Lifted this from the Polo forum so thanks to them . Making your own 'Stealth Shelf' made for under 20 You will need: 18mm mdf acoustic cloth spray adhesive tools etc Take out the old shelf and draw round it on the mdf. Cut it out. Try in the car, make adjustments to fit, sand edges. Use the mdf offcuts to cut batons to go all the way around the top, and another piece for the underside that needs to be at least 2" wide to allow space for the hinges. The width of the longer pieces I found to be dependent on the mdf left over. Chamfer the internal edges and fasten to the top using glue and screws. Measure the distance between the side supports and cut the remaining piece to length. Turn the main piece over and screw and glue it in the centre. Cut 2 smaller pieces and stick them to it (this will create the right depth for the hinges) Return to car and place it where it will sit. Measure and mark where the hinges will need to be relation to the shelf At this point I wasn't happy. It sat too high above the back of the rear bench and I wanted it lower. Not too hard a job - set the circular saw to 18mm and cut the recess. Take a shoulder plane and chisel and tidy up. This was definitely worth the 2 hours it took, sits nicely and looks better: The hinges need 10mm dowel to fit the holes in the side supports. Start off with a pilot hole, then go to a mid size and finally a 10mm bit to take the dowel later on. Stick 2 pieces of wood about 3rd of the way in from each side, to create the ridges like on the original. Find the centres of the outer 'panels' and mark where the speakers will go. If you have the template draw round that, remembering that the speakers will be screwed in from the underside. Jiggy out the holes. Turn over and try the speakers in the hole. Mark where the screws will go and using an appropriate sized drill bit for the thread, drill the holes. Now its almost finished, its worth taking a bit of time to shape it to follow the curves and angles surrounding it, eg a chamfered edge to the back seat, round off the front edge to follow the shape of the side supports you get the general idea and gives it a smarter and more professional finish. Now for the fun part - covering it! This takes bloody ages and is not in any way easy! I used some acoustic cloth from maplins - 2.49 per half metre in 1.5m width (I think the code is MS50E and got 1.5m, 7.47) and the spray adhesive from there too (Adhesive 120, 3.99). I found the best way to be a bit at a time - spray the mdf, spray the cloth and leave them for a while to go tacky. Avoid bridging by using anything with a nice square edge to hold it in place - a combination of videos, offcuts of mdf and scissors helped. I found that a nail gun and upholstery tacks helped too. Feel for the holes u drilled for the hinges in the sides and make snips in the cloth. Knock the dowel in with a hammer and leave 18mm sticking out before cutting off the extra. On the underside cut out holes in the material where the speakers will go, and screw the speakers in place where u made holes earlier. Job's a good'un
