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How To: Recover Door Panel Inserts

34K views 46 replies 29 participants last post by  SpeedyCobalt 
#1 · (Edited)
Ok, this how to is going to show you how to recover your door panel inserts. please pay attention to the details and try to have some patience when doing this as this is a time consuming mod. Now I painted my door panels also, but im not going to go into detail about that. Just strictly recovering the insert.

Materials:
Fabric or vinyl of your choice (At least 1yd of material)
Spray adhesive (I used 3M General spray adhesive)
Hot glue gun ( and lots of glue sticks)
Soldering iron
Scissors
Sharp blade/Knife



Refer to this thread if you wish to get some tips on Painting your door panel >>http://www.yourcobalt.com/forums/install-guides-diy/11419-how-paint-trim-interior-panels.html

Step 1]

Remove your Door Panel

Step 2]

Once you have your door panel removed from the car, it is time to get it prepped. Start by flipping it over so you can see the backside of the panel. Remove the white insulation, and the plastic thing over top of the insert (Refer to 3rd pic). Just pull on it, it will come right off. Next remove the door handle cup (If you have power windows/doors it's the same way to remove it) Just push it upwards and it will pop right out.









Step 3]

Now it is time to begin to remove the insert itself. Now there are a few ways this can be done. The way I did it seems to be the easiest way to remove (and reattach) the insert.

Start by heating up your soldering iron. Make sure you are in a well ventilated area (such as opening a window) because you will be melting plastic and there will be a little bit of smoke and fumes.

Once the soldering iron is well heated, safely start to melt/pry the plastic weld tabs that are holding the insert in place (Refer to pic) Now just continue the entire way around the insert until you can simply pry the insert away from the door panel.




This is what a removed tab looks like \/




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Once you have the insert removed from the panel you are left with this





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Step 4]

Now that you have the insert removed from the panel, it is time to remove the old fabric. To do this just start at one corner/edge of the insert and simply pull it apart from the hard piece (the insert itself)



This pic shows the old fabric completely removed \/



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Step 5]

Now that the old fabric is removed it is time to get the new fabric/vinyl ready. I found it easiest to lay the old fabric over top of the new material and cut out an approximate sized area of material (I left a gap of about 2"-6" all the way around the edge of the old material) That way you had enough material.



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Step 6]


Now that you have your new material cut to an approximate size it is time to prep it. Start by flipping over the new material so that you are looking at the backside. (Refer to pic)



Now take your spray adhesive and saturate both the insert and backside of the new material. When spraying the insert be sure to spray the entire area including all the edges really good. Again, make sure the ENTIRE area of both the new material and the insert are covered with adhesive. Once you have both completely covered let them sit for about 2-5 mins to let the glue get tacky, that way once you are ready to put them together it sticks a little better.







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Step 7]

Now that you have both pieces covered in adhesive you are ready to attach them. This part gets tricky because you have to "work" the fabric/vinyl around and over the edges/curves that way it lays flat. Carefully pick up the new material and lay it on top of the insert.


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First thing you want to do is push it down in the center/valley of the armrest. Then you will want to just continue to "work" the material onto the insert. Just use your fingers/hands and continue to press the 2 pieces together.

Once you have the majority of the new material "worked" onto the material and pressed onto the edges, you can start to cut away the excess.



Rough pic of the excess material removed \/



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Ok, now I cannot stress enough, this is where your patience is going to come into play. Once you have the excess material removed it is time to get detailed. You are going to want to continue to press the new material onto the insert. Continue to work it around the edges/curves that way it looks smooth. I found it help to use something with a sharp/smooth edge to press the material around the edges. I used a sanding block.



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Step 8]

Cut out the whole for your door handle cup/switches. Use a sharp bladed razor and just cut open the whole.
Now let the insert sit for a few hours so the glue has a chance to dry. After it has dried you can continue to work the material a little bit more if need. It will stick a little better after a few hours (It did for me)





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Step 9]


Now it is time to reattach the insert to your door panel. This part is time consuming, because you are going to be using your hot glue gun and with some glue guns it takes time for the glue to melt after you have expelled the already melted glue. Just be patient and take your time ( there is no reason to rush)

First things first. Take a small screwdriver and press it through the wholes to open them up.



Now lay your insert onto the door panel and try to press it onto the old glue tabs you melted earlier (depending on the material you used it probably wont sit flush like it did before, there will be a gap because of the thicker material, this is fine)



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Step 10]


Time to glue. Start by heating up your glue gun, and make sure you have plenty of glue sticks ready to be used. I used about 40-60 for both doors.

