scott_442

Because everything in my interior is original including the carpet, I'm wanting to keep the door panels rather than buy new and have panels that don't match the rest of the interior in color or patina. When PO removed them to install speakers (or maybe just covers because I don't see any screw holes in the metal), he removed the moisture barrier and so the cardboard is pretty rough but thought It would be a good idea to replace the barrier. I have some 10 ml plastic that I put down in my crawlspace that I'm planning to use. What is the non-hardening adhesive that was used to attach the plastic to the door frame? Or what is an alternative that I can use?


Also, since I have a 4 inch hole in each panel, I'm planning to put some covers back on but want them to be period correct ... so if anybody has any 4 - 4.5 inch vintage covers (Kraco, Audiovox, Sparkomatic, Jensen) laying around, I'll pay a fair price for them! Then I'll have to decide if I want to paint them to blend in with the door panel or leave them.


Also, have to graft a donor lower carpeted section on the drivers side panel since it was in bad shape.


Yes, probably easier to buy new but trying hard to keep all original parts on this car...even if the condition isn't the greatest.


Anybody aware of a door panel restoration thread?


Thanks!

RROLDSX

I too wanted to keep my original door cards so this is what I did.
- steamed and mist the hardboard to make sure they were very damp
- sealed it in a plastic garbage bag and placed between a flat surface and a sheet of 3/4" plywood with lots of weight distributed around (tool boxes,paint cans etc)
- let sit for a few days
- remove and air dry
- spray hardboard with a clear paint or sealer and let dry
- used wide aluminum tape to pull and secure the vinyl around the edges
- add another strip of aluminum tape 1/2 overlap
to ensure the holds on the dry fragile hardboard.
- feel through the tape for the clip slots and cut around the inside edge of the oval
- clean vinyl with a toothbrush, copious amounts of lemon pledge and a microfibre
- clean and spray areas of the panel with duplicolor interior paint (my panel bottoms did not have carpeting).

My door panels were trashed and they came out great.

GEARMAN69

Thanks for the info RROLDSX , I may try to do the same as Scott ^^

scott_442

Nice Work! Great information. Thanks for sharing. I have been using gorilla glue to re-glue the edges on the backside where they came loose. Seems to be working pretty good at this point. Have to apply a little moisture, clamp it down and let it sit. that stuff expands as it sets up so I went back and trimmed it down with a razor blade after it hardened to make it flat with the board again. Fortunately, mine didn't have a lot of warping that I had to straighten but it sounds like you found a solution for that.


Most of the mounting holes for the clips are torn and/or weakened also so I'm planning to glue a little metal patch from a 'for sale' sign over each of those to strengthen and keep them from tearing even more.


Keep the tips coming!