Ideas to refurb door panels?

[Manhattan]

I'm on a mission to clean up the 100. I've had it for 15 years and 160,000 miles (it has 196,000 now) and it's showing its age. The list is long and has some of the expected items, e.g., new leather, new carpet, etc. There are a few obscure things that are bugging me too... like the door pockets on the front doors.

Any suggestions for fixing these... without buying new door panels? I thought about just glueing it but I think that could end up looking like, well, like I glued it.

 

[MongooseGA]

Without being too creative, because I'm not, you could try a piece of fender guard trim that will wrap around the lip. Use some SEM to dye it to match the door panel. But, that may look kind of... odd.

 

[Manhattan]

@MongooseGA I thought about that - using door/fender edge trim - but couldn't see where I could terminate it without it looking bad. Also, those curves may be too tight. I think the punchline is that I need to shut up and try it.

Side note: I do love door edge trim and use it in odd places. This is my bike pump. I didn't want to scratch the floors in my shop. Yeah... I know.

 

[MongooseGA]

Store a map in there to hide the seam of the door guard.

Boom! It's perfect.

 

[Manhattan]

Store a map in there to hide the seam of the door guard.

Genius! And as a bonus, I'll have a conversation starter with millennials explaining how maps work.

 

[MongooseGA]

"Analog GPS"

But hey now... some millennials know how to use a map. I just have a hard time finding the "you are here" mark sometimes.

 

[Kabanstva]

Did any overseas 100 series come with plastic door panels? I see the US models all had that vinyl wrapped finish that gets damaged super easily.

 

[rbrave]

I just got done LX-ifying my LC door panels. I had one small spot like yours and put a dab of superglue underneath the little ripped part, and you can hardly see it. I would go that route and then patch with a vinyl repair kit, if it’s still bothering you. I think adding a piece of trim there would work well, if you have something that can secure it.

Here are my door cards now. I cleaned up the back sides, brushed with a 50:50 mix of tight bond III and water and let dry for a couple days. With that, the back was a little stiffer and smoother, and i stuck a couple pieces of butyl sound deadening on before filling the big voids with Thinsulite and then covering with a piece of 0.5” Resonix guardian. I did the exterior door panel with their mega CLD tiles, and now the other doors sound like tin cans in comparison.

 

[rbrave]

Not photographing particularly well, but here is the superglue fix.

Last piece of unsolicited advice: buy yourself some real scissors, not just for cutting thick foil backed butyl or 2” thick thinsulite, but because you don’t know what you are missing out on using substandard shears. I bought a pair of these Crescent brand shears for like $25, and had no idea how inferior all my other cutting tools were for these types of jobs. W20 10" Bent Handle Industrial Shears - Crescent Tools - https://www.crescenttool.com/all-tools/construction-hand-tools/cutting/scissors-shears/w20-10-bent-handle-industrial-shears

 

[Manhattan]

Swing and a miss on with the door edge guard. I had high hopes. I tried two sizes. The smaller (5m) wouldn't stay on the straight sections - the edges of the door pocket are too think and widen a bit as you move from edge. The larger door edge guard (8 or 10m) wouldn't make the tight curves.

I glued the the loose flaps with super glue (couldn't use Touch ID o my computer for a day ) and it still looks like crap, just less noticeable. I'll ask the upholstery guy when I'm there about the seats. Yeah... gettin' spendy.