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Old 08-24-2002, 05:30 AM
flatrimmer flatrimmer is offline
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door panel fabric replacement

Door panel fabric replacement on most newer cars is kind of tricky. The door panel was moulded to look like several pieces but it is only one. The area where you want to replace is inset,recessed, to allow material to be contact cemented on and then cut, trimmed off about 1/4 inch wider than the "groove" and then tucked into the groove with a tool such as a putty knife .The tool must be very smooth and dull so as to not cut the material when you tuck it into the recessed area. As you tuck in the material you will watch it "dissapear "into the recess, hiding the edge you left a little long. I would leave the old material on and apply contact cement onto the material that you choose and also the old material on the door panel and allow to dry for 5 minutes. the new material is then applied, smoothed out with hand to apply pressure and bond,careful to not get wrinkles. The puty knife is the sort of traced around the recess with some pressure applied. this will indent the new material and let you see a "line where you must add 1/4 inch to and cut . this extra material is tucked into the recess all around the door panel insert until completely finished. Contact cement is normally applied with a paint gun and sprayed on . make sure the glue is shot into the groove or you will have problems later with the material coming loose. This is a job for your local auto upholstery shop if you are not real sharp! good luck
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