When working something in pairs I seem to do great on the first one, then moving to the second its never as easy. You would think it would be the opposite since you know have experience from the first one but something always goes wrong the second time around.
The padding is attached to the vinyl, I assume its glued but it does not come off but not in one piece. You could get it off the vinyl with alot of work if you really wanted but at that point I would be buying new vinyl. I think you can get the same grain vinyl to match, believe the texture is called Sierra Grain but can not confirm how well it matches to the original texture. I have thought of this as well If I cant get this one to line up.
Are you keeping the same interior color or changing? I have to say I never thought “painting” a panel a different color would ever come out looking good but Ive been happy, Sure its not as durable as the original colored vinyl thats for sure but its not like Ill have my toddlers in the back beating on it every day either.
I bought them as well, awhile back. I bought new generic black sierra vinyl and stretched it over. Used Barge Adhesive little by little and stretched it over. It worked great. I did however have to trim a few spots on the plastic. I’ll post pics at some point.
Nice repair work to your rear panels. I have my whole interior removed for a good cleaning before I restore a bunch of stuff. My rear interior panels say “NOTE: Service Parts Only.” It was very difficult to photograph but I gave it a shot. Both sides seem to be service replacements that happened at some point in the cars history. Just wanted to share and see if anyone had seen these before.
I’m thinking of swapping the interior to Black, and eventually change the top to black also. Haven’t pulled the trigger because of the door panels, afraid I will jack them up, or they will look flat and plain, with no “character”
I remember one of my panels having that that note on it as well. Cant remember which one however. I should look, I wonder if that was the difference in fitment between my two panels.
Speaking of fitment I finally got the driver side looking good too, It certainty was alot more of a headache getting it right then my first one but I did succeed and happy with the results. I just need to change the color and paint the basket weave, then install the sweep.
I have found stretching and gluing the edges in stages with an overnight cure has helped. I did the front edge and bottom one day, the rear section the next and finally the top on the third day. Having the previous section secure before moving on aided in getting everything tight. I did have to add some relief cuts to the vinyl in some areas to help stretch so dont be afraid to do that if you need do.
For as much time as I spent on that driver side panel I could have probably bought some new vinyl and wrapped the panels easier then reusing the original
I think the door panel job was a bit easier actually, maybe not if I did not have to fight the driver panel. Painting the basket weave was the hardest part.
Lots of folks find that heating materials up with a heat gun helps when manipulating them. With all my panels off I used a heat gun to soften the putty holding the vapor barriers on. I peeled them back and greased all the window tracks. Any other maintenance I should do since I have access to the insides? The lock area seems sealed up.
Here is the final result of fighting the driver side. Im not as satisfied as I was with the passenger side but it came out decent in the end. After the previous comment a about service parts labeling I checked my old parts and found the driver side to be a “service part only” And the passenger side to be original, maybe that had something to do with having to fight that side? Interested if anyone else notices that as well.
The new panels look good in the pics plus you have the satisfaction knowing you DIY’d it.
I have this odd spot on my rear arm pad. Anyone had any luck cleaning if off or covering it up? No plans to replace anything. I’ve just been detailing all the interior pieces with mild soaps. Removing decades of dirt it seems. I have seen wear or spots like this on other pads and wonder how they form.
I agree, that looks like cigarette burn. Also your probably scrubbing off years of tar build up if its been smoked in. I envy the saddle tan, I would not be changing my car to black if I had the saddle tan interior in good shape.
I found using dawn dish soap and a scrub brush did the best job at cleaning panels, dont be afraid to scrub with effort either. For me the decor basket weave held the most grime and took the most time to get clean before paint.
Yes I have used a brush with mild soaps to soften the dirt up over the entire surface. Then towel scrubbing on any specs of dirt. Finally something to freshing up and condition the vinyl. Totally understand that I need to take special care of my saddle pieces.
I have a pair of rear interior panels that came with my car (they were not install, they were in the trunk) but i doesn’t fit well. I never seen one of this cars in person … so , Im not sure what exactly should i will be looking at . I will include some pictures, My guess is that they don’t belong to this car Thanks for the help.! .
pics at https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1PqiuuBHF0E5YQRAJ8U8yqSq2H73tTPAo?usp=sharing
67 Cougar Base
