Has anyone ever replaced the vinyl on the sail panels?, How easy is it? Options

[dbgriffith75]

Basically what the topic says- the vinyl on one side is shrinking to the point that it's pulling free of the chrome trim, and I figure that since I've gotta redo one side, just as well redo them both. I see Pelican offers reproduction vinyl which is where I'll probably get the material; I've just never done this type of work before.

My first inclination is to just get the material and find a professional that can do it for me, but if it's not that difficult to do, I'll give it a try.

Any suggestions?

[dbgriffith75]

Look, 3M 77 works fine. Where you get the vinyl from is more impotant - make certain it matches original.

The key here is to remove the VERY soft aluminum trim without screwing it up. Never use a screwdriver to pry it - use plastic picnic knives. Squeeze those clips on the backside tightly & you shouldn't need to pry anything. Once the anodizing on that stuff has crazed, you may as well throw it away - it IS fragile.

So, what are you going to find under the vinyl? A little bubble, or indent? That's rust. You can't grind it off, patch it up & expect it to not come back. Lurking behind that sail panel (if it's original) is a very dense piece of foam - you know, like a sponge. And, act like a sponge it does. The seams let in just enough moisture to fill the sponge. The weep holes (if they aren't plugged) in the quarters do little to help. Until that sail panel is cut away, the sponge removed, and the interior area rustproofed - you're spinning your wheels!

Yep, you can make a quick fix, sell the bugger, and let the next owner go through the same episode.

The vinyl isn't the issue - it's what's underneath & how gentle you can be to remove that very soft trim.

Fix it properly & keep records.

Yes I'm now well aware of how fragile the chrome trim is- I should've thought to ask the best dang way to remove it! Because you know, God forbid a Haynes manual would actually provide a guy with some insight on the proper way to do something like this. I couldn't even find anything about removing the trim in it. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

I actually did okay getting most of it off- the one piece I had trouble with, which is kinda typical, is the first piece I removed- the left rear strip that runs the edge of the sail panel top to bottom. I may've put a lil' bend in that one- but I think it's salvagable as long as I'm careful reforming it. But once I had that off, the rest came pretty easy. I didn't use a screwdriver for the bottom trim strips, opting instead for my... uhm... what's it called... panel rivet remover tool... I think? It's what you use for popping loose the plastic rivets on interior door panels and the like. I gently worked it behind the strip, just enough to locate the first clip, then carefully and patiently worked back and forth, barely pulling it loose 1/8" at a time at the clips only. It literally took me 45 minutes to remove them, but I got them off w/out damage. I suppose I was just a lucky one... for once.

As for what's underneath the vinyl, I don't yet know. I'm not going to remove it just yet as I still need to do some painting on the firewall and I figure what the hell- it's coming off anyway, it'll make good cover for the sails while I'm doing that.

As for replacement vinyl, I just ordered the kit from Pelican. No it's not an exact match but it'll suffice. I'll probably keep one of the old pieces to give to the new owner as a reference if they decide they want to replace it with original looking vinyl.

*the realization to just go check the damn thing hits me now, so I do*

Well I guess it won't be necessary to keep an old piece, because it looks like the vinyl's been replaced once. I'll check w/ the PO to be sure, but I just went and peeled back about 6 inches of the top vinyl and there's no "sponge" under there. And then I compared the new vinyl to the old, and it looks like an exact match. So I guess I'll be checking to see if it's already been done once.

Anyway, thanks again for the tips. I'm still unsure whether or not I want to attempt putting on the new myself. I'm not doubting I can do it, it's just there's certain things I'm probably better off not screwing with. I guess I'll just wait until I get to that point and see how I feel about it then.

[gopack]

Well I guess it won't be necessary to keep an old piece, because it looks like the vinyl's been replaced once. I'll check w/ the PO to be sure, but I just went and peeled back about 6 inches of the top vinyl and there's no "sponge" under there.

The "sponge" that was refered to earlier is actually a piece of foam that fills the interior of sail panel, not a foam pad under the vinyl! no one knows for sure what the hell they wer thinking at Karmen on these!