DIY NSX Service Mat

[Wild Turkey]

I'd really like a service mat to work on my car, but they've been out of production for a while and are going for crazy $ even used.

I know someone seemed to make an aftermarket version (Top Speed) but that doesn't seem to be available anymore either.

Could I make my own? I don't have the sewing skills of http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php/181898-Faux-E-M-Service-Mat?highlight=service+mat or access to huge pieces of vinyl.

My new hot tub cover had the wrong colour skin. When they shipped me the correct skin, I cut the old one to use as a pattern:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/ptnpDcqbGhq5GXzYA
But what material to use? A foam soft enough to not damage paint, water and oil resistant since you'll put parts on in while working? Needs to be about 9-10' x 4.5' ideally. Needs to not be too stiff to fold over the corners by the door handle.

I may just just this left-over vinyl pattern as a mat, it's fairly soft now that I turned the "good" side down. Coincidentally, I have the second half of the skin if someone else wants to try something with it. Hopefully I get the ability to PM soon.

Suggestions for material? I thought of a large yoga mat, but they run $3-400 for that size? I was thinking of some fairly robust packing foam I received some parts in, but I have no idea where I'd get a part 4.5' x 9'.

 

[NSX_n00b]

I'd really like a service mat to work on my car, but they've been out of production for a while and are going for crazy $ even used.

I know someone seemed to make an aftermarket version (Top Speed) but that doesn't seem to be available anymore either.

Could I make my own? I don't have the sewing skills of http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php/181898-Faux-E-M-Service-Mat?highlight=service+mat or access to huge pieces of vinyl.

My new hot tub cover had the wrong colour skin. When they shipped me the correct skin, I cut the old one to use as a pattern:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/ptnpDcqbGhq5GXzYA
But what material to use? A foam soft enough to not damage paint, water and oil resistant since you'll put parts on in while working? Needs to be about 9-10' x 4.5' ideally. Needs to not be too stiff to fold over the corners by the door handle.

I may just just this left-over vinyl pattern as a mat, it's fairly soft now that I turned the "good" side down. Coincidentally, I have the second half of the skin if someone else wants to try something with it. Hopefully I get the ability to PM soon.

Suggestions for material? I thought of a large yoga mat, but they run $3-400 for that size? I was thinking of some fairly robust packing foam I received some parts in, but I have no idea where I'd get a part 4.5' x 9'.

I know a lot of guys put down a few layers of plastic cling wrap on the body panels and then just lay moving blankets over that. The other thing you can do is call local Honda/Acura dealerships and see if they have any extras they aren't using any more (the Honda S2000 one is almost identical to the NSX one). Keep an eye on FB marketplace, craigslist, or ebay for the S200 version (will always be significantly cheaper than the NSX one, I got mine for $50 last year on FB Marketplace).

 

[drew]

Neoprene, like a wetsuit should work.

 

[Old Guy]

As to Drew's comment about wet suit material, I had a service mat 'fender cover' like that. It was supposed to be self adhering; but, once the contact surface had acquired some dust it stopped self adhering and I ended up taping it in place with some outdoor 2" wide masking tape which sort of worked. The wet suit like material had one nice feature in that it has some cushioning so that if you do drop something it will provide paint protection. Rubber-Cal offers a huge array of sheet rubber products in sizes that you can cut to fit. You can get neoprene sheet in various thicknesses with widths up to 6' which should suffice for an NSX service apron. The down side to the rubber stuff is that it eventually loses its self stick feature; however, the way you have cut the service apron should eliminate the need for the self stick feature. The other down side is that particles trapped between the rubber and the paint can abrade the paint. Trying to get the rubber clean takes a bit of effort.

I eventually ditched the fender cover and I now use the heaviest large bath towels that I can find. I need to tape them down to keep them in place and it looks Mickey Mouse; but, that has worked so far. They have the advantage that they roll up easily and I can stuff them into a Rubbermaid container for storage - not so easy with the large sheets of rubber.

 

[Big McLargeHuge]

The key no matter what mat you end up using is putting down plastic cling wrap or similar material first like was mentioned above. Any material rubbing on the paint will cause marring and swirling no matter what you do even if it's cleaned first, especially if you're leaning your body against it working in the engine bay. The cling wrap will provide a surface for the thicker mat to slide on without rubbing against the paint.

I bought a cheap fender cover set off Amazon and use cling wrap underneath and it works perfectly fine, not really any need for the nicer materials unless you want them.

 

[nsxto]

I thought about doing this several times myself, but I do not have access to a fancy sewing machine. As for material, the moving/utility blankets that costco sells may be ok I think? They are soft and have a bit of cushioning to them. I bought a pair couple of years ago but then ended up using them to wrap some stuff I bought from Home Depot. So will need to pick up another pair of them blankets for this project

 

[MotorMouth93]

I like the stick on blue film personally since its really wide and thicker but saran wrap works just as well. I'd never put a service mat on bare paint, it will 100% mar the paint.

 

[furinax]

I had the top speed one for a while. It will mar your paint. Just use cling wrap like a pro.