T-6 Sunvisor Restoration

[John Knight]

I recently dissected this vinyl sun visor donor in order to see what the guts looked like and to practice on it in preparation of restoring the two original visors in my car. I remembered that someone else had posted on this topic, but could not find it in the archives. I do remember the description of cutting the vinyl along the top in order to remove the frame and old foam padding. I also remember that crazy glue, patience and a steady hand was required to 'stitch' the vinyl back together. But, what I don't remember is a description of the foam used and how it was attached the the wire frame (if at all).

In the attached pictures you will see what is left of the foam and how much it has shrunk over the years in comparison to the vinyl. You will also notice there were two pieces of foam. Barely visible in the pictures is what's left of a strip of tape that held the two pieces together at the hinge side. There was also a piece of tape at the bottom edge of the foam, but had completely separated from it and was loose inside the visor.

Should the new foam pieces be cut to completely cover the frame including the screw holes? What is the thickness of the foam? Does anyone have pictures or can someone describe what they did?

Many thanks.

[Dave Wildrick]

John,
Here's the material I previously posted from the old 356talk. I have not tried this myself, but I may eventually do it on one of my coupes:

[Subject: Re: [356Talk] Visor restoration
To: 356Talk@356registry.org
From: "Glenn Hill" <Glenn.Hill@nsc.com>
Date: Sat, 20 Dec 2003 13:36:20 -0500

Thanks everyone for the replies! Can't wait to give it a try.
Glenn Hill
Portland, Maine
'61 Coupe


I have done this several times with 100% success. Split between the hinges with xacto knife (pull outward) stuff as needed (sandwich new foam to hide wire frame) Re-assemble with Wonderbond liquid super glue. One dot at a time to have a chance to follow alignment of new knife cut. It is easy!! you will laugh while doing it cause it is so easy!! Works best if you split the factory seam in the middle so that when re-gluing you have a nice flat cut to put the glue on. Take your time!!!! steady wins the race. Good luck!
Happy holidays Bob
----- Original Message -----
From: "Glenn Hill" <Glenn.Hill@nsc.com>
To: <356talk@356registry.org>
Sent: Saturday, December 20, 2003 11:20 AM
Subject: Re: [356Talk] Visor restoration

Date: Sun, 13 Mar 2005 23:04:08 -0500
From: edevangelista@optonline.net
Subject: Re: [356Talk] Sunvisor(s) Repair.
To: BAYWATCHBF@aol.com

hi bob
where on LI are you?? i'm here as well....57A
slice it open along the seam at the top from screw to screw...
take everything out and sand , prime ....
clean and soak the visors with a whitewall cleaner...
repaint them using phantom white color...exact match to headliner
get 1/4" foam core and cut to shape...slide foam core and inner
frame back in...
seal with krazy glue....
you're...done...just dive in ...its easy....
eddie]

[John Knight]

Thanks Dave, these are the posts I remember. I am going to try a few different foam options though until I find the one I like.

[Steven Clarke]

John:
I recently redid my sunvisors from my 65 C. I used vinyl backed 1/4" foam. It was easier than I thought it would be and they came out very well.
The passenger mirror was bad and I had a glass business make me a new mirror.
Here is what the inside of the visor looked after I cut open the top.

The vinyl is surprisingly strong while you stuff the wire assembly back into the visor.

I used super glue to close the cut in the vinyl.

Here are the visors after gluing the seam, prior to paint.

After it was all reassembled I painter the sunvisors with SEM Light Parchment, part #17033. It is a perfect match to the original color.
John, I hope this helps, I have more pictures if you need further details.
Steve Clarke

[John Knight]

Steve,

Very helpful indeed. I was going to use the vinyl backed foam as well, but I am surprised that 1/4" foam was thick enough. What brand super glue did you use? Did you buy the foam at a hobby shop or Michael's?

[Steven Clarke]

John:
I initially thought that 1/4" foam was going to be too thin also, so I bought both that and some 3/8" foam at the same time from an auto upholstery shop. I tried combinations of 1/4" and 3/8", but it was too thick in my judgement, so I used two pieces of the 1/4" foam, with the vinyl on the inner sides against the wire. I also added a thin piece of cardboard inside the wire frame to give the visor a little more stiffness, and allow the 3M spray contact cement to grab the wire frame/cardboard a little better. You will have to make a few trial fittings, and I trimmed the foam using a die grinder with a 20 grit sandpaper disc to shape the foam, and make the recess for the mirror.
The glue I used to seal the vinyl cut was Loctite Super Glue with a 5 minute drying time. If you take your time resealing the cut it is almost impossible to see the seam, and takes 10-15 minutes per visor.
Steve