So due to my lack of interior in my 47 Ford coupe I thought it would be cool to make my own door panels. I was wondering if anyone had made these panels out of finished wood?
Yes you can buy 1/4" plywood with high end woods like philippine mahogany on one side for $75 or look for Luan plywood for $10 sheet. I have also seen people use thin bamboo mat for door panels and headliner. Hell even simple black upholstery board will look better than bare steel inner door panels.
If you do a good job fitting 1/8" luan plywood you can always have them upholstered later and they'll look good in the mean time.
I used a thin plywood that my buddy said was used to protect fancy veneer plywood during shipping. It was about 1/8" thick.I did this on the door, kick and quarter panels to make the car a look a little more finished while waiting for upholstery. They were good enough for the upholsterer to use for patterns. I used the modern plastic plugs to hold the panels in place. Since they were white they were not obvious This bulkhead and tray were made with 1/4" veneer plywood. The upholsterer left both panels in place . He made an upholstered insert for the the package tray and a one piece upholstered panel for the front of the bulkhead. Did it save me any money when I went to get it upholstered? I don't think so but it made the car much more comfortable to drive while I was waiting to go to the upholstery shop,and I could have driven it that way for years if needed.
that's what I kind of had in mind, but with all the interior window trim being chrome I thought about doing the plywood like that, but with a dark varnish.
Most veneered plywoods are interior grade, depending on how your car will be stored and used that might be fine. Marine ply, if you can find some, would hold up better though. It's available in a variety of veneers. Johnsons Lumber in Charlotte Michigan might be a good place for you to find some. Sealing the back is a good idea and any sealer will work. For the outside use something with good UV filtering, marine spar varnish, automotive clear, or your wood will bleach out quickly. BTW, Philippine Mahogany is Red Luan. The name Philippine Mahogany has to do with a couple old time boat racers named Gar Wood and Chris Smith (of Chris Craft fame) and a way around the rules for the Harmsworth Cup race.
On the cars I do the panels are screwed in place so rattling is not a problem. As far as road noise, Dynamat would help keep that down. Whether or where you could use it would depend on your doors.
Many times I have use a wood product called Tempered door skins. It's right at 1/16" thick, very bendable one way and is as easy to sew through as the cardboard upholstery board. What I found when using the 1/4" plywood was that you had to relieve it for your window trim. Not so for the door skins. Another thing I like about them is if I need a compound curve like for some door panels or the under side of a Trunk lid I can run it through my English Wheel and make a fish bowl out of it if I want and it stays. The Wizzard
The Jalopy Journal
