I just did one of these last weekend and still in the process of going through the rest of them. I, like you, was afraid of gluing them to the metal but its the only way to do it. My first one was not perfect but no one will know what the back looks like. The one pictured below, I did not fold in the metal tabs in the holes and I think it spread apart slightly and if you press against the bottom of it, you can see the bulge between the connections. For the card board itself, I used white gorilla glue (will use regular on the rest) and for the fabric its self, I used a compound called E6000 ($7.00 at walmart). I read a lot of reviews online and from what I read, it should hold up well over time. The same goes for the gorilla glue. Just note to not use too much of the gorilla glue because it expands quite a bit (okay A LOT) and you will want to put a lot of weight on it to keep it flush. I over killed or so I thought it and put close to 50 lbs on it to make sure there were no bulges and still had small ones. I attribute that to not folding the tabs in and will just grind the rest off going forward. Someone else may chime in but I think that is so they have a better bite when they originally glue them and press them together extremely hard. you can see in the picture when I have it in the car, you can see the line but that is because I am pushing it hard to hold it in place. When resting naturally you can not see it.
Some other tips that I can give from experience:
- Have a lot of clamps. They are $8 at walmart in the auto section and will save your life. I used plastic between them and the fabric to keep it from indenting it. They still did slightly but came out after an hour or so. Also have tooth picks for the glue
- On the front side of the back uppers, do not cut the fabric horizontally but fold it over and get it super tight between metal brace with the fuzzies on them. They will help hold it in place. If that is confusing let me know and I will take pictures this evening. I would recommend it for the front too but I haven't done one yet and still flying blind there.
- I strongly recommend that you use a rivet gun to attach the metal bracket to the metal frame. It came with staples from the factory and will be a PITA to try and get that tight. I used four 1/8'' pop rivets and it works amazing in my opinion. All i did was use an exacto-knife and silt the bottom of the fuzzy and drilled the hole. Quick, easy, and stronger than staples. I put a picture of what it looks like below.
- Take your time with the E6000 should you get it. It takes a while to dry but holds super tight if you give it time to cure. I really liked the E6000 because its self leveling and flexible enough for fabric. Do one section at a time and it will be great. I usually waited 2 to 3 hours before unclamping and going on. I saw posts where people used gorilla glue but I do not like the way it expands so much (as you can see in the pictures where the card board meets the metal).
Overall, I am extremely happy with the finished product and I think it looks really really good. I am an amateur at best but hopefully this helps you through the process.
