Replacing Door Panel backer board (on the cheap)

[targa80]

I am in the process of dyeing the leather seats and panels in my 80SC. The hard-backer board on the door panels have seen better days so I decided to replace them before dyeing.

This is what the driver side panel looked like.





This is a side by side of the leather and the old backer board with a thin layer of foam.



New Board with a 1/4" foam backing glued to it with spray contact cement. I made a template from the old backer board to the new board and used a jig saw to cut out the pattern.



The leather installed and stapled in place on the new board.



This is a comparison of the panel before and after dying leather.





Photo showing the black edge trim stapled to the back side of the dyed leather. Not shown are the foam strips that I glued to the back in the same locations as the original board.



This is the finished product installed on the door minus the pocket. ( I need to dye the leather trim on the pocket before installing and repair some damage to the mounting holes on the pocket).

[Pedro '84 Coupe]

Good job!

[jac1976]

Nice work

[RedCoupe]

Nice work! I just replaced the electric door lock actuator in my 86, and was surprised at the order that you have to install the parts in order to reach all the screw heads when reinstalling the door panel. The door cap goes on after the door panel and the door pull, and the map pocket lid goes on before the actual map pocket! Fortunately, Pelican sells new plastic membranes for a reasonable price, so I didn't have to source out some heavy plastic to cut a new one. Again, nice work on the new door panel.

[JK930]

job well done

[nene]

Turned out very nice. What dye color code did you use, as I eventually need to touch up some of my leather items.

Serg

[bmwphatpat]

Thanks for posting this - night and day difference from where you started.

I want to replace my backer boards too and had wondered how difficult it would be...

Did you use 1/8" hardboard from Home Depot?

[2jmotorsports]

Stewpid question but is there any risk of the staples coming out the frontside when you are stapling the leather to the new board?

Is this just standard staples and staple gun?

[rokemester]

Did you staple and glue the interior leather piece? The staples are a trick. How did you do it?

[targa80]

Originally Posted by bmwphatpat

Thanks for posting this - night and day difference from where you started.

I want to replace my backer boards too and had wondered how difficult it would be...

Did you use 1/8" hardboard from Home Depot?

Yes, I have used it for the sun visor repair and the driver side floor board.

[targa80]

Originally Posted by nene

Turned out very nice. What dye color code did you use, as I eventually need to touch up some of my leather items.

Serg

Leatherworld code 940 if my memory serves me right.

I am away from home till tomorrow night, I will verify the code then

[targa80]

Originally Posted by rokemester

Did you staple and glue the interior leather piece? The staples are a trick. How did you do it?

The leather was one whole piece. It does not require glue to install, only staples on the backside edges where the leather wraps around. I used 1/4 “ staples and they came though the other side of the backer board. The original staples are a hair less than 1/4” and the replacement staples are 1/4” but the new padding covers the protruding staples tips and are not an issue with the leather.

[targa80]

Originally Posted by 2jmotorsports

Stewpid question but is there any risk of the staples coming out the frontside when you are stapling the leather to the new board?

Is this just standard staples and staple gun?

First off, I learned a long time ago there are very few stupid questions. Yours is definitely not a stupid question because the size of the staple is an issue that I worked around. As I posted earlier the original staples are less than 1/4” and the standard d stapler I used has 1/4” staples(smallest I could find). The staples did slightly protrude though the board while testing a piece of leather staples to a scrap piece of hard board. The fix was to use a new layer of 1/4” foam, the foam has a very thin layer of material adheared to both sides. I purchased the foam from a local fabric store. I believe it is used for quilting or some other hobbby that I have no knowledge of. I used spray contact cement on the board and the foam. After putting them together I trimmed the foam with a scissor. The new foam covers the protruding tip of the staple even with putting finger pressure on the foam over the staple tip. Yes, I did try the foam with a piece of scrap leather and backer board before reassembled the panel.

[targa80]

One other note make sure you staples the board on a hard surface to make sure the staples are seated all the way. I had several staples that did not bottom out initially.

[2jmotorsports]

Awesome. My panels are nice and wavy so Ill need to do them soon. Thanks for sharing!

[jgurnari]

i tested 1/4 staples, i can feel the tips protruding, but NOT poking through, when i run my fingers i over the vinyl side. just afraid they will eventually come through. true I won’t find a stapler with staples slightly shorter than 1/4?
i did purchase the Arrow P50

Originally Posted by targa80

First off, I learned a long time ago there are very few stupid questions. Yours is definitely not a stupid question because the size of the staple is an issue that I worked around. As I posted earlier the original staples are less than 1/4” and the standard d stapler I used has 1/4” staples(smallest I could find). The staples did slightly protrude though the board while testing a piece of leather staples to a scrap piece of hard board. The fix was to use a new layer of 1/4” foam, the foam has a very thin layer of material adheared to both sides. I purchased the foam from a local fabric store. I believe it is used for quilting or some other hobbby that I have no knowledge of. I used spray contact cement on the board and the foam. After putting them together I trimmed the foam with a scissor. The new foam covers the protruding tip of the staple even with putting finger pressure on the foam over the staple tip. Yes, I did try the foam with a piece of scrap leather and backer board before reassembled the panel.