I need to clear out some space in my spare bedroom so I decided to work ahead make an assembly by consolidating some parts. When I disassembled this truck, I noticed the original door panels were pretty rusty. The vinyl was worn and the four mounting holes along the bottom were mostly damaged. I didn't get a picture of exactly what I'm talking about but here they were installed.
I didn't want to reuse my original panels so I bought a really nice pair of clean originals from Ebay a few years ago. I cut holes for the armrests, sanded them down and painted. They've just been sitting in the bedroom, waiting to be recovered. Here is a before and after the panels were repainted.
First thing I did was sand the panels with 400 grit paper. I only sanded the areas where glue would go. After sanding, I wiped everything down with a clean wet microfiber towel and let dry in the sun.
For the vinyl covering, I used PUI 1969 covers. They were available local when I couldn't find them online. I also read a while back these are one of the better options out there. I choose 1969 because I want to keep the scroll pattern in the interior, but I do not want the woodgrain that comes with the 1970 version.
First thing I noticed is the covers only come with two holes, one for the window regulator and one for the rear armrest screw. So I had to use the metal panel to trace out where the door regulator and front arm rest holes go. Then I used an X-acto knife to trim it out carefully. I also trimmed some material away in all the corners to help with wrapping around to the backside of the panel later.
Next thing to do is bond the cover to the panel. For this, I planned to use Weldwood contact cement. I read in several places that this was the kind to use and was definitely recommended over spray glue. You have to be pretty liberal with the cement so I decided to use paint brushes to apply it. Make sure your work area is well ventilated. This stuff stinks terribly.
The ambient temperature needs to be more than 70deg and the cement and parts have to be in a 70deg environment for two days prior. I meet those conditions today so it is time to move forward. I used the large paint brush to apply the cement to the back of the vinyl cover. Once I covered the area
that would touch the front of the panel, I covered the front of the panel in cement. You're suppose to wait 15 minutes before you bond the two pieces together. After 15 minutes, I realized that the vinyl cover would need an additional coat of cement due to the cover being so porous. After another coat and another 15 minutes, I carefully placed the panel onto the vinyl cover, using the holes to line it up. I pretty much got it lined up on the first try, and thank goodness I did. This stuff is sticky!!! I flipped the panel onto it's back used a craft roller to press the cover down and get any air out that might be trapped. Next, I flipped the panel back onto it's face. I used the small paintbrush to apply cement to the remaining material around the edges of the cover. I also applied the cement to the back of the panel where the edges of the cover would touch. After 15 minutes, I pulled the material around the edges of the panel and used the roller to press it in place. I used a screen roller to press the edges all the way around. I had to use some extra cement in the four corners to hold the overlapping material.
I checked on the work about an hour later and noticed the material had lifted in a few places on the front and back. I used a heat gun on the areas and pressed everything down again. I did this every hour for four hours. Each time, the material was lifting less. I let it set over night since the cement takes 24 hours to fully dry.
Next morning, all of the material had stayed down. This turned out pretty nice.
To finish these off, I installed the escutcheons. For these, I have been holding on to some NOS pieces. Part number 3939997. Finished! Now, I'll let these dry out a few days. The garage still has a pretty strong smell. Eventually, I'll put these guys in some plastic and store them away for later.
