[Skywalker]

Has anyone just ripped off the cloth or leather material and just painted the front and rear inserts? I really want them to match the color I am getting the dash shroud painted and think it would be easy to match and somewhat less expensive?

 

[1badcat]

you can do that but youll need to build up the insert to fit right in the door pannel without the material on it. give it a couple layers of glass and youll be ok. the only i have with painted inserts is they arent comfortable. and the paint gets scratched way easier. so if you do it be sure to go heavy on the clear so that touchups and buffing is easier.
less expensive than what? its gonna cost some money in material and labor to get the pannels fitting right before paint. and if youre getting other things painted at the same time you will save money in the paint booth!

josh

 

[Excelcier]

Under the cloth material is more pressed fabric material similar to your headliner. There is no smooth surface for painting. I'm not sure this is possible without recovered it with SOMETHING.

 

[Skywalker]

I guess I just saw the pic of rockford's car and it appeared he did it that way, he must have had them glassed. any other suggestions?

 

[Loyalty]

Tampamoney is doin the same thing with his panels......as far as I know he has got one completely glassed....you may wanna try to pm him about it.

 

[1badcat]

its hard to tell in that pic but it might be color matched vinyl. if you hunt around you can find vinyl with a VERY smooth grain to it, and when you use a "armor all" type product you get a nice shinny sheen. that might be it.
if im wrong on this one then chances are good they were glassed, sanded smooth and painted.

josh

 

[tropiccougar01]

Actually, why dont you just mix some milleg glass with some resin and apply that to the pressed fabric under the top layer of carpet or leather? It will soak up the resin real well and leave you with a good surface to sand and paint.

 

[NorCalCoug]

Why not just use vinyl or fabric dye that matches? The 01/02 comes with perforated vinyl door inserts, the 99/00 come with cloth.

 

[tampamoney]

Ya I'm in the process of doing mine. The big thing is all the sanding. Just do a couple of layers of glass. It should come out fine.

 

[crazyoldcougar]

if your gonna do an irreversable mod like this to your doors then why not just tape off your doors and mix up some resin and apply directly to the fabric on the doors??then sand them paint them clear them and buff...
the fabric on the doors should soak up enough resin for you to sand and paint them? maybe, not sure never done this...what do the interior gods have to say about that? the resin might eat what ever spongy material that is under the fabric though...??

 

[BkWrM]

You don't have to tape the doors. You can remove those inserts and work just with them to make the job easier.

 

[seedogg]

I tried to redo my doors, and because it is white and an everyday driver, the inserts got dirty and the material I used didn't stick that well because there was too much stretching.

My question is for people who have taken off the fabric (form inserts or headliner):

What is the easiest thing to get to take off the foam left over?

Thanks,
BRian

 

[tropiccougar01]

CrazyOldCougar, why did you say exactly what i said? If you just apply the resin, then it wouldnt be fiberglass. You need to mix the resin with either chopped or milled glass to give it an actual glass look.

 

[crazyoldcougar]

you really think so...the fabric on the door already would soak up the resin and then turn hard...if you wanna go all out then bondo that resined panel and sand prime and paint....you dont need to use chop mat or woven fabric to get a glass finsh...your woven fabric here would be the panel material....much like on a speaker box when you stretch fleece over the baffle...fleece isnt fiberglass either but if you bondo it then what do you know it looks exactly the same...you can apply resin to ANYTHING that it will soak into(wood, fleece, fiberglass, CF, kevlar, carpet, jeans, hair ) ...all the mat and cloth do are give it strength...its a door panel though it already has strength.

sorry tropiccougar i did read your post and i thought you said to remove the fabric on the panel and then glass over the foamy stuff...resin will eat that foamy stuff though and you could end up with quite the mess.

and just for a point it is better to stretch your fabric then apply mat or fiberglass cloth to the inside of your box. that way you dont have to worry about overlap lines and stuff and there will only be half the sanding to do as well..

 

[1badcat]

just using resign, the part will be very brittle. the cloth has no strenght to it, and although its an armrest, the reason why it "feels" strong is the plastic behind the foam pad. if you glass over the stock material and dont reinforce it, it will crack later. never ever just use the material as a structural base. thats just plain old lazy and taking a short cut. besides a few layers of cloth, not chop mat will add much strength and not gain much thickness.
josh

 

[Crispy]

Rockfords inserts are vinyl.... I know this for a fact...

 

[1badcat]

thought so

 

[crazyoldcougar]

hehe ok maybe one layer of precut cloth would be ok..just for piece of mind...all i was really saying though is i dont think you have to strip the panel if your gonna glass it...but who am i? i havent done this yet so i cant really say...but i do like to play with fiberglass....... a lot...:biggrin:

 

[cue]

Originally posted by: NorCalCoug
Why not just use vinyl or fabric dye that matches? The 01/02 comes with perforated vinyl door inserts, the 99/00 come with cloth.

my 00 has vinyl door inserts..:shrug:

 

[Cougaritus]

Fiberglass Door Inserts....

clicky here to see more pics