So I bought a sheet of kydex to recover my glove box and I'm planning it all out. Want to start in the latch area since it's the most complex thermoform, and cutting around the edges will be much easier with it as an anchor point However. I know that if I just formed it straight it would cause the latch to bind due to the tight clearances.

So I need to find a way to cut a straight line about 1/4" on top bottom and left side of the latch to account for bend radius (right will just form along the existing line since it's a pocket anyway), but I'm not sure how I can cut it to achieve a straight line. I can't use a saw because it's a shallow bowl and all that funky crap is gonna make it hard to cut straight with a box cutter or hobby knife. I figure a Dremel will just clog up within seconds.

I had thought of possibly just rubbing the gunk away with my fingers, but there's no way to guarantee a straight line. Kydex generally thermoforms to the surface you're molding it to, and I want clean straight lines after this is done because it needs to conform to the latch. I can calculate the bend radii, but I need to be able to make exact cuts to make it look good after.

Anyone got any ideas of what I can use to cleanly cut through this stuff to achieve a straight edge all around? The divot on the left is where I tried to roll it, unfortunately unsuccessfully. The smear on the top (left in picture)is where I tried to flatten it after trying to run the gunk off and away, also unsuccessfully.

 

Ok, update while in progress, letting the kydex cool a little before I make another pass...

I ended up using a cheap harbor freight Dremel with the cutting discs. They worked quite well, only broke two cutting out the shape. Best part is I was able to cut the straights with them and then use them to grind out the cavity a little. You'll see why this is necessary momentarily.

Got it all cut out, looked like crap but the lines were straight. Started work with the kydex...got a 24"x24" sheet from Amazon which is plenty to cover. I cut the cavity edges back about 3/16" to allow for clearance issues with the Dremel and ground the side walls smooth.

Because it's the most complex part, im starting with the latch cavity and will cut the kydex to fit the rest of the lid after that's perfect. Keep in mind, as you'll see, the kydex comes in textured flat black, so you will need to paint after (prime first then I use krylon fusion satin or matte black because it's perfect for plastic). I started by cutting a center line horizontally to about 1/2" from each side of the cavity. I cut a vertical cut in the center line just a little on the NON LATCH SIDE Then I cut the LATCH SIDE ONLY off to about 1/2" from the edge(bottom pic) for clearance purposes on the latch.



Having lined up the wedge cut on the left(top) side to the edge of the cavity on the latch side, I used a heat gun to melt the kydex to the point where it JUST BARELY starts looking shiny in spots. Then I used a small teaspoon to begin forming the cavity. Don't worry about it being perfect at the bottom of the cavity, just focus on getting as sharp a bend as you can and smoothing it along the side walls of the cavity. You can melt a piece in on the non latch side later to fill in the bottom of the cavity if you want it to look perfect when you drop your keys and look up.




Don't worry about smearing the plastic a little, as you can smooth it out by using the spoon like a paintbrush, and sanding/painting will hide the rest.
I'm getting back to it now...will post more as I have more, but at least this might give some of you the confidence to stop staring at your nasty glovebox. The rain might delay this a week though so don't wait up.

 

Getting late...still got a bit of shaping to do but it's getting there... you're gonna have to trim a little as you go on the non latch side to make it round out and not pull the latch side away, and you're gonna have to really trim down the latch side to keep it from interfering, although I'm finding that it is pretty close to a drop in fit now except for the center top, which I might need to shave the cavity a little for. I will try to hit it up this week sometime...have to get ready for the work week now though. Will update

 

Ok, moving forward since I'm waiting for primer to dry. We left off with the rough formed opening for the latch cavity. At that point it doesn't need to be perfect because you're gonna have to improve upon it later anyway.

I started after this point by thermoforming the overall shape of the box. I started by using the heat gun slowly and evenly across the entire surface of the material until it essentially started to drop into place by gravity.

It's important to start around the cavity and work your way out, in the same way you would if wrapping vinyl or leather...slowly moving and removing the high spots. To help with this process , I used a piece of old PVC pipe as a rolling pin and also wrapped my gloved hand in a thick old sock to help smooth things out by hand.

You're gonna have ripples and low spots. I found that one of the biggest causes of this is that the gooey stuff melts underneath and forms high spots...you can use the rolling pin to smooth most out and press the others in with your gloves hand if that doesn't work.

Working on this shifted my cavity cutout a little, so I used a 2x4 both to hold the piece in place, and because it helps to form a perfect edge on the inside of the cavity.

