[longhairchris]

I didn't originate this but was inspired by others on this board and Youtube to attempt this mod. I did a few things differently, but the idea is still the same. See Craftsmansteve's great video here: https://youtu.be/sYgrXy9uXww

I didn't feel like shelling out over $250 for GM suede knee pads, and I can survive without the stitching. So I did it with $16 in material from JoAnn's, used a staple gun I had in my toolbox, and used a different adhesive I had laying around from other projects: 3M headliner adhesive (less than $20). For me, the headliner adhesive really did a great job.




Cut some foam liner larger than the pad:



Here's the stuff. Spray both surfaces, let them sit for a few minutes and it will tack up:



Spray it down with adhesive, trim to fit with scissors:



Cut some suede larger than the pad to allow for wrapping. Spray both the foam liner and the suede. Get some on the inside of the knee pad to adhere the suede on the back side. The suede has some stretch to it, so you can pull it tight and get nice round corners. The adhesive does a better job than you'd think holding a stretched corner. You can trim the excess as you go, especially at the corners. Try to hide any unavoidable wrinkles on the bottom side if you can.



Grabbed my trusty staple gun and used the smallest size (I think 1/4"?) so as not to punch through the other side. I used little bits of leather to help with over penetration. This helps a lot on the tighter corners to keep it all tucked in and neat.



Finished product.



Installed:







Considering what I paid in materials, I think they came out pretty good. It's nice to have the foam padding especially on the left knee when having fun on curvy roads (It's right where my kneecap contacts the pad, which was uncomfortable with the stock hard plastic). There's also a certain feeling of satisfaction in knowing you did it yourself.

[Kairles]

I've plan on doing the same thing. Already have a roll of "alcantara". Just need to pick up some foam padding.

[ToeKnee Sea]

I did a set a few months back and posted them on one of the FB pages. I found there's a point of diminishing returns on the thickness of what you fold over to the inside lip. The pads attach to the tranny tunnel by pushing in towards the tunnel and downwards. The thickness of what you fold over limits how close you can push it inwards and effects the tightness of the final install. Nice job BTW, looks good.

[ScaryFatKidGT]

That actually pretty sweet, these really should be standard on the 1LE...

[BuckeyeGuy]

This is brilliant and, nice thing, if someone wants a different color, they can do that, too. Saving this for reference. Cheers.

[PostalLDMC]

A couple questions? How dense was your foam? I would like to do the Adrenaline red pads on the driver side center console. I was going to use 3/4"

[joekd]

I have added the OEM suede knee pads, dash pad and alcantara steering wheel plus I also wrapped the a pillars myself using black micro suede, easy to do just like you outlined and came out great