Door Panel Moisture Barrier

[OUTFXD]

I finally have door cards, kick panel cards, and... rear quarter cards? (what ever you call the cards that go under the rear side windows on a two door)

 

The monsoons have set in and I dont want to ruin my new interior cards... What should I use as a moisture barrier and what should I use to seal the barrier to the car body ? (Thinking about standard RTV myself)

[OUTFXD]

While we are on the topic, what do you use to reupholster the door handles? (Mine all look like the one pictured above in the door card picture)

[LazyK]

I would use a double sided tape and a heavy plastic. maybe a heavy duty trash bag like used for yard waste

[Sniper]

6 mil plastic sheeting and butyl sealant tape is how the factory did for many years.  Use your cards as a pattern to cut the sheeting, slightly smaller ouside dimensions, and the butyl tape to hold the sheeting to inner door.

 

 

[Dan Hiebert]

Ditto Sniper's recommendation.  That's how I did the door cards for my Beetle three years ago.  Plenty o' rain up here to put them to the test and they're holding up quite well.

[Dodgeb4ya]

3M strip caulk.....makes it easy to pull plastic barrier on and off later if necessary.

Clean looking,fast and easy to install.

[LeRoy]

21 hours ago, OUTFXD said:

While we are on the topic, what do you use to reupholster the door handles? (Mine all look like the one pictured above in the door card picture)

I just wrapped mine in duct tape a few days ago.

[OUTFXD]

3 hours ago, LeRoy said:

I just wrapped mine in duct tape a few days ago.

More proof that duct tape fixes everything!

[andyd]

AFAIK originally there would not have been anything between the door card and inner door panel...at least not until the 1950's........but as mentioned some sort of plastic film attached onto the door or the door card would work...........andyd 

[Bingster]

What is the best method to take off the rust inside the door on the outer steel?  Maybe a sander with a flex wire brush?  And paint?  A spray wand of some sort?

[OUTFXD]

37 minutes ago, Bingster said:

What is the best method to take off the rust inside the door on the outer steel?  Maybe a sander with a flex wire brush?  And paint?  A spray wand of some sort?

MY plan (Mega cheap)is to remove the door and completely strip it of components.  clean the inside real well with soap and water. Let it dry,  Get all the loose rust out I can with a wire brush/toothbrush wire brush (Best option would be to have the interior Sand blasted) Wash again with Degreaser (Dawn dish soap),  Wash with Amonia free window cleaner (Get a gallon for $8).  Coat with Rustoleum (Use a cats paw roller to paint the back side of the inner door panel) and spray with Industrial Enamel. For best results make sure your primer and Paint are from the same manufacturer/Paint system.

Edited November 5, 2022 by OUTFXD

[Los_Control]

I would do like @OUTFXD and get all the loose rust I can get to. Then I would go in with ospho using a brush is best in my opinion, for hard to get to areas can use a squirt bottle & spray .... messy & wasteful.

 

Once the ospho (rust converter) dries I would spray with a rustoleum rusty metal primer.

 

Simply what I would do. Maybe the rustoleum is not needed.  You can paint directly over the dried rust converter or use any primer you choose.

[Racer-X-]

On 11/2/2022 at 3:52 PM, OUTFXD said:

The monsoons have set in and I dont want to ruin my new interior cards... What should I use as a moisture barrier and what should I use to seal the barrier to the car body ? (Thinking about standard RTV myself)

 

When original moisture barrier is no longer available, or when the original car lacked that feature, I use "Contractor trash bags" that are 3 mil thickness.  I usually tape or RTV or caulk them in, with the bottom seam of the bag across the top of the door panel, so I'm using the double thickness.