Nothing beats the look of a vinyl wrapped dash bard or interior panels. Just having the feel of the soft panels around you creates a feeling of richness and luxury.

Traditional vinyl wrapped materials are difficult to produce. A formed part is fashioned using the thermoforming process, usually out of an ABS material. Then the part is trimmed and dozens and dozens of tiny holes are drilled into the material to serve as vacuum ports. Then the vinyl material is applied, the whole assembly is then returned to the thermoforming oven and the material is baked onto the surface with vacuum being applied to remove any wrinkles or divots. Then the part is cooled, the vinyl is trimmed and the loose edges are glued to the back surface to keep it in place.

Whew!

A lot of steps, labor, and time go into manufacturing pieces I this manner. If you’re manufacturing a $75,000 ski boat, it’s an awesome look for the cockpit. If you’re building a $20,000 runabout, this material may be beyond your price point. But it doesn’t have to be…

Using a single stage vinyl material provides almost the same look and feel of the more expensive process. MEP carries a number of different colors of single stage vinyl sheets to form your most prized interior components. This material is fastened to ABS plastic backing material and is formed using the same thermoforming processes that are used to create traditional dash panels and command consoles. By using a pre-bonded material, all of the secondary steps are eliminated so the labor saving is substantial. Dash panels, glove box doors, interior panels, and more can be made from this material.

Example of Single Step Vinyl with Burl Walnut Insert