What is car interior flocking and how to make it with your own hands

Flocking the interior of the car with their own hands + photo, video: set out on the points

Modern drivers with particular enthusiasm began to approach the question of the transformation of their car inside and outside. Quite a large popularity enjoys flocking the interior of the car. This type of tuning is not new, but until now is unknown to many people.

And why not? Because the element in the car salon, covered with flock, completely changes its appearance, becomes beautiful and pleasant to the touch. The flocking technology itself is quite simple, so it allows you to save money and perform car interior tuning with your own hands.

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Flocking – what is it + examples on photos

Flocking is the process of applying a special material – flock – to some surface under the influence of an electrostatic field. Flock is a set of textile fibers between 0.2 and 0.5 mm in length, obtained by finely cutting or chopping wool, viscose, cotton or other raw materials.

Flock is a small fibers of textile

Depending on the principle of cutting, there are the following types of flock:

• calibrated, in which the thickness and length of all fibers are the same;
• Uncalibrated, in which the thickness and length of the fibers differ.

On sale most often there is flock with a length of fibers 0,5, 1 and 2 mm. The most popular raw materials for manufacture are polyamide and viscose.

The fibers are chemically treated with special electrolytes before use. For their application a special tool is used – a flocker. It generates a high-voltage electrostatic field with a negative charge, thanks to which the fibers firmly adhere to the surface with the adhesive applied, taking strictly perpendicular position. This makes the coating look like suede or velvet. In addition, before treatment, the fibers are dyed, so the surface covered with flock can be almost any color.

Flocked surface looks like velvet

You can flock anything from a plastic toy to a metal car body.

It is possible to flock any detail of the car, up to the car body.

Another thing is that not everyone dares such drastic changes in the appearance of your metal car. But flocking interior of the car: ceiling, control panel, door trim is a very popular type of styling in recent times.

The flocking of car interior helps to create cosy atmosphere inside the car.

It is interesting that you can lay flock on both flat and relief surface. Thanks to the technology of application, all the convexities and depressions will be evenly filled with material. In addition, you can flock the surface as a whole, or selectively, using special stencils.

Using stencils, you can create an unusual pattern of flock

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Features of technology

You can find a lot of photos and various video tutorials on how to perform auto interior or ceiling flocking by yourself. Also in Moscow and other cities such as Kiev, Peter, Krasnodar such services offer tuning studio.

Flock called a kind of textile material. In fact, it is finely cut threads made on the basis of polyamide, wool, viscose, etc. Before the fiber is applied, it is treated with special compositions, dyed, and then a kind of dyeing is carried out. In this case, the application process is based on the use of an electrostatic field. To improve adhesion, a special kind of adhesive is used. As a result, the flock is perfectly held on the treated surface.

The peculiarity of the technology lies in the ability of the threads to lie perpendicular to the plane. As a result, a velvet coating is formed, which is very pleasant to the touch.

The great advantage of the technology lies in the treatment of all kinds of surfaces in terms of appearance, thickness, texture and curves. Flocking allows you to create patterns, inscriptions, textures that the customer wants.

The material is offered in a wide range of colors. Therefore, everyone can choose the best option to paint the interior surfaces of the interior of their vehicle. This kind of finishing, called flocking, helps to increase the service life of the interior elements, hides minor damages and disguises the defects of the interior. Such characteristics have contributed to the active spread of flokings, which are used in automobile tuning, furniture trim, decoration of household items, clothing, etc.

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Advantages and disadvantages of flocking

Flocking has numerous advantages. These include:

• Originality and style of the car interior. This is due to the possibility of combining colors, applying logos and peculiar drawings.
• Longevity of color. Flock is absolutely not afraid of sunlight and over time does not fade.
• Flock resistant to changes in temperature.
• Does not absorb unpleasant odors. Thus, even after decades of operation of the car smell in the cabin will not be present.
• Sound and heat insulation. For a long time warmth is preserved in the car in winter and coolness in summer.
• The material is based on polyamide and polyester, so it does not absorb water and does not ignite, which ensures safety.
• It is easy to clean if necessary.

The disadvantages include:

• This type of tuning is quite expensive, so not every driver can afford it.
• The surface can become electrified.
• The material can be destroyed under the influence of alcohol.

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Doing it with your own hands

Exactly the price is the main limiting factor when applying to specialists for the service of flokage. Therefore, folk craftsmen have invented how to apply the flock on their own in the usual home or garage conditions.

