Door Card Material??

[t6dpilot]

Looking to make some simple RS Lightweight door cards. I have black vinyl in the car and want to change the color. Appbiz has this:

RS/RSR Door Panel Do it Yourself Kit

But it is just a template. Wow, shocked that you pay $300 for a template of the door card and not the card itself. Anybody done this have a recommendation on door card material? Appreciate you pointing me in the right direction.

[Harpo]

I believe it is just melamine and available @ Lowes & HD

David

[juanbenae]

I could be referencing the same thing harpo has in "melamine", but 1/8" high density particle board will work. it can smell for a while so priming it with kiltz or other like wood primer also solves any concerns in regards to moisture.

have you considered simply tracing the old ones? I understand Appbiz's reluctance to undersell themselves by providing a cheap template when they'd prefer to sell you their finished project.


frankly, the Appbiz packages can't be beat with handles, fasteners and often a life time of customer service. bob often provides bits for his products long after the sale which are not off the shelf stuff complimentary, free of charge with in reason..

[pksystems]

Carbon fiber and some epoxy on a piece of waxed glass.

[juanbenae]

^^^^^^^^

[fanaudical]

I used Coroplast when I made mine. I took two thin sheets and laminated them together with the corrugations angled 90° apart. They have held up very well and are impervious to water. Super light as well.

[Jack Olsen]

I also used corrugated plastic. I think it's the perfect material for this. I used a 3/16" piece, and adhered leather directly to it. No more worries about heat or water messing things up. And it's much lighter. I also (because of car anorexia), replaced the upper trim piece with aluminum sheet, covered with leather.

[Canada Kev]

Nice mini winder, Jack - doesn't foul the dash and it fits in with your weight loss program without resorting to bulimia...

[Jack Olsen]

The shortened winder and the notch on the forward edge of the upper trim piece are all to clear the cage. But it's true; they also cut weight.

[Cory M]

1/8" luan hardwood works too and you can get it at Home Depot, it's what was recommended in the custom interior books I read several years ago, used it on my hot rod and it was easy to work with

[chrisbalich]

Jack,

do your doors lock only with a key? or not at all?

Thanks!

[t6dpilot]

Coroplast - perfect! Thanks guys. I hadn't thought of looking for that at HD. I just assumed all they would have was plywood products.

[Jack Olsen]

Originally Posted by t6dpilot

Coroplast - perfect! Thanks guys. I hadn't thought of looking for that at HD. I just assumed all they would have was plywood products.

If you have a plastic supply store in your area, you’ll have a lot more choices with regard to thickness, and the prices will be better. A sign supply shop will also carry the stuff

[dyount]

I've used 1/4" tempered masonite (from Lowes). It's think enough that you can use door attachment plastic gizmo's to plug into the factory holes. Use your old door card for a template and it's really very easy to install and cover with vinyl/leather using spray adhesive and a little contact adhesive at the edges to not need to use an upholstery staple at all

[t6dpilot]

No plastic supply store that I can find, Jack. However, we do have a couple of sign shops. I'll check them out. I like your idea of fabricating an aluminum upper trim piece. Mine are the bare metal of the stock door top with the padding removed. Has a vertical lip that digs into my arm constantly. I installed a stock padded one and while I like the look and comfort over my bare metal one, I do not want to screw into it to install the leather strap stay. Your aluminum solution should work great.

I have simple plain black panels with leather latch release and plastic door pull. My 69 lightweight hotrod has the window winder mechanism removed and pull up lexan windows installed. Was planning on using those as patterns. Photo is from 2006 when I bought the car.

[Jack Olsen]

I remember trying the aluminum idea as a lark. I had some sheet on hand and I used a 2x4 as a shape to bend it over. I had to do some more complicated bending for the cutaway part to accommodate the bar for the cage, but at the time my thinking was just 'I'll try this and see how close I can come,' and I ended up using it and being pretty happy with it.

This is the only picture I can find that shows the aluminum -- turned over on its back, here. But you can see the basic idea. I think I sort of sandwich clamped the aluminum between a 2x4 and a smaller piece of wood and then slowly folded it over. Then you can trim it to the right dimension and move on to the other side.

[dicklague]

The "template" comes with some parts....to quote: "the wimpy plastic handels" [no sure what handels are]


...........and "Long embossed leather opener strap, Handle anchor kit with setting tool (we anchor our handle to the door, not the door panel like others), (6) plastic panel panel retainers, screws and trim rings and complete instructions.

[tdw28210]

Using aluminum for my door cards on my project car.

[AG81]

I used 1/8" thick birch and made my own pattern from the existing door card. I also thought the cost of the pattern was too expensive.

[Quinlan]

AG81. Cool handles! Are they VW or 356?