TR2/3/3A rebuilding door panels

[sp53]

I thought I would post to show where I am at with my car and ask a couple of questions about fastening to that hard board the panels are anchored. The board I am using is surprising the same or the same as the 1950ties stuff. I bought one of those staple guns at HF that shoots ¼ staples. My concerns are filling the door card with staples like was done originally or to use more glue and less staples because my fear is at some point towards the end the board will break because of all the staples. The fiber board kinda looks like the stuff John used. I am a carpenter, but I have never used this product or work much with light weight material. I did my seat frames with ¼ plywood and have a feel for that plus they were done originally with plywood.
steve

 

[CJD]

Steve, that's looking great!

I know the factory cut out those side curtain mount holes...but I'd probably not worry about them. They never seem to be located quite right and I never saw the purpose anyway??

Skinner used glue in some areas and staples for others. Where they stapled they used plenty of them. Even with my removing and re-stapling I didn't see any weakening of the fiber board. I think either glue or stapling, or both, will work fine. The only area I might be inclined to use both would be around the glove pocket. The pocket is not pressed against the door metal and also sees a lot of use...so both glue and staples would be appropriate. Around the edges is held against the door, so it naturally gets pinched.

Love you sky blue paint!

 

[RC64]

Steve...

I rebuilt all of my interior panels and only used a few staples where the glue didn't get a good grip. Other wise it was only Weldwood Contact Cement. So far, so good.

BTW, you have excellent taste when it comes to color choice.

Rick...

 

[sp53]

The reason I asked is some of these original panel cards were stapled on 1 inch centers!

 

[CJD]

If you have trouble finding the white piping to match your seats, let me know and I'll sew some up for you...

 

[RC64]

The reason I asked is some of these original panel cards were stapled on 1 inch centers!

My original panels had staples as well. I experimented with staples of different lengths but wasn't pleased with the results. I was using Masonite which I had a ton of around here. It is harder than what was used originally so the really short staples wouldn't hold very well. With the ones that were slightly longer the points would protrude from the other side. Since I wasn't using any padding, they would stick into the material leaving a dimple. Didn't want that. So the contact cement worked good.

 

[Jesus]

I would recommend using stainless steel staples. They are more expensive than the regular ones, but the final amount you spend is not very large.

Jesús

 

[sp53]

We have a fabric and foam shop in town John that has a lot of different stuff, so I will scope that out first.
Yeh Good idea Jesus I will see what they have.

I found the fiber board at HD, RC64 and it looks and feels exactly the same as the original stuff and that surprised me. I could not resist using it; it warps easily; if it is in the sun it starts to curl and I am sure it will hold water by looking at the old stuff.

Masonite is more than likely the improvement board over this stuff because it lays flat and resist water, and that is what I was going to use. Here the Masonite is 22.00 a sheet and this stuff is 10.00 and recommended for shelving. it is the cheapy and hopefully it will hold staples.
Steve

 

[RC64]

Here the Masonite is 22.00 a sheet and this stuff is 10.00 and recommended for shelving.
Steve

Too bad you're not close by. I have at least a couple dozen 4X4 sheets of Masonite. Several years back a small company that manufactured high end book cases was closing up their shop. Couldn't compete with the offshore companies. All their materials had to go. I paid next to nothing for the Masonite and the oak they were using was 10X3/4 and 12X3/4 and was going for $1 a foot. All of my shelving and the bases for 5 work benches are all oak. Cheaper than using plywood.

Rick...

 

[malbaby]

I used MDF...medium density fibreboard together with a thin foam under the vinyl....masonite was too hard....mixture of contact adhesive and shortened staples for fixing.

 

[sp53]

Well Malbaby I got the fiber board and the thin foam now I am waiting until after the holiday to check out the local stores for some 5/32 stables because HF only had 1/4, but did fine some online for 13.00. I also used split rivets for cubby boxes and the rivets are not around locally but found a good deal on line. I have to admit the rebuild is more time consuming than I thought it would be.
Steve

 

[CJD]

What did you decide to do for padding on the panels? I think the factory just used some cotton batting, like 1.8" or so. Moss and TRF use about 3/8" of foam. Skinner used a stick-on 1/8" foam, which seems to do a good job of duplicating the look of the original. Moss and TRF always look "over padded".

 

[malbaby]

I could not find short enough staples so I carefully used a disc sander on blocks of staples...lost some, but overall had enough to use successfully.

 

[PeterK]

For padding, I used 1/4" foam with scrim, a cloth backing. Also used hardboard(masonite), Weldwood and 5/32" staples but I could only find the 5/32" in galv. not SS.

 

[CJD]

While looking for cover material, I did see that JoAnn fabrics has 1/4" foam padding, original looking cotton batting for padding, or 1/8" stuff made to be backing for something (unknown to me not being a real seamster) that would work too.

 

[sp53]

The guy at the foam shop sold me some 3/16 foam that was on a roll. The stuff was black with a flat side and ruff side. I wish I would have used a grinder on my box of ¼ staples. I ended up buying 10,000 for 13.00 and free shipping; I will see when they get here if they work in my HF gun. I still have my grinder!!
steve