You may not have heard of flocking, but you’ve certainly seen the results. It’s the process by which ground fibers are painted/glued to a hard surface in order to give it a soft, velvety feeling.
While flocking is most commonly used to line the inside of jewelry boxes, it can actually be applied to a wide range of surfaces – including plastic. In fact, many years ago automakers relied on flocking to give interior trim a more upscale look.
Within the auto trim industry, the process of flocking still holds practical application. DonJer Products Co., which sells all the necessary tools and equipment to begin flocking, has actually flocked a car’s entire interior – including dashboard, door panels and headliner. Other shops, like Banbury Flocking in the UK, focus exclusively on the service.
Personally, I wouldn’t want to flock a full interior – as the process can be quite messy. However, I can definitely see myself using it to line the inside of glove boxes and center consoles.
To see how flocking is done, check out the following video by the Woodworkers Guild of America:
Tell us what you think: Do you already – or will you ever consider – offering flocking services? If so, where do you think it would work best in a car’s interior?
Wade Labofish says
I use to do this with my model cars all the time.I’ll have to try on the full size real ones.Good idea…
Nadeem Muaddi says
That’s interesting Wade. Researching this some more, I noticed that a lot of model car builders use flocking to simulate the feeling of real car upholstery. It’s cool to see it being done on a much larger scale.
tinabanana says
that was really cool, had no idea about flocking. sure is simple enough.
Gjudd says
Flocking car parts has been going on for years and years do you guys not have flocked glove boxes and cubby holes in the us?
I believe it started in motorsport where thay flocked the dash to stop glare from the sun of the dash board, the vid above is a diy style you would wont to use that in a car as it would look a mess! to make the flock look uniform thay run a electric charge over the nylon fibers which stands them up giving a suede like finish depending on the length of the fibers.
i’m not really a fan of it plus it does have its downfalls
clifton says
I use that stuff all day long to fill in small burn holes in headliners and seats (cloth)
Nadeem says
That’s an interesting use for it. I’d love to see some before and after photos of repair jobs you did using flocking.
Don says
Were do you buy it?
carlos says
i also use it for cig burns on seats done in cloth .bought a kit about 15 yrs ago and still have alot left cause you don’t need alot to do a repair i charge 45.00 for the first burn and 15.00 for every burn after that and it takes about 10 min for a repair
Chris Lauret says
I had a customer come by asking if I could wrap an inner fairing for an HD, since he had seen some online that had cloth feel to it. Guess this is what someone had done. Where can this product be purchased?
Naseem Muaddi says
http://www.flockit.com/
Mike says
http://www.craftflocking.com has the largest selection
Shaeeb says
I’d like to flock my car’s dashboard, but I’ve never done it before, do you have any tips or suggestions for first timers?
Also what is the best way to keep it clean? Especially in mildly dusty enironments,
John says
Watched the tail end on Revn tv looked good and I want to know more.
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Mike says
Dont get it, why do you want this? It looks ugly @ss hell, paint look way better then this fluffy stuff