Door Inserts 98 coupe UPDATED PG 2 EXPLANATION AND PICS.

Re: Door Inserts 98 coupe

kn0x47 said:

If you have cloth interior you just rip it off for the front doors. For the rear you can use a dremel tool to grind away the plastic weld stuff then use 1/4 inch screws to put it back on

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^great idea!

and he has tan cloth, some of them have plastic rivets on the front panels as well, but with leather only the rears have them, very odd design.

Re: Door Inserts 98 coupe

Brad2274 said:

^great idea!

and he has tan cloth, some of them have plastic rivets on the front panels as well, but with leather only the rears have them, very odd design.

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yeah sucks cause mine have the rivets all over the door panels in front and back pieces. Oh well doesn't seem too hard, i ordered my synthetic leather vinyl so i have to wait for that then i can get started!

Re: Door Inserts 98 coupe

i just pulled my inserts off, i got the rivets apart with some side cutters, needle nosed pliers, and a flathead screwdriver ill let you know how i get them back on

Re: Door Inserts 98 coupe

got one door pannel done, it was not a simple job thats for sure, the cloth doesn't come off nice, it leaves so much residue and cloth bits behind and i can't even wrap it behind the panel, i had to tuck most of it into a small crack... and the plastic rivets were also annoying...

But it turned out pretty good in the end, going to finish the whole car on sunday, so the back parts and the other door panel and center console lid.

heres the pics:

cloth vs. synthetic leather vinyl


close up of the leather

in the car:

Re: Door Inserts 98 coupe pics added pg 2

did you have that charcoal leather interior stock? or was it charcoal cloth and you got charcoal leather seats?
nvm, just saw your ride thread lol, howd you put the inserts back in?

Re: Door Inserts 98 coupe pics added pg 2

Brad2274 said:

did you have that charcoal leather interior stock? or was it charcoal cloth and you got charcoal leather seats?
nvm, just saw your ride thread lol, howd you put the inserts back in?

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yeah my interior was stock charcoal, but not leather, this is my final steps (ie. door panels) to completing my leather conversion in my car. Thought i would do a charcoal/black theme.

I swapped leather seats in, and the door panels came originally cloth. So i ripped the cloth off, unscrewed all the back screws and then grinned the plastic rivets off.

I ripped off the cloth, sanded down the residue and then used the piece of cloth i ripped off to make a template and traced the template on the leather vinyl i bought, then cut it to shape.

Then i applied adhesive spray to the exposed surface and laid the leather vinyl over it and i then had to use a squeegee to tuck the leather in the top lining.

It wasn't easy at all. maybe ill make a DIY on my other panel... if im up to it.

Have you changed yours?

Re: Door Inserts 98 coupe pics added pg 2

i can do the covering part, im just not sure how to reconnect the insert to the panel, i might try screws.

Re: Door Inserts 98 coupe pics added pg 2

Brad2274 said:

i can do the covering part, im just not sure how to reconnect the insert to the panel, i might try screws.

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oh so you mean after taking off the plastic rivets? i used screws and washers to put mine back on.

Re: Door Inserts 98 coupe pics added pg 2

So i decided i would just explain a little bit for everyone who is replacing theirs,

Once the cloth is ripped off, there will be a ton of residue left over, so the best way to remove it is to dremel sand the large chunks off and then use sand paper to finish it off.

Cut out a copy of the shape for the insert with your new material using the old cloth as the template, however do not cut out the hole for the door handle yet.



Once this is done then tape around the cracks:

below is a close up of the crack along the door panel, we will have to tuck the upholstery down there by using a squeegee after it has been sprayed with adhesive spray.







Continue the process and use adhesive spray underneath the rest of the material so all of it sticks, and then wrap the end pieces around the back of the plastic.



Once wrapped then using a knife cut out the whole for the door handle.



Once the door is done like above, dont worry about bubbles too much, get rid of as many as you can, but the adhesive spray takes time to become sticky and chances are the next day if you push on the bubbles then they will stick and be flat.

good luck all, sorry this DIY isn't that detailed, but i didn't take very many pictures which would make explaining very difficult.

You didn't use the squeegee to smooth out some of the bubbles?