door panel construction, for newbs Options

[r3dplanet]

Peeps,

Allow me to begin by stating that I've never done this before. Well, not for twenty years anyway when I was an undergrad working in a furniture restoration shop as a college job.

I bought one of Mikey914's cool new fiberglass door panel and vinyl kits as seen here:
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...10198&st=20

For additional reference: http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...=54608&st=0

Armed with this how-to, I'm off to work in an empty bedroom because it's Portland, WCR is three weeks away, and it's pouring rain outside.

I admit I'm lost without a stapler. There are two things I don't know how to do. I have the aluminum strip riveted in and the bolster is nicely aligned with positive lock. But I don't know exactly how to attach the vinyl on the backside without a stapler. Sure there's contact cement, but it doesn't seem like that would work conveniently because you can't just inch your way along and keep the vinyl nice and and tight around the corners.

Any ideas from those smarter than I?

-marcus

[r3dplanet]

Well, I *think* the answer is contact cement. Yes, it's just glue. Yes, I wonder about how long it will last. Yes, the manufacturer website says that it won't actually hold forever. Yes, I would feel better with some sort of metal fastener.

But here it is. The contact cement had a different behavior than I was expecting. I glued up both the fiberglass and the vinyl back and let them sit for 15 minutes, just as the can says to do. It felt weird because after this period the glue was not tacky at all. But after squishing the parts together they held quite well, and allowed me to inch along as I had hoped. I actually split this job into three sections just to keep from being stupid.

Problem-o solved-o.

At least for now.

[GeorgeRud]

When the panel is installed, the pressure from the mounting clips will also help keep the edges in place. If desired, you could also run a length of duct tape along the edge to further help keep it in place.

Don't forget to put on the plastic vapor barrier on the door frame before installing the new inner door panel!

[nathansnathan]

I found that the stock staples are 4mm iirc. The only way to get that is to use a pnuematic stapler. Electric staplers or spring-powered don't seem to have this short of a staple available.

It seems to me a combination of contact cement and staples would be ideal. With heat and conditions in a car being what they are, I picture the cement alone getting soft and the vinly coming loose.

[Harpo]

Mikey914 had posted that he only used glue. I used a 3M spray adhesive and I used small binder clips around the perimeter to hold the vinyl to the fiberglass. The fiberglass is much harder and thinner than the Origional fiber board. This may be why he recommends glue only. I will post some photos of mine once I get home

David

[nathansnathan]

I have been wondering about this for awhile, as I have a fiberglass back pad core that I want to transplant the original vinyl and padding to.

[worn]

I have been wondering about this for awhile, as I have a fiberglass back pad core that I want to transplant the original vinyl and padding to.

The trick with contact cement is to let it dry long enough. It doesn't work like glue in that the solvent has to flash off or it will never hold anything. With normal glues that happens after the parts are together. Another thing with contact cement is that once touched together the parts have a way of becoming pretty married to each other. You can pull things apart and reposition, but it often leads to hard feelings. Have fun (IMG:style_emoticons/default/bye1.gif)

[wndsnd]

When the panel is installed, the pressure from the mounting clips will also help keep the edges in place. If desired, you could also run a length of duct tape along the edge to further help keep it in place.

Don't forget to put on the plastic vapor barrier on the door frame before installing the new inner door panel!

Is the vapor barrier necessary when using the fiberglass backings?

[GeorgeRud]

Not as much as with the original backing, but should help prevent the glue from coming loose on the bottom side of the panel.

Keeping things as dry as possible is never a bad thing.

[Harpo]

Here are the binder clips that I used to hold the vinyl while the glue was drying

[rjames]

$25 for all materials per panel including a new panel cut from fiberboard I picked up at home depot. (just a hair thicker than the stock fiberboard) No glueing required. Not as durable as fiberglass but for a car that doesn't often see rain I wasn't concerned.

[Mikey914]

The problem with just using a flat piece of fiberboard is the top bolster. Just curious how you address that as there is a curve in it. Looks like you may have taken the top off the old panel and attached it somehow?


Thanks for putting this out there I've been too busy to even get mine done, but I'm going to have to as WCR isn't that far away.

-Mark

[nathansnathan]

The problem with just using a flat piece of fiberboard is the top bolster. Just curious how you address that as there is a curve in it. Looks like you may have taken the top off the old panel and attached it somehow?


Thanks for putting this out there I've been too busy to even get mine done, but I'm going to have to as WCR isn't that far away.

-Mark

The early door panels, the top is actually metal, so the whole board part is flat.

[rjames]

The problem with just using a flat piece of fiberboard is the top bolster. Just curious how you address that as there is a curve in it. Looks like you may have taken the top off the old panel and attached it somehow?


Thanks for putting this out there I've been too busy to even get mine done, but I'm going to have to as WCR isn't that far away.

-Mark

The early door panels, the top is actually metal, so the whole board part is flat.

Yup. I re-used the metal top part from an early model door panel and attached it in the same way to the new panel I made. On the later cars ('75-'76) the whole thing was fiberboard. So if you've got a later car and want new panels you either use the fiberglass version shown in this thread or find a set of cores from an early car.