Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

good morning gentlemen - the leather covering is extremely nerve wrecking BECAUSE you only have one chance; so there's no pulling it off PLUS if you'd have to do so your'e really f.........! sorry about the "base's" american english. the (now) bodywork underneath is brittle and this adhesive sticks like hell ... and it'd probably add 10hrs to get the "body" back to were you started. i goofed a tiny bit: so i covered it up with a nice lotus badge,a s you see ---- this idea can maybe be helpful for you if you run into a similiar goof! sandy ps i'll leave it the way it is as its much nicer than before and this isn't the most desirable work on an elan

Hello all, ( gentlemen included ! )

Been there , seen it , done it ! Or how is it the saying goes?

I have done this installation several times ( both leather and vinyl ) so bare with me for my comments.
Adhesive : 3M is doing a spray that will give you some time for second thoughts.
I think to remember 75 or something. Look it up. Excellent stuff ( as are the rest of the series )

To use leather for the covering is very tempting, BUT it WILL shrink over time . - and to a degree that can squash the whole thing. ( dont ask ! )
I have no experience remembering to feed the cover regularly. Might be a very good idea .
It is very important that you fit the covering by pushing it . Dont stretch it when you move towards the groove behind the screen..
A good thing with leather is that it possible to smooth out wrinkles under the " cap ".

Vinyl , (Leathercloth) is more difficult to work .But it will last ! ( I did a nice one ca 1980 . Still like new ) ,

Best of luck
C.Garde

all of these parameters considered: a) very elastic horse leather and b) only 0,8mil thick and c) the uhu contact glue is only under the pad (right where the dashboard/panel "starts) AND at the front and behind the upper rear (V-profile) edge under the end of the windscreen d) there's therefore 300mm of very elastic leather wrapped around the pad which can easily shrink -- its a actually a large C with a 1 inch wide adhesive strip at top and bottom. sandy