How To> Recover Side Panels

BY Scion CM
May 03,2012

In our previous article, we went through the steps of recovering skfamous' headliner with the help of the Scion Kreationz car club – today we'll show how to* recover side panels in a 2005 xB.

The tools you'll need are simple. For the side panels you'll need:

• 1-2 yards of fabric
• Spray Adhesive – 3M Super 77 Mulipurpose Adhesive used here
• Ratchet with a 14mm socket
• Allen/Hex Wrench
• Cleaning Agent – Clorox Disinfecting Wipes used here

For help on taking the side panels off can be found in the first article, reference it here if needed.

After the panels are off, clean all dirt and oils from the surface using a cleaner of your choice. A clean surface is needed so the adhesive will securely attach.

Once you have a fabric piece roughly the correct size (not too small), spray a small section of adhesive and press the fabric onto it.

Smooth out any wrinkles and bubbles as you go – don't move onto the next section until you're satisfied with the way it looks. If you find that the fabric is "sliding" too much – wait 1-2 minutes after spraying the adhesive, allowing it to become slightly tacky, before applying the fabric.

After you've glued the fabric to all contours of the side panel that show, it's time to move to the back. Here you'll want to trim off excess fabric and glue it around the edges.

The completed back side. On this front pillar, the fabric has been cut to closely countour the bottom edge with tabs. This sinks into the front dash area slightly.

And the completed front side – it just needs to be slid back into place in the xB!

The B-pillar panels are slightly more of a challenge because of the sliding section that allowing seatbelt adjustment. The small inner section can just slide out of the top – and it's up to you to decide whether you'd like to cover or not.

If you do choose to cover it, you'll need to take great care in trimming this small piece so it will still be able to slide once you put everything back together again. Here you can see how closely trimmed it needs to be.

The middle panels are done! For the rear panels, follow the same process as the front two. 

If you need pointers on putting the side panels back in, reference the first How to Re-Cover article.

For more ideas on all the interior areas that can be recovered, check out pinkalicous' xB! She's done the door panel inserts…

Sun visors…

And gauge cluster cover! Get creative!

Thanks to Scion Kreationz for sharing this project with Scion Owners!

Follow along with the other articles in our How To> INTERIOR series:
How To> Recover A Headliner
How To> Add A Custom Logo to Your Headliner

*This How-To is not intended as professional advice or direction. Any modification done to another car is done solely at the risk of the modifier.