# R32 door panel vinyl-less?



## peckhs (Jul 20, 2013)

It probably sounds silly, but I am in the midst of respraying my 32 and am thinking to rewrap the door cards.
I was quoted about GBP200 to retrim each door card, and that is only for the soft, microfibre part in the middle area, not the whole door card..
So, I was thinking maybe I can do this myself.
But before I do, I would like to know from people who has done it before... after removing the vinyl, what is underneath? ie, the shell.
Is it a hard board, made of plastic?
Can it be carbon-dipped?

I would really like to see a "naked" door card if I can, so I will know what to expect.

Thanks.

Cheers!!


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## zimmersquirt (Aug 30, 2014)

No pix but its press formed fibreboard with foam inserts then vinyl over the top.

I like your idea but TBH I think its a non starter. you'd see all the standoff shoes for the trim buttons for starters


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## Cris (Sep 17, 2007)

I have been thinking the same thing myself. I can take some pics at some point in the future.

It may be possible to either replace the foam and cover or to just remove it completely.

What to do with the finish underneath? I'm thinking to get the panels flocked which might be the answer.


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## peckhs (Jul 20, 2013)

I am thinking to remove everything till the bare fibreboard... am hesitant at this point cos once I start it will be a point of no return, and I can't drive around without the door panels as it is my daily driver

And @zimmersquirt, what do you mean by the "standoff shoes for the trim buttons"? 
Apologies as I'm not a native English speaker...
Thanks


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## peckhs (Jul 20, 2013)

Cris said:


> I have been thinking the same thing myself. I can take some pics at some point in the future.
> 
> It may be possible to either replace the foam and cover or to just remove it completely.
> 
> What to do with the finish underneath? I'm thinking to get the panels flocked which might be the answer.


Haven't got anyone to do flocking in my country unfortunately...  
It is either wrapping or carbon dipping... both which cost many dollars here.


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## peckhs (Jul 20, 2013)

and so, I took my spare rear panels and proceeded to strip the vinyl.
The vinyl can actually be easily ripped off with brute force, but I realised if I did that, the vinyl will separate from the foam and make the removal of the foam more difficult after...

this is where I ripped the vinyl off with force. the light colored part is the foam, the dark colored part the fibreboard



the silvery area in the below pic are the rivets that hold the brackets at the back of the board, and probably what zimmersquirt was referring to as "the standoff shoes for the trim buttons "



the panel "naked', shown next to the vinyl



the bare panel beside the original panel with vinyl



if you look at the bare fibreboard, there are residue of the foam. I tried using sandpaper to sand it off, it works but will probably take a long time. I reckon it will be a much faster process if I had an electric sander... sadly I don't...

alternatively, I think someone with a cork blaster, or something similar which uses non-abrasive materials for blasting will get very good results in a very short time...

after removing the residue foam and smoothening the fibreboard, I am going to spray a layer of either 1) epoxy primer 2) 3M undercoat or 3) plasticdip, to cover the exposed rivet ends and allow it to be carbon dipped...

will update when there is progress...


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## zimmersquirt (Aug 30, 2014)

This has inspired me to attack my crumbling C pillar trims.

You gonna try the doorcard next ?


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## Sub Boy (Jan 28, 2008)

I have stripped all the vinyl off my front door cards to make custom audio door panels, combined with fibre glass, MDF, filler and then hand laid vinyl to make these.


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## Cris (Sep 17, 2007)

Sub Boy said:


> I have stripped all the vinyl off my front door cards to make custom audio door panels, combined with fibre glass, MDF, filler and then hand laid vinyl to make these.


Did you take the foam off too? If so did you replace the foam (looks like it's there in the pics)?


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## Sub Boy (Jan 28, 2008)

No, i didn't bother putting any foam back on after taking the old vinyl and foam off, i just made sure the surface was perfect.


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## Cris (Sep 17, 2007)

Sub Boy said:


> No, i didn't bother putting any foam back on after taking the old vinyl and foam off, i just made sure the surface was perfect.


Interesting.

I'm thinking about pulling the vinyl and foam off and then getting my dash etc flocked. Should cure the R32 dash bubble problem permanently then...

Is the prep work difficult. I'm guessing that solvents are a no-no (make the fibreboard all soggy?) so is it just elbow grease?

Of course it might make the car a bit louder inside...


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## Sub Boy (Jan 28, 2008)

Just elbow grease and sand paper. It wasn't that hard, the vinyl pulls off easy enough and the foam you can sand off with 60grit sandpaper, from there you would need to get it smoothed with something like spray putty.


