Doing door panels on a very small budget. Alot of people already know all this info, but for the guys new to this hobby, this one is for you. This works on flat simple door panels. This is what my door panels looked like when I started. To make a new panel you can use 1/8th inch MDF. It's available at almost all hardware stores and costs something like $20 for a 6x8 sheet. I think it may even be less. Use what's left of your old panel or the door for a template and trace out the pattern. I use a jigsaw to cut the pattern. I've tried a rotozip and it is slow and burns the MDF alot. Also cut out door handle and window winder holes now. To cover the patten I used some vinyl that I bought at a local fabric store. It has a thin mesh backing. DO not get the stuff with a felt backing. It will look ugly at the corners and be hard to glue down. I used Permatex 27828 healiner and carpet spray glue. It worked great. I tried contact cement and had no luck. Permatex 27828 I layed the vinyl on a piece of carboard and sprayed it down with the glue. I covered the panel in glue too. Then you lay the panel down onto the vinyl. once the glue has taken hold, pick it up and make sure there are no bubbles. I let this dry for the rest of the evening and left the edges for later. To do the edges you pick a middle section to start and work your way around. spray glue on both the backside of the panel and the extra material hanging off the edge. Once the glue is ready is ready (according to can), fold the material over the edge of the panel. Don't pull hard or stretch it cause it'll pop back off later, but make sure it is smooth. On the corners you work in one direction. Once it is folded, pick up the next portion of vinyl and fold it towards the center of the panel, you might have to slit it for it to lay flat. It's hard to describe the process, so my advice is figure out the corner folds before glue is applied and you be fine. Once the panel is all glued down let it dry. Make sure you got plenty of glue around trim holes, window winder holes, etc. Once the panel is dry you can punchout the holes for the trim and window/door handles. Be careful with drills, they catch and pull the vinyl. Here's how mine came out. My original door panel was held on with flimsy clips that easily tore the carboard they were attached to. I decided to improvise. I haven't finished the project yet, but here's what I have so far. For the vertical edges I am using the trim screws with the trim-specific washers. for the lower edge that always seems to get messed up I came up with a solution. At the hardware store I found some threshold molding that was narrow and long. It came in 5" length for about $6. It is ribbed and has a slight fold in it. Here's what it looks like I cut it to length, polished it, and painted between the ribs with black spray paint. It really transformed the look from a household item to almost a factory looking automotive trim. The ends still need to be rounded off. Here's it stuck to the door with tape, but you get the idea. and that's about it. I think I have less than $25 in the 2 front door panels. If I left something out or ya got questions, let me know.
Could you use thumbtacks or staples to hold the material when you wrap it around the back to help hold it? later plmczy
hmm..think that molding you got could work as a cheap alternative to buying a repo sill plates?i've got carpet in my car but never got the sill plates,so i'd like to know.i'm redoing my interior as well..since my original interior was in ok shape(save for one door panel) i just painted over mine and got some leopard fabric for the inserts.i've also got the original arm rests,so i painted the bases and re-covered them with leopard,too.i've got pictures of it (before i put the arm rests on) Creepy
i did something along those lines for my old 61 coupe deville. did all leapord fur. even the cracked dash pad. but what i used for holding the fabric down was some super weather strip/gasket glue. the yellow snot ****. its a thick so u have to be carefull to onley use a thin bead and spread it around with some thing like a puddy knife. i used that on my dashbad with great results. people would tug on it to see how it was attached (got to love stupid chicks) and i never had a problem with it comming loose. ggreat tech post though. the panel's look great.
I know this is an old post, but I wanted to say thanks for the tech. I'm making the same thing this weekend, and used your advise. Though I'll need some more improvision, as I'm using a cloth fabric instead of vinyl. harder to keep the design straight when you lay it down, and it needs padding.
