine? Nope, but I applaud his nads to put it up and take any abuse or compliments that will surely come his way.
Yours is pretty bold also and I think folks will be on both sides of the fence about it. They both look great but neither would I do myself.
I’ll post up my pics IF my Gobi Mojave ever arrives.

Do you think PlastiDip would also work where you used the Fusion? Asking because it’s fairly easily removable if and when the truck gets sold should the future owner not care for the customization.
Thanks for your time.

 

[The Crusader]

Did you happen to go a little wider on each layer for the valleys to give it a more level appearance?
And did you paint the entire surface to include where you put the Velcro strips.
I think I’m in the minority here as I kind of like the fabric in the video. Would I use it in mine? Nope, but I applaud his nads to put it up and take any abuse or compliments that will surely come his way.
Yours is pretty bold also and I think folks will be on both sides of the fence about it. They both look great but neither would I do myself.
I’ll post up my pics IF my Gobi Mojave ever arrives.

Do you think PlastiDip would also work where you used the Fusion? Asking because it’s fairly easily removable if and when the truck gets sold should the future owner not care for the customization.
Thanks for your time.

I did paint the entire panel, but only one light coat under the headliners. So far it's holding well. I don't know much about plastidip, so I can't give a good opinion. My choice is my choice and you're right that it's not for everyone. The photos don't show the blue stitching in the seats well. Another personal choice but it goes better with the headliners.

 

[aceisback]

I did paint the entire panel, but only one light coat under the headliners. So far it's holding well. I don't know much about plastidip, so I can't give a good opinion. My choice is my choice and you're right that it's not for everyone. The photos don't show the blue stitching in the seats well. Another personal choice but it goes better with the headliners.

Do you recall how many yards of fabric you needed?

 

[The Crusader]

Do you recall how many yards of fabric you needed?

The fabric was around 54" wide and I bought 2 yards at about $16/yard. I had plenty, but there wasn't a whole lot left over. I just barely got a front and back headliner panel to fit side by side. You have to allow 2-3" all around the panel to allow for wrap around. The rear panels are wider than the freedom panels. The fabric wasn't wide enough to fit the 2 rear panels side by side. Measure twice, cut once. To be absolutely sure, I spread the fabric out on the floor and lay all of the insulation panels on it. Then I traced around each panel with a sharpie, allowing for wrap around. Then I cut on the sharpie lines. Be sure to allow for pattern orientation. Mine would look bad if the stripes were not straight.

 

[TheOpa]

Looks great! Appreciate that you took the time to document and post it. I really haven’t been looking at that area but definitely now have this project in mind for when it warms up here.
as a side benefit, I can’t wait to see the look on my wife’s face when she glances over at my iPad and sees me scrolling through fabric choices in my typical ‘hours and hours of research’ approach to making practically any choice.

 

[Kohlblooded]

Awesome job and I’m digging the fabric choice!!

 

[Olgrey1]

Looks great, shows a lot of creativity. Didn't know engineers could also be artists!

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