The first step is to create optimal conditions. They include the following nuances:

• As good lighting as possible;
• absence of a car in the garage;
• absence of children and animals in the vicinity;
• a good and efficient exhaust system;
• a temperature of at least 20 degrees Celsius;
• no sudden temperature fluctuations;
• free time;
• grounding;
• a fire extinguisher nearby;
• good spirits;
• patience and self-control.

These are the main conditions, without which it will not be possible to achieve a positive result.

The main tool will be a flocker, that is, a sprayer for flock. Choose a device with optimal power. In our case it is 70 kV at 25 mA. It is also desirable that the power parameters can be adjusted.

But this is not the whole list. In addition to the flokator, for independent flocking, prepare some more tools and materials. It consists of:

• flock;
• sandpaper;
• sponge;
• cleaner;
• degreaser;
• plastic primer;
• primer for polypropylene;
• adhesive;
• brush;
• hair dryer;
• masking tape;
• a natural bristle brush.

When choosing a glue, don’t forget to read the instructions and make sure it’s suitable for the flock you’ve chosen.

A step by step guide

It all starts with preparing the parts to be worked on. Some people work on the spot, just pasting the interior with duct tape. But it is better not to do so. You should remove the elements, remove fasteners, get rid of dirt and dust, polish and sandpaper if necessary. Also, sometimes the surface should be primed.

Then everything is done step by step:

• If there are elements that are not removable, but you will not flock them, cover with painter’s tape;
• Apply a thin layer of glue to the prepared surface;
• Prepare the flock by mixing several kinds, if necessary;
• Fill the flock about a third of its volume;
• Start spraying the material evenly with the flocker;
• A total of several alternating layers are applied;
• The tool should be held at a distance of about 10 centimeters from the surface;
• After applying the first layer, take a hair dryer, and blow out with it the excess lint;
• With each new layer, the procedure is repeated.

When finished, remove the rest of the flock, blow out the tool and proceed to the final step.

If you applied a layer unevenly or made a mistake, you have about 1 hour to fix it. When the part is finished, leave it to dry for a day at about 20 degrees Celsius. Only after it is completely dry, use a brush to remove excess flock.

That’s all, you can assemble the interior parts, install everything in its place. Further care is to periodically vacuum the flocked surfaces. But under no circumstances treat them with alcohol-containing compounds.

What do you think, is it difficult to do flocking by yourself or not? And why do ateliers charge such money for such a service? What do you think about it?

Share your opinion in comments, leave your feedback and ask questions! We’re always happy to talk to our readers!

Thanks for reading! You’re welcome,

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Preparing the space

Before you start decorating the elements of the salon, you should choose and prepare the room. Inside the apartment or house in no case can be flocking even the smallest details. In the process, the materials have an increased toxicity.

You can use the garage or basement for the work. Make sure it is well ventilated beforehand. If it is not, you should make forced ventilation and equip the workplace with a hood. The optimal humidity inside the room is 50-60% and the air temperature should be about 20-25 °C.

To work comfortably, you need to prepare the surface on which you will conduct flocking. It should be at a comfortable height for your height: as a rule, it is 1 m. Since you will be working with the elements of the car, and among them there are quite large, such as the ceiling, the length of the surface should be at least one and a half meters, and the width not less than one meter. To protect against particles flying in different directions, the tabletop can be equipped with 30 cm high sides. Place your work place in the center of the room so that you can get to it from any side. Make sure your workstation has good lighting, because if the light is too dim, you may miss some parts and your product will look untidy.

Make sure the work space has a table, which is about one meter high.

When you work, small fibers fly in different directions and get stuck in the surface of the work table. To avoid this, cover it with oilcloth.

An important point in preparing the workspace for flocking is grounding. The table should be covered with a galvanized sheet that is exactly the same size as the tabletop. Use copper or aluminum wire to connect the sheet and the ground loop. The optimal cross section of the wire is 5 mm. Important: Do not use plumbing or heating pipes as a grounding loop.

Study the grounding diagram of the work area before you start flocking.

If you plan to flock a large number of parts at a time, prepare a place where you will dry them. To speed up this process, place the items in drying chambers. It is easy to make them with your own hands, equipping ordinary cabinets with heaters.

For safety purposes, buy a powder fire extinguisher. Remember that you are working with electricity, albeit static. Violations of fire safety techniques can play a cruel trick on you.

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Tuning equipment and materials

The following materials and equipment must be prepared before you begin flocking:

1. Flock. The main role in selecting is volume. The cost of the material depends on the material.
2. Flocker. It is better to choose devices with the ability to adjust the power and radius. The price of the flocator varies from 5 to 50 thousand rubles. On average, popular models for 20 thousand rubles.
3. Glue. The composition of the glue depends on the material used. It will cost about 1000 rubles.
4. Additional materials: tint, sandpaper, primer and others.