Now when I was doing my panel i layed it down on my bed that way I didn't scratch it because i painted it. You do what you feel is good for you.

Now that your ready to glue, start at one spot and start glueing. You are going to want to make sure you are pressing the insert onto the panel once you have glued a small area. When putting glue on only do about a 4" area at a time (like i said glue guns can only heat up a small amount of glue depending on your glue gun)

It's going to look sloppy, but this is what it will look like.



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Now just continue to fill the entire gap between the insert and panel with hot glue and be sure you are applying pressure at the same time to ensure good contact. If you think you have glued enough...GLUE again. Just fill up all holes and gaps with glue. It doesn't have to be pretty, it will never be seen.

Step 11]


Wrap up. Reattach the plastic thing that goes on top of the insert (use hot glue) and place that white insulation back on (use hot glue in a few spots) Also, replace the door cup handle. It just pops back in.





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And this is what the finished product looks like all installed.





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Disclaimer: This is how I did my door panel. I/YC.com are not responsible if you break anything, burn yourself, or anything else like that. I think I covered everything in this write up. If I missed anything or if you have questions/comments please feel free to post up!


-Mike

 
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#4 ·
Awesome right up, looks nice. I am not to sure about the hot glue though, and I am interested to see how that holds up. Plastic rivets suck, sometimes you can drill them out but getting the back on is the tricky part. I would suggest putting a one way washer on the end of the plastic rivets you soldered off, if you can. They should hold well enough and are relatively easy to remove if needed in the future.

That looks like fun and something I am def gonna have to do, good news I should get my car back nice and fixed in a few days!!!
 
#11 ·
nice write up!

when i did the door inserts in my sedan and my buddy's coupe, i put the armrests back in place with tiny screws and washers and then put hot glue over them so they wouldn't fall out, just an extra peace of mind really. everything held together great. here's a pic of what i did before i added the hot glue...click

either way you do it, this mod is definately worth it :bigsmile:
 
#12 ·
wont the screws you guys are suggesting be seen when sitting in the car?
 
#14 ·
^that

plus if you go that route with screws, make sure you don't screw them so far in that they go through the other side. i forget what size i used but they were sheet metal screws that i picked up at walmart, the smallest ones they had, which are a perfect size for the little holes in the tabs on the back of the insert. i let a couple go through the other side by accident on my sedan, i caught em before they went totally through but luckily i had painted my door panels anyway so i just threw on a touch up spray and no one ever knew the difference :amuse:
 
#20 ·
for sure, i'm definitely doing this on my ls sometime. i cant stand how light the interior is on my car. but i had to have a white one :p... anyway i heard that the black/darker ION seats bolt right in so after i do that i'll do the doors and dash too. but awesome thread!
 
#21 ·
Woah - looks real good, Mike! Nice write-up.
 
#27 ·
what about glue squeezing out through to the front (visible) side?
Only did it on one tiny spot, but i removed it. (I Used a lot of glue)

very nice
good write up man. i have gotta try this.
Awsome write up Mike. Will be doing this after I get the balt repaired
Thanks guys!

I would again suggest the use of a retaining washer like this,
Washer
Over a screw, and with or without glue.

This is the part of the panel you pull on every time you get in or out, so overtime it takes allot of abuse. These washer emulate the original plastic welded rivets and tightens up the harder you pull/push it.

Or you could drop $200 and get something like this plastic welder and perfectly attach the panels.

Being that that kit costs more then everything else, not likely for one time thing. Those washers are dirt cheap, you can add glue to them, and you will never mess up the appearance. Just measure the diameter of the peg, and get the size you need. Any Napa auto parts should carry them by the millions.

I think i am gonna try the screw/washer thing on my drivers door panel, just to see how that works out. I'll post here as an alternative to glueing.
 
#22 ·
what about glue squeezing out through to the front (visible) side?
 
#26 ·
I would again suggest the use of a retaining washer like this,
Washer
Over a screw, and with or without glue.

This is the part of the panel you pull on every time you get in or out, so overtime it takes allot of abuse. These washer emulate the original plastic welded rivets and tightens up the harder you pull/push it.

Or you could drop $200 and get something like this plastic welder and perfectly attach the panels.

Being that that kit costs more then everything else, not likely for one time thing. Those washers are dirt cheap, you can add glue to them, and you will never mess up the appearance. Just measure the diameter of the peg, and get the size you need. Any Napa auto parts should carry them by the millions.
 
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