pics wanted re-upholstering door panels

[aoua]

anyone with pics on DIY reupholstering of early 911 door panels?

any pearls, or DO and DONT's would be welcome...

aoua

[rusnak]

I'd check the price first with the local dealer, or try World Upholstery and Trim.

[bt1211]

Its not hard. Make sure your staples are not too long. Dont cut the opening for the switches until you are completely finished. Pull it over the edged evenly on all sides. You dont need that much cement(its cement each piece and let dry/tack-up, then stick the pieces together.

You can practice on a piece of masonite(from HD) and a piece of vinyl from any fabric store

[john70t]

You can also use new backer board and dye them black. Not too difficult. Use the old board as a templete for the snap/switches locations, and use a mild degreaser and finer sandpaper to degloss the old.

[DarrylD]

Use 1/8" thick closed cell neoprene foam instead of open cell foam if you decide to pad them. You can spray 3M contact adhesive on closed cell without it being absorbed by the foam. That is good because then you can lay the foam on the backer board and compress (clamp) it by laying a heavy sheet of plywood over it until it dries. The glue doesn't get absorbed by the foam so it will recover from the compression instead of the glue hardening in the foam in a compressed state.

McMaster-Carr (www.mcmaster-carr.com) sells the stuff in huge 42" x 72" sheets for about $30 ea. The product is listed as listed as Neoprene/EDPM/SBR Foam Rubber.

[aoua]

thanks everyone!!!!!!!!!!!

any pics?

aoua

[HawgRyder]

One of the tricks I used when I made my new panels - backing material made out of plastic.
I got it from Home Depot...it looks like cardboard...with the outside panels a smooth plastic...and the inside spacer is plastic that has a sine wave look to it (curves back and forth between the 2 outside pieces.
This stuff is easy to cut, is completely waterproof, cheap, and takes contact glue very well.
I got some Naugahide from a cloth store and straps for the lock pull from the pet store (long dog leash).
I used the plastic board to size the panel (3 tries) and then just covered the board with the Naugahide (glued directly on), then cut the holes for the window and door pull and used plastic rings from the dollar store to line the holes.
With all parts and pieces considered, the cost was about Can$60.
And I have enough left over to make probably one more panel.
Hope this helps.
Bob