[ QUOTE ] hmm..think that molding you got could work as a cheap alternative to buying a repo sill plates?i've got carpet in my car but never got the sill plates,so i'd like to know. [/ QUOTE ] I used the same stuff for the sill plates on my 52. I just opened the holes a little and countersunk them so I could attach them with flat head screws. My rockers are modified, but I think this concept would still work on stock sill areas. That's a great idea on the bottom edge of the door panels, tho. I might hafta steal that one!
Great Post REVHEAD !...and it turned out really nice from the pictures. I've done my own "Econo-Interiors" for years, and I've always been happy with the results.
Thanks for the awesome tech! I feel confident now, going into the project, and I've got some great ideas now!
I like this post too. I've built door panels similar to these. Instead of wood for the door panel backing I use the fibergl*** paneling sold in building supply stores for covering commercial bathroom walls. It's waterproof,flexible,and works well with the xmas tree type panel clips or the wire ones. It also holds a staple well. I usually glue some thin foam to the panel before covering it. Just another variation that I hope is useful.
Yes, Armstrong reply was excellent...off today to see this material. My experience with Masonite was that it was too thick...the OEM handle sockets were not deep (long) enough to accept the thickness of the Masonite. So, the fibergl*** panel sounds great. Stay tuned!
Bringing this up from the dead as door panels and package tray are on the to do list. The local fabric store has 4x8 pvc sheets for $150 each and I’d need 2 sheets, so I started looking around. Would something like this work for the base/structure material? It’s $20 a sheet, smooth white and will be covered. https://www.lowes.com/pd/47-75-in-x...LtmzG_bJg4I7eR1yOJBoC2NcQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
Is that the 1/8" thick Masonite with white paint finish on it? The photos on the web page are kind of useless for us to see what it is.
I can’t tell, but I also found this https://www.homedepot.com/p/1-16-in-x-4-ft-x-8-ft-Plastic-Panel-63003/202090190
Well the way I see it, most were pressed paper over the years, so yeah just about anything will work. I've used Masonite also. Just need something to glue the cover to!
The fiber based panels don't tolerate water well. ABS has an advantage there. But it's also plastic, and it just feels wrong to me to put plastic panels in an old car. The white fibergl*** bathroom wall panel might work, but it's fibergl***, isn't it? that has it's own issues. I don't have a good answer, and I would like one.
I did all the door panels in my 39 with Eucaboard, AKA Hardboard. One side has a water resistant coating and the other has open grain to accept adhesive really well. at 14 bucks for a 4x8 sheet, its dirt cheap, and dam if it doest look and feel like the backing to 50's and 60's door card panels. A gallon of DAP Landau Top adhesive and a cheap purple spray gun to spray it with made short work of gluing foam and upholstery to the panel board. wish i had pictures of the door cards before they got covered but here they are finished. also here is a link to the board that i used at home depot. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Hardboa...0-115-in-x-47-7-in-x-95-7-in-832777/202189720
My local upholstery guy swears by wood door skins. Most home improvement stores should carry them, not too expensive (roughly $20 for a 4x8 sheet), says to seal them on both sides after t******* to size with shellac to prevent warping. These are not particle board-based hardboard sheets, they are actual plywood. He says it's much easier to work with... Utility Panel (Common: 1/8 in. x 4 ft. x 8 ft.; Actual: 0.106 in. x 48 in. x 96 in.) 833096 - The Home Depot
I use the fiber board stuff here. With a piece of plastic drop cloth between the door and the fiberboard (glued or taped to the door), they hold up well for years. The 3M 77 spray glue ($15 a can, just bough a can) works well to hold the material onto the fiberboard smooth side, over lap to the back side about an inch. Spray both surfaces that will contact each other, let set up tacky (about 2 minutes), and put the material in place and press it smooth. This has been on the doors of my coupe since 2018. Before I redid the doors in 2018, I had used the PVC plastic from a shower surround in place of the fiberboard. The 3m glue held the material on it well, but the 1/8" PVC cracked around the screw holes after about 8 years, but the material wasn't looking so good by then either.
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