Door panels

[tonygray]

I made some new door panels for my wife's 48' P-15, and they turned out pretty well. If anyone is interested in how to do their own, I'd be happy to share what I did. Some pics can be seen at Flickr (photosharing web site) at this URL http://www.flickr.com/photos/20963609@N06/sets/72157606586050445/

A little payback for those who have helped me from this forum.

[Allan Faust]

Looks like you did a beautiful job... congrats... and thanx for the how to.....

Allan

[BobT-47P15]

So, Tony, what is the material you actually made the panels from?

Nice work. Thanks for the pics.

[Young Ed]

I'd be interested to see some more details on how you did it. I could use some more interior one of these days!

[GeorgeLeonard]

Hi, I really like the job you did. I assume that the ABS backing material and closed cell foam are available in a hardware store, right? What kind of glue did you use and where would one be able to find it? Thanks

[RobertKB]

Beautiful job. They look as nice as any professional job I have seen. Congrats!

[tonygray]

So, Tony, what is the material you actually made the panels from?

Nice work. Thanks for the pics.

The panel backers are .125" ABS plastic sheet. I bought it from Professional Plastics. They sell in in 4' x 8' sheets ... unless you want to pay freight, you'll have to ask them to cut it into pieces they can ship by UPS. When I bought it, a sheet was about $48. Now I see it's $60. Two sheets were enough for me to make the door panels, a trunk divider panel, kick panels, and kick panels for my 56 Ford pickup ... with a couple of fairly large pieces left over.

[tonygray]

Hi, I really like the job you did. I assume that the ABS backing material and closed cell foam are available in a hardware store, right? What kind of glue did you use and where would one be able to find it? Thanks

I bought the plastic online at Professional Plastics, and the 1/8" foam was bought on Ebay (DGECO FOAM AND FABRIC). Five yards was just enough with a little left over. I glued the foam to the backer with 3M Super 77 spray adhesive, then used Aleene's Original tacky Glue (bought at Hobby lobby) to glue the fabric to the foam ... it allowed me some latitude in positioning the material. To get a good bond with it you need to rough up the surface of the foam. I did it using light strokes from a brass wire brush. Finally, to glue the overlapping edges to the back, I used the Super 77 again.

[steveplym]

Very nice work Tony. Those are nicer than the ones I had professionally done.

[tonygray]

Very nice work Tony. Those are nicer than the ones I had professionally done.

Thanks. I'm not particularly talented, but I'm not afraid to try ... and try again when it doesn't work out well the first time.

[Frank Blackstone]

I watch professional custom upholsters work and asked them what they used. They said get some plastic or fiber board from Lowes which I did for 34.00 for 4X8. They also insulate with the foil home insulation which is cheaper than the automotive substitute. Keepin' within budget, Frank

[47heaven]

Those are nice, Tony. I did my panels, but used the same stainless on them. That bottom strip was a real booger because I had to open the pinched flaps with a screw driver, take out the old material and then mount it to the panel and stick the material back in and pinch the flaps shut. It took about 1-2 hours to do each one. From there I pulled the material and stretched it tight over the panel and glued the overlapping parts to the back. I never could figure out how to get the three creases on there, but after seeing what you did, it makes me want to do it all over again. I may drop a line and ask you some questions about it when I do.

Darin

[tonygray]

Those are nice, Tony. I did my panels, but used the same stainless on them. That bottom strip was a real booger because I had to open the pinched flaps with a screw driver, take out the old material and then mount it to the panel and stick the material back in and pinch the flaps shut. It took about 1-2 hours to do each one. From there I pulled the material and stretched it tight over the panel and glued the overlapping parts to the back. I never could figure out how to get the three creases on there, but after seeing what you did, it makes me want to do it all over again. I may drop a line and ask you some questions about it when I do.

Darin

The indentations were pure guesswork from looking at some pictures. I made them 1" seperated by 1/4" indentatations. It might not be right, but unless you're an expert with a micrometer calibrated eye, you probably can't tell the difference.

[mackster]

Those panels look great! good work you did and thanks for documenting everything and sharing.

[1948dodge]

Great work and ideas, thanks for the pictures.