How To: Recover Door Panels
I did this write up based on the NX Door Panel but it is the exact same concept. Both the NX and the Sentra share the common PITA one piece door design so recovering the cloth inserts isnt exactly easy because you have to tuck in the edges. I on the other hand have found a way to recover them pretty easy. With a bit of patience and time anyone can do this I mean anyone. I have no upholstry experience what so ever but I think I can give myself a pat on the back for this one.
What you need:
1. 1 Yard of the material you wish to recover the door panel insert with, the more stretchable the material is the easier to work with. ( I used black Ultrasuede)
2. Spray adhesive, the stickiest sh*t you can get, I used 3M High Strength 90
3. Razor Blade
4. Putty or Dry Wall Knife
5. Sandpaper 100 Grit
6. Vibrating Sander
7. Blue Painters Masking Tape
Not to get rid of that old dirty peeled up cloth insert.
Step 1:
Remove The Door Panel From The Vehicle:
Remove all other plastic parts like the door handle and such.
(Ignore the red spots and the roughly cut hole, I did a manual to power window conversion)
Step 2:
Peel The Old Cloth Off:
Step 3:
Sand The Door Panel Smooth.
When you remove the old cloth you will notice it left behind a spongy\glue residue. You need to sand the surface smooth, if you dont this will cause your new material not to stick very well and eventually lift. How well your material sticks depends on how well the surface it is to be mounted to is prepared. Thats the key rule here. Be sure to get it cleaned very well in the corners those are most important.
Step 6:
Tape Off The Area To Be Covered.
I used blue painters masking tape, so there is no residue left behind when you peel it back off. You want to cover the outside outer lip as best as possible.
Step 5:
Prepare Your Material.
Take you yard of material and cut it in half put one half aside for the other panel.
Step 6:
Start Mounting The Material.
Decide on a starting point and spray a small area of the panel with the spray adhesive. Put the material on it and smooth\stretch all the wrinkles out.
Continue till the whole portion is covered one small area at a time. Do not rush this it is a process that takes time and you might have to peel areas back up and restretch them several times before you get it right, but you will eventually get it.
Step 7:
Tuck In The Edges.This is much easier than it looks. Once you have the material stretched and completely smooth and mounted, it time to tuck in the edges what you want to do is spray a good amount of adhesive all down in the groove all the way around the section to be recovered. With the putty or dry wall knife, tuck in the access cloth all the way around.
Should look like this when it is finished. Let the adhesive dry before continuing.
Step 8:
Cut Away The Access Cloth.
Once the adhesive has dried, take your razor blade and score the grove all the way around the newly recovered part and pull the access cloth away. Make sure you score the are well so you dont accidently pull the cloth out of the groove. Peel off the blue painters masking tape and you panel is finished, it will look something like this:
Put all the plastic parts back on remount the door panel and your doors look good as new or even better!
What you need:
1. 1 Yard of the material you wish to recover the door panel insert with, the more stretchable the material is the easier to work with. ( I used black Ultrasuede)
2. Spray adhesive, the stickiest sh*t you can get, I used 3M High Strength 90
3. Razor Blade
4. Putty or Dry Wall Knife
5. Sandpaper 100 Grit
6. Vibrating Sander
7. Blue Painters Masking Tape
Not to get rid of that old dirty peeled up cloth insert.
Step 1:
Remove The Door Panel From The Vehicle:
Remove all other plastic parts like the door handle and such.
(Ignore the red spots and the roughly cut hole, I did a manual to power window conversion)
Step 2:
Peel The Old Cloth Off:
Step 3:
Sand The Door Panel Smooth.
When you remove the old cloth you will notice it left behind a spongy\glue residue. You need to sand the surface smooth, if you dont this will cause your new material not to stick very well and eventually lift. How well your material sticks depends on how well the surface it is to be mounted to is prepared. Thats the key rule here. Be sure to get it cleaned very well in the corners those are most important.
Step 6:
Tape Off The Area To Be Covered.
I used blue painters masking tape, so there is no residue left behind when you peel it back off. You want to cover the outside outer lip as best as possible.
Step 5:
Prepare Your Material.
Take you yard of material and cut it in half put one half aside for the other panel.
Step 6:
Start Mounting The Material.
Decide on a starting point and spray a small area of the panel with the spray adhesive. Put the material on it and smooth\stretch all the wrinkles out.
Continue till the whole portion is covered one small area at a time. Do not rush this it is a process that takes time and you might have to peel areas back up and restretch them several times before you get it right, but you will eventually get it.
Step 7:
Tuck In The Edges.This is much easier than it looks. Once you have the material stretched and completely smooth and mounted, it time to tuck in the edges what you want to do is spray a good amount of adhesive all down in the groove all the way around the section to be recovered. With the putty or dry wall knife, tuck in the access cloth all the way around.
Should look like this when it is finished. Let the adhesive dry before continuing.
Step 8:
Cut Away The Access Cloth.
Once the adhesive has dried, take your razor blade and score the grove all the way around the newly recovered part and pull the access cloth away. Make sure you score the are well so you dont accidently pull the cloth out of the groove. Peel off the blue painters masking tape and you panel is finished, it will look something like this:
Put all the plastic parts back on remount the door panel and your doors look good as new or even better!
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