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Reviews of motorists about the procedure

It is up to you to decide how attractive the flock-covered interior looks, because as many people as opinions. About other advantages and disadvantages of this material you can find out by reading reviews of people who have already updated their car by this method.

As you’ve probably already noticed, you don’t have to have special skills in painting or pulling materials to do flocking. It is easy to do it with your own hands, provided you have the right room, tools and free time. You can flock the entire interior or any individual parts. Here it all depends on your imagination. You can choose one color or you can combine similar or opposite shades, thereby expressing your individuality. And to make the process of updating your car easier and better, use our instructions.

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Flocked car interior – luxurious interior with your own hands!

In today’s auto industry most of the parts inside the cabin is made of plastic. Such salons can not be called original, but the situation can be corrected without radical changes! Flocking the interior of the car is a great way to transform your car from inside!

Flock – what kind of material?

If to speak simply, the flock is a finely chopped or sliced textile fibers. Divide the material into two types – (uncalibrated) flock under a microscope will look like a mass of fibers of different lengths, but the cut (calibrated) material adjusted with high precision, up to fractions of a millimeter! Cotton, viscose, polyamide – half a century ago the flock was made of natural fibers, today they have been replaced by synthetics, which have increased resistance to mechanical stress.

Especially polyamide – its fibers are always perpendicular to the surface, while viscose is more delicate and less resistant to stress. Depending on the size of the fibers, flocking can produce suede, velvet or felt-like surfaces. Treatment can be selective or continuous – in the latter case, the objects are covered with flokin a solid layer, regardless of shape and material. Selective flokirovanie possible thanks to stencils – covered only needed part or detail of the interior.

Applying the fibers on the surface will not give the desired effect without special equipment – flokatorov. They generate a negative electrostatic field, through which the fibers acquire the same position relative to the surface. Flokatorov are both manual and stationary – for flokirovanie cars suitable manual version.

Flocking the interior of the car – is it possible to do it yourself?

In fact, the technology of flocking is not as complicated as it may seem at first glance. Certainly, most drivers would prefer to appeal to professionals, in fact for self-treatment will have to buy equipment, which for one “session” certainly will not pay for itself. Anyway, those who want to give the salon of the car an unusual velvet or suede look, should get the knowledge about the process – at least you’ll find common language with the masters, and at most you can make reasonable claims in case the work is substandard.

For flocking the car interior, all parts that will be treated must be dismantled and cleaned of dust and dirt. The plastic inside the cabin can be different, and treatment must be appropriate: if it bends, it is enough to go over it with a sandpaper, but if it breaks, you need to treat a special composition – primer, after applying which you need to wait 10 minutes.

Flock can be mixed, depending on what color or shade you would like to get. Then the material is poured into the floc – inside the container must necessarily remain 1/3 of the free space. Depending on the material from which the surface is made, you need to choose the appropriate glue.

Suede effect – the stages of flocking.

One of the most important stages is the application of glue. It is important not to rush, because if the glue is applied unevenly, the final surface will also be non-uniform. Particular attention is paid to the corners. For plastic, you need a little glue – the excess is removed with a brush, otherwise the flock will “sink” in a large layer. If you are going to process materials that can absorb glue, such as parts of the leather interior, then you need to apply it more.

If you decide to do the whole process yourself, you can lightly tint the adhesive for better visibility, so you can control the thickness of the glue. You can flock in stages – it will not affect the quality. If you decide to work the details of the surface, you should mark out the desired areas with tape or painter’s tape before applying the glue. However, just before flocking they should be removed.

The part to be treated should be grounded so that the flock does not fly apart. To be precise, the glue should be grounded, so when clamping, pay attention to whether the clamps are touching the glue compound. The flocker and the table where the piece will be placed should also be grounded. It can also be hung on hooks – it’s important that you can get to it from all sides. The handle of the flocculator is usually made of metal, which should be grasped with your bare hand to ensure grounding.

When processing it should be held perpendicular to the part at a distance of 10 to 15 cm. Flock should be applied in several stages, after each time blowing off the excess flock with a hair dryer. For quality coverage, three layers of material are enough. After flocking the piece should dry at a temperature of 20 ° C for a day. When the glue dries completely, you should go over the part with a brush to remove excess flock. Install the parts back into the cabin and enjoy the updated and original interior! Do not forget about the steering wheel – with such beauty and it needs to pay attention, for example, cover the steering wheel in leather (as I did)!

Video: the process of flocking.

P.S. I personally experienced all the beauty of flock, who do not know, I covered with flock glove compartment! here are a few pictures: