I’ve always found the door armrests on my NC to be uncomfortable particularly in a short sleeved shirt. The ribbed rubber tends to become tiring on a long journey. When 88toy started a thread along the same lines I decided to do something about it. So this afternoon I sprang into action and here’s what I did.
Stage 1
Cut out a cardboard template to the same size as the existing rubber section. You only need to make one of these as you can turn it over for the other side as they are a mirror image.
Stage 2
Trace the outline onto a piece of 6mm plywood. If you want to do both doors make two of them. Cut them out with a jigsaw and smooth off all the edges. You will need to round off the corners to make it easier to get a nice finish on the leather.
Stage 3
Spray one side of the plywood with spray adhesive and stick to a piece of upholstery wadding. You could use foam as an alternative. Make sure you are making one each way round not two the same! When it is dry trim the wadding to the size of the plywood.
Stage 4
Cut out two pieces of leather about an inch bigger all round. You can use one of the old dining chair covers that you stuck in a drawer in the garage when you recovered them a couple of years ago. Oh, it’s just me is it. Right, where else can you find some suitable leather. You could try a local upholsterer to see if they have any. Maybe you wife or girlfriend has an old leather jacket in her wardrobe. Just a bit of advise here. Whatever you do don’t say ‘Can I cut your leather jacket up to make some bits for my car’. This route will be fraught with danger. Try something like ‘Why don’t you wear that nice leather jacket any more?’. This will result in a reply along the lines of , ‘It’s years old, I can’t possibly wear that any more’. You are home and dry. If all else fails you could always use vinyl. Use a staple gun to attach it to the plywood. There is a knack to this. It’s a bit like doing up the bolts on a cylinder head. A staple at either end with a bit of tension, then on either side in the middle then fill all the gaps including the tricky corners. I could have taken lots of pictures but I’m sure if you have a look at youtube you will find lots people showing you how. These people have far too much time on their hands.
Stage 5
Stick a couple of strips of 3M tape down either side
Stage 6
This should be the easy stage apart from one problem. Obviously the developers of 3M tape were told to make something that sticks to everything. They should have been told to make something that sticks to everything apart from the backing tape. When you finally manage to get your finger nails under the backing tape and peel it off stick your shiny new pads directly over the rubber ones. Job done.
Please feel free to use my method to make a set for yourself. If enough people are interested I might be persuaded to make some more.
Please vote in the poll so I can judge what the interest would be.