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## peckhs (Jul 20, 2013)

Sub Boy said:


> Just elbow grease and sand paper. It wasn't that hard, the vinyl pulls off easy enough and the foam you can sand off with 60grit sandpaper, from there you would need to get it smoothed with something like spray putty.


Did you sanded using your hands or did you used an electric sander?

I am sanding by hand at the moment and is is taking some time to smooth down to the fibreboard

I am waiting for an adaptor for my electric drill so I can sand it electrically. Hopefully that will shorten the time..

And, did you completely sanded it to the board, or you just sanded it till flat only?

Thanks


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## peckhs (Jul 20, 2013)

removed the vinyl for the 2nd panel today.
as you can probably see, I have managed to remove the vinyl and foam cleaner this time, as I used the scrapper to slowly push under the foam and pry it separate from the board.
I think spending a little more time doing this will save me more time to sand down the residue..


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## peckhs (Jul 20, 2013)

zimmersquirt said:


> This has inspired me to attack my crumbling C pillar trims.
> 
> You gonna try the doorcard next ?


yeap, after I finish with the rear panels, as I want to see the results before I proceed with the doorcards...


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## peckhs (Jul 20, 2013)

and so i have started to remove the vinyl from the door panels

before



after



it took double the time due to the bigger area, and the many curvature made it harder to use the scrapper..

i had trouble removing the speaker cover because of 2 tabs that were secured using washers ... i ended up breaking the tabs..





@ Sub Boy, did you had this problem too? how did you remove the washer?

I have found someone to sandblast the panels, so I should be able to save some precious time, 
after that will apply putty and then decide what i am gonna do to the panels...


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## Sub Boy (Jan 28, 2008)

I wasn't interested in keeping the grills as I was making custom speaker enclosures, but I have managed to remove the clips on the grills, you have to carefully pry them off with a small split pry bar


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## nightcrawler (May 7, 2010)

peckhs said:


> and so i have started to remove the vinyl from the door panels
> 
> before
> 
> ...



removing the locking washers on the speaker cover is easy. i just pulled it off and gently twisting it side to side. its just a washer, no thread, no lock.

great idea though... looking forward to the end result of this. im thinking of putting alcantara on mine at some point.

subscribed.


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## nightcrawler (May 7, 2010)

i think carbon dipped looks cool on this.

http://www.gtr.co.uk/forum/285026-carbon-godzilla-widebody-r32-gt-r-sale.html

wilrobdon i think also has cf door panel on his 32


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## FRRACER (Jun 23, 2013)

Might be to few people's taste but carbon door cards in gloss just looks tacky! Leather with a mix of alcantara is a better choice. Important to know when to take a step back with carbon some people end up putting it everywhere.


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## nightcrawler (May 7, 2010)

FRRACER said:


> Might be to few people's taste but carbon door cards in gloss just looks tacky! Leather with a mix of alcantara is a better choice. Important to know when to take a step back with carbon some people end up putting it everywhere.


+1

i dont have any carbon touch with my car but just thought it might be good. no to everyone's preference hence i prefer alcantara for more classy and simple looks


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## peckhs (Jul 20, 2013)

I don't think I can carbon dip the fibreboard.
Wrapping with leather and Alcantara is the best choice, but I may just do a wrap for something different.


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## peckhs (Jul 20, 2013)

It's been a few weeks, and I have finally gotten the panels sanded 





















Next I will have to decide what I want to do.

I can

1) rewrap them in leather/Alcantara
2) putty them and plastic dip them
3) use the panels to make a carbon panel
4) flock them...
5) wrap them in velvet

Unfortunately No 4 is not available in my country...

Any suggestions?


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## SamboGrove (Jun 27, 2010)

I would say leather/alcantara or carbon.

Carbon be a bit much though in your car. I saw in the other retrim thread that you have the carbon dash. Maybe a bit too much carbon with the door panels as well?


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## R3Twist (Feb 10, 2012)

I'm thinking of giving this a go now. I thought the door cards would just fall apart. But they still look really solid even after you rubbed them all down. Good work.


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## peckhs (Jul 20, 2013)

SamboGrove said:


> I would say leather/alcantara or carbon.
> 
> Carbon be a bit much though in your car. I saw in the other retrim thread that you have the carbon dash. Maybe a bit too much carbon with the door panels as well?


I am thinking that too..
But I am also thinking to try other materials...
I'll see what the retrimmers have at their shop


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