Door Panels Refresh - 1965 Dart GT 2 Door Hardtop
Restored my door panels. The rears were bad (sorry no before photos, so imagine). The hardboard was warped. Might have flattened it with steam or such, but replaced with ABS sheet, using the old ones as template. ABS is nice because you can easily weld it, indeed as you cut with a jigsaw you must keep the cut pieces apart so they don't re-melt together. I bought sheet about 2" too short to save cost (pricey) and melted on stubs for little curved projections of the panel. The vinyl on the rear panels had detached and wrinkled up, so looked a lost cause. A P.O. had "fixed 'er" with duct tape at the top which left messy residue, but cleaned up with ethanol. Seems rainwater leaks loosened the glue, then heat (gets hot here) allowed the vinyl to shrink and wrinkle. With vinyl off, I first tried a heat gun, but risky to not damage it. Better was pouring very hot water, then stretching by hand while soft until cooled. I used a sink hot-water dispenser (~160 F). The vinyl stays soft even after it cools until you can put your hands on it (~120 F). Once I had the ABS sheet, I used it to stretch and form the vinyl to match the holes (crank, armrest). I glued it with E6000 and a little Gorilla Glue around the edges (careful since it foams and swells). The plastic chrome-covered strip had shrunk and crinked, so unusable. I glued foam sheet to the rear so it wouldn't slap around against the steel body.
The front panels were mostly straight and the vinyl still glued, so hadn't shrunk. I peeled it off and reglued since the OE glue was friable. The OE fabric behind the vinyl had degraded on one front vinyl, so I glued on thin polyester cloth from a thin blanket. The panel clips holes were buggered (common), so I installed them and secured with strips of woven fiberglass and epoxy. I then added a thin woven fiberglass backing, holding it flat with the weight of concrete roof tiles to remove slight waviness, with thin foam atop the fiberglass sheet for noise reduction. Surprisingly, the epoxy gave plenty of time, unlike past work, perhaps from cooler weather and better measurement of hardener. The chrome plastic strip was well glued, so I left it, but the chrome had peeled off. I'll leave like that until I find a replacement or perhaps use chrome paint. Both vinyl sheets had whitish discoloration. Might have been old wax or protectant, but my guess is tiny particles of degraded plastic. Regardless, most washed off with heavy scrubbing and carpet cleaner, leaving black "plastic dirt" in the bucket. After wiping with TriNova Plastic Restorer, it looked almost new (Amazon product ASIN B01AAZ1OAE). Unlike some, which are apparently a black dye, TriNova is a clear liquid. It similarly restored faded black plastic trim and door handles on my newer cars.
For weathershield, I cut leftover polymer roofing underlayment. I've used clear plastic before on several cars. Final photo is what I used to replace the degraded seat backer hardboard. I had stripped a 1983 M-B 300D for parts (have 2 cars) and figured it's woven fabric sheet would work great on my Dart, which it did with a little trimming. For the degraded package tray, I used ABS sheet (heated to fold), covered with vinyl "leather" with fabric backing from Joann's Fabrics. Similarly, for the sail panels, I cut ABS sheet, covered with foam sheet to stop rattles. Don't you hate that the best they could use in the day was paperboard?
Restored my door panels. The rears were bad (sorry no before photos, so imagine). The hardboard was warped. Might have flattened it with steam or such, but replaced with ABS sheet, using the old ones as template. ABS is nice because you can easily weld it, indeed as you cut with a jigsaw you must keep the cut pieces apart so they don't re-melt together. I bought sheet about 2" too short to save cost (pricey) and melted on stubs for little curved projections of the panel. The vinyl on the rear panels had detached and wrinkled up, so looked a lost cause. A P.O. had "fixed 'er" with duct tape at the top which left messy residue, but cleaned up with ethanol. Seems rainwater leaks loosened the glue, then heat (gets hot here) allowed the vinyl to shrink and wrinkle. With vinyl off, I first tried a heat gun, but risky to not damage it. Better was pouring very hot water, then stretching by hand while soft until cooled. I used a sink hot-water dispenser (~160 F). The vinyl stays soft even after it cools until you can put your hands on it (~120 F). Once I had the ABS sheet, I used it to stretch and form the vinyl to match the holes (crank, armrest). I glued it with E6000 and a little Gorilla Glue around the edges (careful since it foams and swells). The plastic chrome-covered strip had shrunk and crinked, so unusable. I glued foam sheet to the rear so it wouldn't slap around against the steel body.
The front panels were mostly straight and the vinyl still glued, so hadn't shrunk. I peeled it off and reglued since the OE glue was friable. The OE fabric behind the vinyl had degraded on one front vinyl, so I glued on thin polyester cloth from a thin blanket. The panel clips holes were buggered (common), so I installed them and secured with strips of woven fiberglass and epoxy. I then added a thin woven fiberglass backing, holding it flat with the weight of concrete roof tiles to remove slight waviness, with thin foam atop the fiberglass sheet for noise reduction. Surprisingly, the epoxy gave plenty of time, unlike past work, perhaps from cooler weather and better measurement of hardener. The chrome plastic strip was well glued, so I left it, but the chrome had peeled off. I'll leave like that until I find a replacement or perhaps use chrome paint. Both vinyl sheets had whitish discoloration. Might have been old wax or protectant, but my guess is tiny particles of degraded plastic. Regardless, most washed off with heavy scrubbing and carpet cleaner, leaving black "plastic dirt" in the bucket. After wiping with TriNova Plastic Restorer, it looked almost new (Amazon product ASIN B01AAZ1OAE). Unlike some, which are apparently a black dye, TriNova is a clear liquid. It similarly restored faded black plastic trim and door handles on my newer cars.
For weathershield, I cut leftover polymer roofing underlayment. I've used clear plastic before on several cars. Final photo is what I used to replace the degraded seat backer hardboard. I had stripped a 1983 M-B 300D for parts (have 2 cars) and figured it's woven fabric sheet would work great on my Dart, which it did with a little trimming. For the degraded package tray, I used ABS sheet (heated to fold), covered with vinyl "leather" with fabric backing from Joann's Fabrics. Similarly, for the sail panels, I cut ABS sheet, covered with foam sheet to stop rattles. Don't you hate that the best they could use in the day was paperboard?
