Refurbished Door Panels

[pyro]

I just got it from a material shop in the UK. I didnt realise you could get a 2 way stretch though.

Apparently thats the one you need as the normal stuff really hasnt got much give when it comes to the corners. I had to make small cuts to alow it to go round. Luckly they become hidden when glued down

Glue wise just contact adhesive.

Headunit is a

[marvins_dad]

Picked these up yesterday from my local upholstery shop.
When calling them to talk to them about getting some high heat contact cement we got to discussing the project. When I told them I was mounting material for a New Beetle he said the only way you can get it to stay down is to put a stitch in there so you aren't working on a multi-compound curve.
I noticed that the color concepts employed this technique and since his price was super cheap I dropped them off.

[scarabY2k]

just

[marvins_dad]

LOL - hopefully will get them mounted tomorrow.

[marvins_dad]

...and they are in!

[raiderbug]

Adding a stitched seam is a great idea! I may have to ask a local shop here to do this method for me. I will snag your pics for reference. Thanks!

RaiderBug.

[marvins_dad]

[pyro]

Not sure if anyones still interested in this thread but ive had my full interior done. Some differences to a standard retrim.

here is a sneaky pic. holla if u wanna see more

[marvins_dad]

Pretty trick!

[pyro]

Cheers. rest is just as trick

[Dewey!]

I want to say THANK YOU for this information as I used it to replace the worn vinyl on my daughter's '99. Dewey is black so she asked for a zebra print and they turned out GREAT! Had more issues with installing the passenger door panel with aligning the top to the weather stripping than I did with anything else.

Thanks again and they look great!

[vdubing]

Originally Posted by Titchy

I was actually thinking of re doing them in a dark red/black plaid in an upholstery material OK, maybe not. My seats are black and red, it might look good with the right plaid. I'd be happy if I can get the vinyl back on there
Thanks for your post! Super Job, hope I can do half as well.
Tracy

Im having the same issue. The crazy heat this summer got to both doors. And i have also thought about a retro look with plaid.

[VW BEATL]

Your doors are tricked out! I luv em! The stitch looks awesome. Good job!

Let The Good Times Roll,
VW BEATL

[slvrbtlboi]

Just got my passengers side done. This is a PITA for real! I ended up using a grey and black plaid that has a fine blue line running through it that picks up the blue from the dash. Looks really good for my first try. Will try to post a pic tomorrow, plan on doing all four panels.

[scarabY2k]

Originally Posted by slvrbtlboi

Just got my passengers side done. This is a PITA for real! I ended up using a grey and black plaid that has a fine blue line running through it that picks up the blue from the dash. Looks really good for my first try. Will try to post a pic tomorrow, plan on doing all four panels.

Glad you worked it out mang.
Hey, you should join us for ToD in May and show off your work.

TOD= Check my signature

[BoogyBug]

can you come stay with me and replace my doors lol jk but the door looks great...

[beestle]

This is awesome - creative juices are a flowin'
Can't wait to start ripping my NBC interior apart and restyling ( 6spd VR6 conversion can wait).
I work in the orthotics industry so I have access to all kinds of different materials - very excited!!
One thing I would suggest while you have your panels off - apply sound deadening materials to lose some of that echoing in the vacuous cabin that is Beetle!
Props to all and thanks of the great tips, pics and great work!

[zRATM]

I would like to first say thanks to all for the great ideas and solutions!

I just bought (for $1700) a 99 Beetle 2.0l and have done massive restoration to this car. I have not posted much because I have always found the answers to all my questions here.

Anyway, I would like to add my 2 cents to this thread and maybe help someone out just as this thread helped me. My door panel fabric was completely shot and falling off, I had just recently done my headliner and had some left over so I used it for the door panels. I found that Aircraft brand adhesive remover worked the best, I got it at Orielly Auto Parts. I also used a plastic putty knife to scrape, which took forever, but finally got it all off. I then went to Hobby Lobby and found a small sheet of aluminum that was about 10" long and 4" wide. I cut that sheet into 1/2" wide strips about an inch long, used channel locks to bend them. All of my plastic tabs on the door were busted so I used those strips and glued them down with epoxy and it worked GREAT, as per the advice on this thread.


Thanks again for all the advice!

[ETBUG]

Originally Posted by Oldbugman

Since joining the Org, you guys have inspired me to spend some time working on my car. When I first bought it new I detailed it weekly. Times changed things started going wrong, pretty soon it just became my daily driver. Well I've decided to give it some well needed attention. Started with my sunroof leaking, who knows where it's going to stop. Here's the before picture of my drivers door.

Attachment 60464

And this is the after picture of my passenger door. I've also upgraded the speakers to some Bose speakers I salvaged from a Mazda 3. There's a Bose logo on the speaker now if anyone was wondering what it was on the speaker grill.



Attachment 60465

And alot of cleaning to the door frame itself, not sure what the accumulation of black was but it sure resembles brake dust to me. Got to do the drivers door and drivers rear panel then all panels will be complete, then the dash will come next, going to replace gray carpet with black. Once done I'll basically have a gray stripe running horizontally thruough the interior.

how did you fix the handle I have a broken one