Bald Wonder
Member
- First Name
- Jason
- Joined
- Apr 22, 2025
- Threads
- 2
- Messages
- 32
- Reaction score
- 33
- Location
- Cleveland, OH
- Vehicle(s)
- 2024 Honda Civic Si
- Thread starter
- #1
I ordered the black leather set of armrest and panel covers from MIKSTORE.
I did this mostly because as an SI owner I can't stand the fabric covers they come with. I'm a dad with two messy kids, and I don't baby my car ("it's not a show car" as the kids say) so I wanted surfaces I could wipe clean without further embedding dirt and grime. I just finished the last door last night and wanted to give you guys a write-up on the whole process.
General review:
Somehow, I didn’t realize when I ordered them that they were just pre-cut covers, not already wrapped pieces and panels. I re-checked the listing and it was obvious I was only looking at pictures and not reading anything. That’s on me!
The pieces are well-labeled in English with “Back Left” et al. The material is very good quality, thin and therefore easy to work with, and has the perfect shape to allow plenty of overlap. The supplied double-sided tape adheres very well! The spudger tools are great! The orange paddle one in particular has taken a LOT of force without snapping or scraping.
Installation advice/warnings:
Yes, take the door panel off entirely. Yes, take all the screws out on the back side. No, don’t cut the plastic welds (you’ll understand when you see it). Yes, pull the armrest off from the door panel. Note, the armrest has one more black plastic piece attached to it – take that off too!
For the panel:
Outline the perimeter with tape, then put diagonal strips through the inside, about an inch apart on the front (the padding makes it forgiving). The rear needs them about 1/2 an inch apart (the hard panel shows detail). Yes, you're looking at a rear panel that I only spaced an inch apart. No, I'm not going back and adding more tape. (It currently doesn't bother me enough to fix.) Leave the paper on for now!
Get the piece lined up just right, lift up one side, then peel off the paper liner on one stripe of tape. I started on the top side.
Affix that, then pull up the opposite side of the material to get the remaining tape liners off.
Then you’re ready to start stuffing. I started in the middle of the top.
The hardest part will be the 90 degree curve on the rear top edge because it’s a tight bend right next to a welded mount. Cutting off excess material here will help, but wait until you have it started before you cut.
(Note that you can see the wider spacing of the tape, hence the rear hard panels need tighter spacing.)
For the armrest:
Put a strip of tape along the stitching on the material. Take the paper off this one.
Put remaining strips of tape on the armrest parallel to the stitching (but not the stitching, since you already have it on the armrest) roughly one inch apart.
Now place tape on the perimeter of the back side. Leave the paper on the armrest (both sides) for now.
Affix the material, lining up the stitching as much as possible. The front edge has stitching on the side. The rear edge has stitching on the corner of the “point. ” "But that looks wrong" you might protest, and you'd be right. But this is leather, and it doesn't mold well to the shape - not like the original fabric does. Adding this minor twist helps prevent the wrinkles.
As you’re placing this, note how much overhang you have on the top and bottom edges – it should be more or less centered, give or take a ¼ inch. When you’re happy with the placement, start pulling paper off and pressing down to affix.
Go one strip at a time until you’re ready to wrap over the edge to the back. Getting the stitch parts affixed well is the first goal, then work your way around the rest, being careful not to let the material bunch up.
Cutting away some excess can help smooth out wrinkles/folds, just don’t cut too much. You may have wrinkles at the end, but you can smooth them a bit with gentle coaxing. After that, reassemble the armrest and door panel and reinstall.
Above is the third door I did. I'd pretty well figured out my technique by then. I'm going to redo the first door armrest as it has a little more wrinkle than I like and I feel I can address it now.
Enjoy!
I did this mostly because as an SI owner I can't stand the fabric covers they come with. I'm a dad with two messy kids, and I don't baby my car ("it's not a show car" as the kids say) so I wanted surfaces I could wipe clean without further embedding dirt and grime. I just finished the last door last night and wanted to give you guys a write-up on the whole process.
General review:
Somehow, I didn’t realize when I ordered them that they were just pre-cut covers, not already wrapped pieces and panels. I re-checked the listing and it was obvious I was only looking at pictures and not reading anything. That’s on me!
The pieces are well-labeled in English with “Back Left” et al. The material is very good quality, thin and therefore easy to work with, and has the perfect shape to allow plenty of overlap. The supplied double-sided tape adheres very well! The spudger tools are great! The orange paddle one in particular has taken a LOT of force without snapping or scraping.
Installation advice/warnings:
Yes, take the door panel off entirely. Yes, take all the screws out on the back side. No, don’t cut the plastic welds (you’ll understand when you see it). Yes, pull the armrest off from the door panel. Note, the armrest has one more black plastic piece attached to it – take that off too!
For the panel:
Outline the perimeter with tape, then put diagonal strips through the inside, about an inch apart on the front (the padding makes it forgiving). The rear needs them about 1/2 an inch apart (the hard panel shows detail). Yes, you're looking at a rear panel that I only spaced an inch apart. No, I'm not going back and adding more tape. (It currently doesn't bother me enough to fix.) Leave the paper on for now!
Get the piece lined up just right, lift up one side, then peel off the paper liner on one stripe of tape. I started on the top side.
Affix that, then pull up the opposite side of the material to get the remaining tape liners off.
Then you’re ready to start stuffing. I started in the middle of the top.
The hardest part will be the 90 degree curve on the rear top edge because it’s a tight bend right next to a welded mount. Cutting off excess material here will help, but wait until you have it started before you cut.
(Note that you can see the wider spacing of the tape, hence the rear hard panels need tighter spacing.)
For the armrest:
Put a strip of tape along the stitching on the material. Take the paper off this one.
Put remaining strips of tape on the armrest parallel to the stitching (but not the stitching, since you already have it on the armrest) roughly one inch apart.
Now place tape on the perimeter of the back side. Leave the paper on the armrest (both sides) for now.
Affix the material, lining up the stitching as much as possible. The front edge has stitching on the side. The rear edge has stitching on the corner of the “point. ” "But that looks wrong" you might protest, and you'd be right. But this is leather, and it doesn't mold well to the shape - not like the original fabric does. Adding this minor twist helps prevent the wrinkles.
As you’re placing this, note how much overhang you have on the top and bottom edges – it should be more or less centered, give or take a ¼ inch. When you’re happy with the placement, start pulling paper off and pressing down to affix.
Go one strip at a time until you’re ready to wrap over the edge to the back. Getting the stitch parts affixed well is the first goal, then work your way around the rest, being careful not to let the material bunch up.
Cutting away some excess can help smooth out wrinkles/folds, just don’t cut too much. You may have wrinkles at the end, but you can smooth them a bit with gentle coaxing. After that, reassemble the armrest and door panel and reinstall.
Above is the third door I did. I'd pretty well figured out my technique by then. I'm going to redo the first door armrest as it has a little more wrinkle than I like and I feel I can address it now.
Enjoy!
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