Thickness of door panel backing?

[green71]

OK, neil c. inspired me. I thought his upholstery job on his door panels looked great, and between that and a very nice driver's door pocket purchased recently from Jeff Bowlsby I decided to tackle the job.

I already knew the backer board on my doors was (gasp) interior wood paneling, so I wanted to replace that heinous stuff. I bought enough 1/8" hardboard to do both doors. Starting with the driver's side I hand-shaped the backer board & tapped the appropriate holes in the right places. Test-mounted it with screws, the arm rest/pocket, window crank and door handle trim. My dimensions were spot-on, but I had a 1/4" space between the backer board and the handle trim! (This is w/o the new upholstery.)

So my question is: should I have used 1/4" board? What is the thickness of the original backer board? I'm pretty confident I can mount some padded sticky-back tape in a few strategic locations under the board to close the gap and still look good, but if I should have started with thicker board to begin with, I'd like to know.

Thanks!

[neal c.]

Mark,

I got some 1/4 inch foam from the upholstery shop to cover the panel before I applied the fabric. I used 3M spray 77 to glue the foam backing in place.
The original backing pieces are not flat but are molded. Most noticable on the top.

Good luck,
Neal

[green71]

Aha - that explains a lot. Thanks, Neal.

I assume it was an open-cell foam, the yellowish stuff that compresses easily? Or was it a firmer closed-cell foam?

I still have the curved metal pieces that insert up by the window; they have a narrow (1/2") strip of thin foam padding on them that may have been done by the PO. Did you pad this part as well?

[Rich Hilgersom]

Mark,
Your early panels have a metal top. Later ones are all hardboard. The foam is stock.

I think closed cell would work better for the door side and a softer open cell for padding the metal top.

Dont forget to spend some extra time replacing the plastic film so water does not ruin you new panels. If ya got some water sealer you could try to spray the back of the panels as well.


Regards,
-Rich

[green71]

Thanks, Rich. Didn't even think of that since the original vapor barrier is long gone.