Door Cards

[surveyor]

Hi,

While my +2 is in the bodyshop I'm renovating the bits I have removed. The vinyl on the door cards is very good but dampness has got into the backing cards and warped them quite badly.

I assume the vinyl is glued to the card, has anyone had any luck removing the vinyl skin and refitting it to new cards - and if so what did you use for the card - hardboard or something more durable?

I can't find anything in the archives on this.

cheers

dennis

[Jason1]

Hi

Matt (red +2) redid his using Aluminium sheet, are you out there Matt; any pics?

I am going to redo mine (its on a long list) using 3mm thick MDF, I am hoping if I seal it so it will not absorb water as much as hardboard and will be easy to cut?

Jason

[mikealdren]

Dennis,
I've taken the vinyl off mine fairly successfully and most of the clips survived. The original hardboard was warped and rotten - completely useless. Take care with the trim and don't worry about the board. If some of it sticks to teh trim, you can ease it off later. The hardboard was good enough to make templates and I?ve made new boards from marine plywood.

I bought an 8?*4? sheet and cut the cards out easily but they need to be bent to suit the curve of the door. 3 ply bends much more easily in one direction than the other. I had the sheet cut in two to fit in the car and, of course, it was cut the wrong way to suit the bend I wanted.

I dampened the board and heated it with a hot air gun and then clamped it into a curve. I?ve left it over the winter to see if it maintains the curve before fitting and it looks fine.

The metal frames painted up well and they are fitted to the boards with bifurcated rivets, I bought some off the internet. I left the foam in place and masked it off when I sprayed the frame.

My only decision is whether to refit the old vinyl or replace with new material. The carpet at the bottom was rotten and there is also a layer of foam behind the vinyl that need replacing.

Mike

[gerrym]

Dennis, you should find the vinyl will peel from the door cards with a bit of care.

Replacement of the rotten cards was one job I subbed out rather than attempting myself. My reason was partly driven by a wish to renew the carpet along the bottom as well as replacement of the door card itself.

I gave it to a company that specialises in RR restorations, they had a very good trimmer. We agreed on an oil-board to replace the hardboard. This has greatly water resistance. I also got the aperture around the ashtrays/doorhandles reinforced with the sheet aluminium. There's a narrow section between the cutouts that's prone to snapping.

Regards

Gerry

[surveyor]

Thanks guys,
I'm relieved to discover that at least this is possible, with care. I had almost resigned myself to tossing these and trying to find a decent pair somewhere but reckoned that if I was going to do that then I might as well try and see if repair was possible. Gerry, the ally reinforcement sounds a good idea for the later type door handles, mine's a '68 with the pull-up lever so haven't got that problem - just a dozen other ones.

dennis

[surveyor]

Thanks guys,
I'm relieved to discover that at least this is possible, with care. I had almost resigned myself to tossing these and trying to find a decent pair somewhere but reckoned that if I was going to do that then I might as well try and see if repair was possible. Gerry, the ally reinforcement sounds a good idea for the later type door handles, mine's a '68 with the pull-up lever so haven't got that problem - just a dozen other ones.

dennis