DIY Inner Door Panel embalming

[Sean Hamilton]

A method to preservative and stop the inner door panels from decaying.

Upon removing my inner door panels I found that only the vinyl trim itself was holding the panels together. The sill sections were floppy and could be completely folded over itself. The MDF board was entirely pulped to soggy mulch due to the ingress of water thru the perforated plastic inner membrane.

Rather than replace the panels only to suffer the same long term fate, or buy new MDF board and jigsaw pattern cut out new boards (which was an option) I decided to embalm the existing panels using the MDF pulp as a loose mulch bed pattern for a new fibreglass sill section. It worked so well that I now have rock solid door sill sections which are totally impervious to moisture, and to my mind should’ve been as such at OEM.

1. remove and lay the inner door panels horizontal inside up and then de-staple the vinyl trim away from the MDF edges (or what is left of it) leaving the “mulch” as-is loosely laying on the vinyl underneath.
2. Using the chopped matt fibre glass that comes with an off-the-shelf repair kit cut 4 long strips 50mm to 100mm wide by the length of the door panel
3. Mix sufficient resin and hardener and brush well into the loose MDF mulch bed
4. Working quickly, lay the first of the 4 glass strips over the bed and reapply more resin, working the resin well into the chopped mat with the supplied kit brush
5. Continue with the remaining three layers and resin in between each layer. Paint a final coat of resin well up the door panel and leave overnight.
6. Next morning the glass will be rock hard. Stand the panels upright and shake out the loose and rotten MDF that didn’t adhere to the fibre glass.
7. Insert a thin layer of 5mm foam matched to the width of the sill repair between the vinyl trim and the back of the fibreglass to smooth out any irregularities.
8. Refer pictures attached: Apply contact adhesive to the vinyl trim edges and the new fibreglass panel, using duct tape to keep it place and as a membrane between any tacky glue and the door itself when reinstalled.
9. Re-drill the sill panel screw holes which will be visible thru the new fibreglass.
10. Repair or replace the old perforated inner door membrane and reinstall the now rigid and water impervious inner door panel.
Caution, the fibreglass resin will be on the nose for a couple of weeks. It’s pretty potent in a confined space so keep the car well vented or just leave the panels off for a week or two.
Materials
Fibreglass repair kit, thin trip foam inner layer, duct tape and contact adhesive, scissors to cut the fibreglass, thinner to clean up.
Cost $25.00, 1-10 Scale of difficulty = 3

[gtihop]

You could do what I did- go to hardware store and buy 1/8" masonite, grab a jigsaw and make a new one. Cost $8 for both sides, and a few hours work.

[Hotwatermusic]

Yeah, I didn't go through all the trouble of fixing a ruined door either. Just made new ones. My doors were the same way--only being held together by the vinyl--so I went and bought 1/8" birch boards, cut to shape, Thompson's water sealed them, drilled/routed out all necessary holes, glued headliner material on them, topped with black marine vinyl and got my girl to sew the pleats. They look beautiful and are actually much lighter than the original panels. I sprayed some sound deadening rubberized undercoat on the inner part (on top of the water seal) to quiet up the ride and hopefully stave off moisture damage for as long as possible. I couldn't be happier and no one would know they weren't factory installed.