Once I had the general curvature of the piece down I started working over the top curve to the edge, both because it's the more complex curve with its drastic angle and because it helps to anchor the piece once you've formed over the edge.

To form the edge I heated it in sections and used the rolling pin to flatten and hold it in place until the plastic cooled and set in. In some cases where I wanted it to roll over I used my gloves and besocked hand to make the more complex and sharper bend.

I found that starting with the top gave best results and then stretching and rolling it downward toward the bottom. For the corners it got a little hairy. In some cases I made relief cuts in others I just heated and rolled over, depending on how important the corner is. The top and bottom are not as crucial as the sides on this piece.

If you stick out too much on the sides on this piece it will catch and the box will have difficulty opening. Knowing this I prioritized the more smooth surfaces to be on the sides, with the excess mostly on the bottom where it will never be seen and some on the top, which is only seen when you open it. As you see in the pics, you will have to heat and reheat to get it perfect..

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Once you have the top and sides worked in you'll have to spend some time working bulges, ripples and high spots out with the rolling pinand your gloved hand. Unfortunately since it's a PVC pipe it melted a little and left gray spots...fortunately I planned on having to paint anyway.

When you get done and everything looks manageable, don't forget to check the fitment of your latch before moving forward. I'm ok with the fit of mine so far. In the cavity I'm going to backfill a little bondo or just some silicone sealant just to get it to look smooth before I paint it all black. Thinking I'm going with matte black krylon fusion because I want to throw some clear coats on after to protect the finish without being too shiny. So it'll be two coats primer, three of the matte black and four of the clear. You're seeing this after the first light coat of primer.



Will update when finished..likely not today as I'll be hanging out with friends after painting

 

Alrighty then...so the finish is on...there are goods and bads to the finished product here...



While I'm pretty confident that I got the finish right (2 coats primer, 3 coats krylon fusion matte black, 4 coats of Rust-Oleum matte clear), I'm highly disappointed with the fact that it was impossible to get this thing smooth and flat with that gooey crap underneath. Everytime I used the heat gun it essentially melted the stuff underneath and the roller/my hands just pushed it around underneath in an inconsistent lumpy mess. The lumps didn't show up as much when I was working on it outside but they definitely showed up during the coatings.

Thankfully I have another glove box sitting at the junkyard I can get to work on later and get it right. I'll just need to find a way to strip off that gooey stuff before covering with the kydex so it'll flush up to the material underneath. This is a mixed blessing however, as the gooey stuff meant I didn't need to use any spray adhesive to hold it in place. I might also use a dedicated set of rollers to iron out things as well, as the long piece of tubing was awkward over the surface, which is neither flat nor consistent across the length, given that it follows a shallow curve in the dash.

So, lessons were learned, and it's not half bad for my first experience with kydex, which was the real point of this exercise(and relief from the frustration of sticky fingers from opening my glovebox).

In truth, it's solid as a rock now, and I might even be able to just smooth the surface out with some bondo and palm sand it, although I'd have to find a way to either keep or recreate that texture you see, which almost perfectly matches the dash.

In the meantime, at least now I don't have to worry about my passengers getting the gunk all over themselves anymore. The finish is well cured after a day but I'll wait a few more before install to keep from scratching it. And the reality is I don't think too many people are gonna look hard at it because you can't see most of it unless you're actually sitting in the car...just happy it's not spreading what is essentially black butyl rubber stains everywhere anymore.

 

55 bucks, it costs 55 bucks
https://www.ebay.com/itm/14481517346...Cclp%3A4429486

 

I'm pretty sure that won't fit since it's for a TL and not an RL, but if it does it would be a lifesaver...either way, im going to get mine right eventually...

 

Ok so it's in now:


ignore the fact that my head unit trim is off...still working on a radio solution for an android head unit.

As stated previously, it needs work, but it's also definitely proof of concept for someone who can work well with kydex, since I'm just an amateur..I definitely overdid it on the clear coat, which makes it look a little bluish...I'll probably pass over it with that stuff I used on my steering wheel to return it to the black. As I recall it wasn't super shiny which will be a plus.

So I hit up the junkyard and they actually gave me my new project piece for free:


This one's in even worse shape than mine originally was, but hopefully that'll make it easier to strip that gunk off...seems like I already stripped a little off carrying it up to the counter:



Anyone have any good ideas on how to strip the gunk off without hacking up the foam underneath? Its acting like butyl rubber so I'm hoping some good off might work. If not I might have to take it all off and cover it with some form of heat resistant filler.