TECH new boards for old door panels

Thanks, Squablow for the tech. I had the same thought about the plastic. It may hold up better, but how the hell can you staple it. if your making panels from scratch, you can leave enough material to glue, old panels, barely enough room to restaple.

 

You can staple and even sew through ABS. Only plastic that you can do this with.

Kevin

 

great tech post thanks!

 

Brilliant tech! Way to go Squablow! I want to try this soon, I have some Merc door panels where some is salvagable, was going to toss em but thinking twice now, thanx!

 

my reasoning on the shower stall panels is that most likely they will NOT be upholstered! I'm planning on making the top rigid and removable much like a carson top, but without the internal padding. Ever see a Model A Ford roadster with the top folded down? IMHO, looks like Fido's ass! So it's quite likely that I'll get caught out in the rain somewhere, sometime here in GA. My interior is going to have a finished look, but I'm going to try to do it all without using much material that a little rain can damage. Will have vinyl upholstery on only the seat with all else in shower stall vinyl or similar, will look into ABS, was unaware of the ability to staple, etc. Only problem for my intended use is that IIRC ABS is sensitive to Ultra-Violet Light, which deterioates ABS over time.
Dave

 

The marine upholstery world has everything you need without reinventing the wheel. It can be decent looking and highly water resistant

 

Good point Shifterton! Hadn't thought of that idea! Still running the whole interior thing thru my head and I'll look into marine upholsyery materials and a supply source here in ATL area.
Dave
Dave

 

I used to work in an upholstery shop back when cheap vinyl was a typical interior covering, and we would stretch the covers on using a steamer to soften the vinyl. It keeps it from melting the grain. We also used lots of luan plywood as replacement panels, so it will hold up a long time. I recently discovered that the mister clean brand "magic eraser" you get in the grocery store works great for scrubbing the years of gunk off of old vinyl without using the chemicals. I also like Lexol Vinylex in the blue bottle to keep my white convertible top soft where it folds all the time (7 years old now).
I like that you appreciate the chinese slave children for their fine tools.

 

I've seen the steamer used too, I think it would be great, especially when dealing with old vinyl. I don't have one unfortunately, but it would be ideal. I've used those Magic Erasers on white vinyl before too and it really works wonders.

 

This is just me thinking to myself (which is my favorite way) and I can't speak from experience, but I wonder if a sheet of Coroplast could be used as a backing panel for door trim.

This is the corrugated plastic material commonly used for making realty and campaign signs. It's pretty rigid in one axis and slightly flexible in the other, like corrugated cardboard. This could be handy for panels that curve a bit at the top at the beltline. It cuts cleanly and I'd think it could be drilled with a little care. Not sure how it would take a staple though, but it should be bulletproof as far as moisture is concerned. It's usually about 3/16" thick which sounds about right for a door panel.

 

I think the regular Lauan will hold up fine, especially if it's sealed with something, but if someone's still worried, you can get marine-use Lauan, which uses better glues and is more durable yet....not super expensive, either. It usually has to be special ordered, or floor covering dealers will occasionally stock it.

 

You can also coat the back side of the panel with a thin coat of fiberglass resin to seal it before finishing,very waterproof.By the way nice save!

 

Great save......great info!.....The H.A.M.B.rules.