In this video, I’ll be showing how I went about carpeting my van doors and creating a really neat edge using black rubber u-channel edging trim, so that when you open the doors, there are no jagged, frayed carpet edges.
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👉 Rubber U-channel edge trim seal: amzn.to/3Zbr1Ci
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👉 Van panel and trim removal tool kit: amzn.to/40rXogR
👉 Geocel marine sealant: amzn.to/40lYr2c
👉 Bond-it medium viscosity cyanoacrylate superglue: amzn.to/3yYnah5
0:00 - Preparing the van doors
0:39 - Preparing the rubber u-channel
1:19 - Sticking the rubber to the back doors
2:45 - Sticking rubber to the side doors
4:42 - Carpeting the van doors
8:36 - The finished carpeted van
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I thought that using lengths of rubber u-channel glued around the edge of the doors looked very neat and smart but was also practical for protecting the edges of the door carpet from knocks and bumps in everyday use.
Essentially, once the rubber u-channel is glued around the van door, the edge of the carpet tucks into it, creating a very neat finish.
The first step was to measure how much rubber I would need (15 metres for all four doors). This was a fairly simple process of working my way around the 2 back doors and 2 side doors with a tape measure. When ordering the rubber I ordered a little extra to account for any mistakes.
Off-camera, I closed the doors and drew a pencil line onto the metal of door where I wanted the rubber to eventually sit and then taped next to this line with masking tape, so i had a permanent and very visible reference when glueing the rubber down.
The rubber trim is an EPDM rubber, which I found is standard for this type of automotive trim, however it has a very limited number of adhesives which can be used with it, but I’ll cover this in more detail later.
I opted for a very small rubber trim and needed 14 metres to cover all 4 doors. It is 10mm in height, 4.7mm in width and the channel in the rubber fits items with a thickness of 1-2mm.
The advice from the manufacturer for good adhesion is to abrade the side of the rubber to be glued - which I did with 40 grit sandpaper - and then wipe it all down with methylated spirits.
Once done, I taped the rubber around the edge of the door, following the inside line of my masking tape and then cut the length from the roll once I knew I had the right quantity.
I mentioned previously that adhesives were hard to find and that's because EPDM is a synthetic rubber. The information on adhesives available was pretty scarce, and often contradictory. Some said that cyanoacrylate superglue was the only way to stick it, others said it wasn’t suitable. There were a couple of adhesives suggested, including araldite, neoprene adhesive and silicone sealant.
I used Geocel Silicone Rubber Sealant to stick the rubber u-channel to the metal.
I worked my way around the van door, sticking a section at a time and then, once each section was completed, added strips of masking tape to tension the rubber to the metal for a good bond.
I then repeated the process for all the other side doors and gave it 12 hours to dry. For its purpose, which is covering a small edge of carpet, I think it is a more than strong enough bond.
The best method I found for lining up the u-channel with the edge of the van was to keep closing the door after completing a section to make sure that the new rubber edge met but didn’t obstruct the existing rubber seal on the van.
If anything, I’d recommend using duct tape over masking tape as it holds better.
With all the rubber siliconed on I could turn my hand to carpeting the doors. The carpet is smoke-coloured 1.4m long 4-way-stretch automotive carpet, stuck in place with Trimfix high temperature contact adhesive. I needed a 4m length of carpet to cover all 4 doors.
I used scissors to cut the edges off, being very carefully to leave an adequate overlap to sit in the rubber channel, which worked out at about 10 mm, and then used a plastic trim removal tool to gently tuck the edge of the carpet in.
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DISCLAIMER: In this video, I am in no way stating that this is the proper way to undertake the conversion of a van, however after research and experience using the van, I believe this to be the way that is best suited to my van and the way I intend to use it.