Difficulty with Vinyl

Hey everybody, i have been redoing the interior pieces of my car in my spare time the past few weeks and i have been having trouble with vinyl. I have no idea how people use this stuff, no matter what i use it seems like it wont stick to anything. I have been redoing my armrests and will soon be covering hardboard for my door panels with the stuff, but it just doesnt seem to want to cooperate with me at all.
Does anybody have any tricks or experience with the stuff?

All help is appreciated, Thanks!