Door Panel Blister

[supertack]

I noticed that a couple 'blister' pockets have formed on the door panel of my '97 328is. It's in the concave section of the panel, where the handle latch is. The blisters are in the corner toward the rear passenger seat, & seem to look like the simulated leather is coming unglued from the panel card.

I'm guessing that there is no repair for this; however, I thought I'd check considering even used replacement panels are around $200.

Any help is appreciated.

[blkongry]

Mine has totally separated where it is all suspended now in the same area. I hear it is a common problem. with mine, I was going to take the panel off the door, drill a small hole in the back of the panel, squirt in some 'glue' through the hole, then press the material back into position until it dries. It would probably be a lot easier with your panel, since you just have a blister or two... much easier to keep localized.

[supertack]

Naw, that material is too tight to get glue to stick to it. You'd be there for hours, & then there is still no guarantee it's gonna hold.

[blkongry]

What do you think holds that synthetic material on there in the first place? It's bonded to the composite panel. It's the adhesive that is letting so and separating... it doesn't just stick to the panel on it's own. When I say 'glue', that is a generic term... there are TONS of stuff out there on the market, and I'm sure there is something that will work perfectly for your application. Let me take a quick look here...

[blkongry]

Here you go... some good upholstery adhesive is what you need... Clearco is a good company, we get our silicone fluids from them. ...http://www.clearcoproducts.com/adhesives.html ...probably something like the headliner adhesive.

[BMWCowboy]

Wont hold->>and if you cut it up where it will->>it looks like crap

[blkongry]

Get the right adhesive and it'll hold... it held for years from the factory. To get the right stuff, I'd contact an uphostery shop and I'm sure they'll have the right stuff. You can try the Bostik 1920... http://news.thomasnet.com/fullstory/453443

It specifically says.... "Recommended especially for bilaminate bonding for door panels, as well as instrument panels, pillars and bolsters construction, Bostik® 1920 provides tenacious adhesion to difficult to bond low surface energy substrates such as rigid polypropylene and polypropylene/polyethylene foams without requiring surface treatment or the use of primers." ...tenacious bonding, eh? ...especially for bilaminate bonding of door panels. Hmm, sounds like it will work. Drill a small hole in the back of the panel under the blister, fill it with the adhesive, then smooth out and hold the blister till it cures (best to build a little jig and clamp to hold it).. the excess adhesive will just get expelled out the hole. Do it right and it will look great!

[Wayne 962]

I'd recommend the 3M Super weathersrtip for this task...

-Wayne

[supertack]

Ok, so how about gettin' the door panel off & on. I heard that can be a bit of a pain.

[blkongry]

Yeah, it's a bit of a pain, even with the little fork tool. Those plastic retaining pins want to snap pretty easily, and they grip quite well, so they tend to tear out of the panel rather than pop out of the holes in the door. The forked trim-removal tool goes around each pin and helps you to pry it out without tearing it out of the panel, but then I had a couple retainers snap... mine were kind of brittle.

Hmm, were you asking how to remove the entire door panel, or the scalloped insert within the panel?

[supertack]

No, doesn't the whole panel have to come off to you that repair?

What about just replacing the retaining clips after you remove the panel using enough brut force to not have to worry about them snaping?

[blkongry]

I've got some pics here... been looking for them... should give you a little insight on what to expect, what can get damaged, and where the clips are. I'll post them as soon as I find them.

For now, here's a good shot of the back side of the panel, where the clips are, and how the insert attaches... http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Boulevard/3287/car_audio/door_panel.jpg

[BMR BOY]

Hey guys, I've had some similar situations like this on my e30 (when I had one; sob!), but with the roof liner. Exactly like what you guys said, the glue holding the pretty little vinyl sheets in place (door panels, etc) basically just lets go, usually occurs during summer months when it gets hot enough inside the car to actually melt the glue to the point of becoming soft enough to let go of the vinyl trim. AND I HAVE A SOLUTION! AND IT'S EASY!!! Go to the store (any store, seriously) that sells super glue. "Krazy Glue" works best. It is a very thin, incredibly sticky substance. Now, go to the local coke dealer on the corner (JUST JOKING) and come up with one or two syringes with very tiny needles, like a 16 gauge or smaller. Simply draw a small amount of glue into the syringe, and "inject" those little bubbles. It takes only a very SMALL amount to get it to stick, so inject a little, then smooth it over carefully with your fingers (latex gloves anyone? That crap sticks to your fingers for DAYS!) The syringe will leave only the tiniest hole you'll never see, and you don't have to remove anything! The roof liner in my e30 was seriously sagging in about 100 places, and it took me awhile, but I got it up there. Obviously, when you're done, toss the syringe. It only works once. You'll be suprised how smart you look when it looks perfect, and it only took you 20 minutes total to complete.
BMR BOY

[supertack]

very, very good call BMR BOY. Just one issue, they don't just sell syringes at the local drug store. You usually need a perscription to get something like that.

Where did you find them?

[BMR BOY]

I'm not gonna lie to you supertack, I've got someone working on the inside if you know what I mean. Actually, she just grabbed them from a hospital, saying they were for horse injections, which is truthful. You can usually get a vet to give them to you, or if all else fails, just call your doctor and ask for them. I've gotten them from mine. They really don't hesitate giving out syringes anymore, because they'd rather provide clean ones, than let everyone get the HIV from using dirty ones. Show the doc your car; I'm sure he'll understand. If all of that fails, email me, and I'll mail you a couple.
BMR BOY

[blkongry]

You can also pick some syringes up through McMaster-carr... www.mcmaster.com

Good call, BMR BOY... gotta luv easy fixes... sounds like it took a while for that headliner, did it take an extra day to work the kink out of your neck from turning upside down to get it all glued? ;p

[supertack]

BMR BOY, I'm gonna kinda have issue walking into my doctor's office & asking him for a hypo syringe for my car! Just my opinion, but their gonna look at me like I'm a stunod.

I'll give you a shout. If ya got some extra's maybe we can work out a deal.

[BMR BOY]

You would think that my liver would've failed with all the ibuprofen I took putting that roofliner up. It wasn't pretty, but it was extremely inexpensive, and it was something that worked perfectly. Supertack, you're worried about nothing man. It would be one thing walking into the doctors office looking like you should've found a rehab clinic instead, but I'm sure you dress nice, and seriously, doctors DON'T care. It was actually scarier asking him for condoms than it was syringes. He just glanced at my arms, and was cool when I said I needed them for a project, and that I promised IV drugs would go nowhere near them or me. BUT if you're STILL worried, you can drop me an email, and I'll get a couple your way. Everyone who tries this will seriously kick themselves in the butt for not trying something this easy before.
BMR BOY
P.S. REHAB IS FOR QUITTERS!!!

[supertack]

BMR BOY, can you send me a PM with your email address? I'd like to get a couple of those syringes from ya, if you don't mind. I'll pay you for any expense.