Hell no! I absolutely despise this project! It's way too theoretical and right brainy!
I documented how I did it so it would be easier for most though. The not using any adhesive and only using tape and piecing it together works very very well. This was the easiest and best result.

 

Just did this over weekend. Lots of useful hints and tips along the way, much appreciated. I also took easy way with 1/2" and came out great. No surprises and ike everyone else my original foam was non existent and a gooey mess. The cleanup/prep was the most time consuming.

Thanks to OP for posting this and the additional contributors for lessons learned. Cheapest project to date on this thing. The upholstery shop wanted over $100 thats with me removing the console too. NoVa prices are ridiculous

 

i used a stiff brush and degreaser to clean

 

Just did this today. Wish I had taken a little more time doing it but overall, but it came out good. I used the 1" foam.

Maybe i rushed it, but it's all back together and functions properly. Feels great since the stock padding was literally gone.... At 36k miles

I'll likely leave it for now as only I know where improvements can be made

 

I did this with new 1/2" foam. Works great! I used 3M Super 77 adhesive after scraping off all the old foam. 2005 TL

 

Great job, looks awesome! Want to do mine?

 

:gheylaugh:

I need to do this. Another mod onto the to do list

 

I just tried to do this with mine. I went to hobby lobby and johans but neither had 1/2 inch so I got 1 inch.
Reading all the pages of this thread is hard to really understand what everyone was talking about with the goo leftover from the original padding.
That is unreal. I've never seen anything like it.

I think ink if I have to do it again, I'll try to get some 1/2 carpet padding. Denser and I may be blue to get some scraps at a carpet store.

 

It's not flaccid anymore. I do wish it was a bit longer....

 

For the one at Redlinegoods, which material is the softest (regular leather, nappa, alcantara)? What color matches the black interior the best?

 

I have the (p)leather one from STV Customs, which is half the price of the Redlinegoods cover. That said, nappa should be the softest, given that it's usually an upgrade over regular leather. Alcantara is probably just as soft if not more, but would look weird if there were no other alcantara parts in the car.

For anyone who still has their 3G and did this replacement with the green foam from Jo-Ann, etc. years ago, it has likely gone flaccid again like mine. This time I'm using a stiffer foam (similar to those found in newer cars), even if it means it'll be harder to squeeze under the armrest cover. But once it's in there, I'm hoping it'll stand the test of time unlike the softer foam.

 

​@silverTL6
I actually am still going strong...can't remember what foam I used but it was closed cell and pretty dense, I also shaped it around the edges a bit to ensure the oem leather could flap around it to be glued back. All go0d in the hood.

 

Whoops, double post

 

@rockstar143 Yep "dense" was the word I was looking for, as that seems to be the key to making the foam stiff / longer-lasting. Guessing the one you used wasn't green like many of the posted pics...I still have new, leftover pieces of it from my previous install, and it just flops around and goes flat as soon as I put any weight on it.

I suspect part of the reason it was popular before was due to folks not knowing where else to source the foam, and how similar it was to the stock foam, at least when new (and unsurprisingly suffers the same fate after repeated use).

 

Yep...
I used a combination of stuff and I think I topped it off with some rubber mat thin stuff...
I just pictured what seemed like it would hold up over time.

 

For anyone curious about how my (2nd) armrest surgery with stiffer / denser foam turned out, I actually ended up returning the STV Customs cover as it was the same size as stock and wouldn't fit over the thicker padding.

This led to me looking into the Redlinegoods cover, and lo and behold they actually sell an oversized one for my specific use case, and I opted for the Nappa leather option which truly feels heavenly compared to the stock and STV Customs pleather. Now my armrest looks & feels like it came out of a luxury car 10-20 years newer (minus the squeaks / creaks from the flimsy plastic underneath), giving me yet another reason to keep driving it til the wheels fall off

So for anyone wanting to use thicker + denser padding underneath, Redlinegoods is likely the only choice...and a great one at that, as their customer service was also super helpful with the barrage of questions I had from start to finish. Obligatory pics: