HOW-TO: Reupholster your door panels

[HellBent]

DISCLAIMER: I am not a professional. A lot of my stuff is trial and error. If you know a better way, sweet! ALL of my HOW-TO threads are based on how I did it.


It helps to have someone who can run a sewing machine, and luckily, I've got a beautiful woman who can.

This is what I'm started with... Ugly maroon:



Start by removing all the staples at the bottom that hold the vinyl in place. I just popped 'em out with a flat head screwdriver. I thought it would be tougher, but the staples are actually really small. It only took a couple minutes to remove all of them.



After you're done with that, remove the five screws that hold the armrest in place. Put them in a ziplock bag so you don't lose them, because you aren't putting it back together anytime soon. Pull off the armrest. The nasty carpet at the bottom of the door peels right off. Trash it. It's disgusting, and we're not putting carpet there.



Now that you have the armrest off, you need to remove the rubber/vinyl/whatever this thing is made out of cover off the plastic piece of the armrest. You'll notice it's held on by an ass load of these tabs:



Easiest way to remove them? Pull the cover away from the plastic armrest, and take that same flathead screwdriver and give them a little push. They will pop right out. You're now left with this:



Removing the remaining fabric on the door panel is simple. Just pull up and away. There is some rubber padding and some foam padding that I'm going to replace, because it's A) old, and B) smells like shit. You can re-use yours if you want to, but just be very, very careful separating it from the fabric because it's going to tear.

This is what's left now:



I'm taking some adhesive remover to mine to completely clean it up, then I'm going to prime and paint it. Yes, I'm going to prime and paint it even though I'm re-covering it. Why? Because I can. And, I need something to do while the door panels are being remade. Plus, it covers the stink of 25 year old door panel.

Later tonight: Measuring out the new door panels. Here's the material I'm using on mine. I bought black leather looking material (which Lynn calls "Pleather") and some grey fabric. It's all upholstery quality, and ran about $8 a yard. BUY MORE THAN ENOUGH, and make sure you buy UPHOLSTERY QUALITY. Remember, these are your door panels, they are going to take a beating. You want something that's going to last, so don't be cheap. I bought 2 yards of the black leather stuff, which is going to do the tops and bottoms of my door panels (to replace the current vinyl and the shitty carpet), the little wheelwell covers, the tiny section of paneling in the hatch, and to cover my new custom kickpanels I'm building. I bought 3 yards of the gray material, which is doing the center of the door panels, as well as covering some of the other plastic stuff.

[$100T2]

DISCLAIMER: I am not a professional. A lot of my stuff is trial and error. If you know a better way, sweet! ALL of my HOW-TO threads are based on how I did it.


It helps to have someone who can run a sewing machine, and luckily, I've got a beautiful woman who can.

This is what I'm started with... Ugly maroon:



Start by removing all the staples at the bottom that hold the vinyl in place. I just popped 'em out with a flat head screwdriver. I thought it would be tougher, but the staples are actually really small. It only took a couple minutes to remove all of them.



After you're done with that, remove the five screws that hold the armrest in place. Put them in a ziplock bag so you don't lose them, because you aren't putting it back together anytime soon. Pull off the armrest. The nasty carpet at the bottom of the door peels right off. Trash it. It's disgusting, and we're not putting carpet there.



Now that you have the armrest off, you need to remove the rubber/vinyl/whatever this thing is made out of cover off the plastic piece of the armrest. You'll notice it's held on by an ass load of these tabs:



Easiest way to remove them? Pull the cover away from the plastic armrest, and take that same flathead screwdriver and give them a little push. They will pop right out. You're now left with this:



Removing the remaining fabric on the door panel is simple. Just pull up and away. There is some rubber padding and some foam padding that I'm going to replace, because it's A) old, and B) smells like shit. You can re-use yours if you want to, but just be very, very careful separating it from the fabric because it's going to tear.

This is what's left now:



I'm taking some adhesive remover to mine to completely clean it up, then I'm going to prime and paint it. Yes, I'm going to prime and paint it even though I'm re-covering it. Why? Because I can. And, I need something to do while the door panels are being remade. Plus, it covers the stink of 25 year old door panel.

Later tonight: Measuring out the new door panels. Here's the material I'm using on mine. I bought black leather looking material (which Lynn calls "Pleather") and some grey fabric. It's all upholstery quality, and ran about $8 a yard. BUY MORE THAN ENOUGH, and make sure you buy UPHOLSTERY QUALITY. Remember, these are your door panels, they are going to take a beating. You want something that's going to last, so don't be cheap. I bought 2 yards of the black leather stuff, which is going to do the tops and bottoms of my door panels (to replace the current vinyl and the shitty carpet), the little wheelwell covers, the tiny section of paneling in the hatch, and to cover my new custom kickpanels I'm building. I bought 3 yards of the gray material, which is doing the center of the door panels, as well as covering some of the other plastic stuff.