Diy no sew upholstery thread

[slantback37]

I have a question.. I have to do the complete interior. I have most of the butyl rubber pad down, and up the firewall. I still have to do inside the doors. My question for now has to do with the backing boards used for door panels. I used 1/8" paneling. Ugly face, but it will be covered.. I made the panel smooth with the edges. Should I cut that back by 1/8"to make room for material going over the edges?? Also.. Should all of the rubber seals be in place before starting the door panels?? Thanks.. Al

[Retired]

I have a question.. I have to do the complete interior. I have most of the butyl rubber pad down, and up the firewall. I still have to do inside the doors. My question for now has to do with the backing boards used for door panels. I used 1/8" paneling. Ugly face, but it will be covered.. I made the panel smooth with the edges. Should I cut that back by 1/8"to make room for material going over the edges?? Also.. Should all of the rubber seals be in place before starting the door panels?? Thanks.. Al

Al, I'm no expert by any means. I cut my closed cell foam all the way to the edge of the panel board. My panel board was from 1/8" non-wood panels bought as 4'X8' @ home depot. The panels I used where smooth painted on one side and bare on the other. Which either side you use, you want to rough up that surface a bit so your glue holds tight. I cut my panels nearly all the way to the edge of the door. Your probably good using 1/8" from the edge. If your using the push through nylon panel clips, the holes need to be pre-cut and verified for fitment before covering the panel.

I'm not sure I know what your talking about rubber seals. The door panel shouldn't interfere with any door seals/weatherstripping. Your windlace spoken of earlier should touch your door panel when the door in closed. Have your windlace already installed before doing the rear interior panels. They (rear panels) will butt up to the very edge of the windlace to give a nice finished look. ~robert

[rspears]

.... My panel board was from 1/8" non-wood panels bought as 4'X8' @ home depot. The panels I used where smooth painted on one side and bare on the other. ~robert

Robert,
What do you mean "non-wood"? Masonite?

[Retired]

Robert,
What do you mean "non-wood"? Masonite?

Correct. Guess I should have said Masonite. Anyway.. It was cheap and I'm on a budget.

There is some materials out there thats plastic, but pricy. Roddoors sold it molded into designs under thier name (out-of bussiness) There is a vendor or two on eBay (gotta luv it) selling door panel material, but pricy. You gotta remember the original was made from a form of matted thick paper material. The masonite is a tad heavier but easy to cut. ~robert

[rspears]

Correct. Guess I should have said Masonite. Anyway.. It was cheap and I'm on a budget.

There is some materials out there thats plastic, but pricy. Roddoors sold it molded into designs under thier name (out-of bussiness) There is a vendor or two on eBay (gotta luv it) selling door panel material, but pricy. You gotta remember the original was made from a form of matted thick paper material. The masonite is a tad heavier but easy to cut. ~robert

I was at Lowe's today looking at their materials. I need door panels plus something flexible enough to bend around the back of the coupe from door to door. They had Masonite at about $10 a sheet, and for more flex there was some FRP with a pebble finish side at $22 marked down from $32 a sheet in almond color (who cares what color??) I may pick up a sheet of 1/8" Masonite and see if it will make the corner in back.

[Retired]

I was at Lowe's today looking at their materials. I need door panels plus something flexible enough to bend around the back of the coupe from door to door. They had Masonite at about $10 a sheet, and for more flex there was some FRP with a pebble finish side at $22 marked down from $32 a sheet in almond color (who cares what color??) I may pick up a sheet of 1/8" Masonite and see if it will make the corner in back.

Masonite doesn't have much give. Thin cheap wood paneling might give more. Wetting cheap wood paneling might give the flexing enough. The problem with wood paneling, it's kinda like plywood. Grains going different ways. I think I saw some plastic sheeting at either Lowes, or Home Depot I'm going to check out.

[rumrumm]

I used FRP (that's the plastic shower wall material, right?) for my door panels and kick panels but it does not bend well enough to use for any panel that is not flat. I used luan for the trunk for strength. But I found that upholsterer's water-resistant cardboard material worked best for the curved areas. You can also wet it and form it into a tighter curve if you need to. Here is an in-progress photo of the lower rear interior panel made from that material.