‘97 Duetto - New Fabric to Internal Panels

Hi guys!
So I’ve just bought a 97 Duetto and the internal wall and ceiling panels are a bit tired so would like to replace the fabric and am looking for some advice.
Having a wee rummage around i’m finding it tough to know where to start and how best to approach it. Has anyone done this before and could offer some advice?
Thank you!

Hello and welcome to this most friendly and informative forum. Advice will surely be offered soon. 

Are the panels covered in a pink/beige cross-woven material? If so, I re-covered several of the panels on a similar A/S conversion (a '99 Flair) a few years back and it was not at all a hard job. I had to do it because the roof side windows had leaked and water-stained the fabric. The material is (or was then) easy to work with as it is strong enough to pull off the panel with minimal damage to the panel itself.

At the time, the material had just become available again from A/S - though of course it might not now! So it would be worth giving them a call. The replacement fabric was a slightly different colour, but it really didn't show at all unless you were looking for the difference.

Two other points: getting the panels out will be an interesting challenge if the Duetto was built like the Flair, and when you come to re-glue, don't use too much spray adhesive - it's quite an open weave fabric and it will actually soak right through and show on the front if you use too much!

Many thanks Rupert. They're a mixture of green (ish) and beige/grey (ish).

I'll get on to them this weekend RE the fabric. My main concern at the moment is how the panels are all connected to each other (glued, nailed screwed etc) as i'm worried about taking off and not being able to get back on. It seems like there are very few areas in which i have access to just one panel to take off and have a look at to see how i'm going to do it with multiple other composite units being connected in to it!
Just out of interest, how did you approach this?

Thanks for you help.

Ruaraidh Watson wrote:how did you approach this?

With much trepidation! A/S do not make it easy, so on some small panels you are likely to find that they have been fixed with steel pins, driven in below the surface of the fabric. I took a fair bit of the interior out of that van (for welding, among other things) and it's not unusual to find carpet glued over the countersunk heads of screws, and similar techniques that make the conversion easy to build and hard to get apart.

IMO all you can do is to try to take it slowly and methodically, and be prepared to have to repair bits where you don't know how it was fixed until you've broken it!

Nice one Roopert! Yes, I'll definitely be starting with the more straightforward (!) units :)

Thanks mate.

Ruaraidh Watson wrote:Hi guys!
So I’ve just bought a 97 Duetto and the internal wall and ceiling panels are a bit tired so would like to replace the fabric and am looking for some advice.

I used to own a Duetto and had to replace the roof aerial which required removal of two inner roof panels. There are a LOT of screws so the job will be easier if you have a power driver. The cloth is relatively coarse and hard wearing so should scrub up. There are a variety of cloth cleaners on the market.

I can't comment on the wall panels as i never had cause to take those off.