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I have an answer for this. I have made some custom door panels for
various cars in the past. You can use masonite, or you can simply buy thin
fiberboard at your local home improvement store...which is what I do.
While you are at the home improvement store, buy a product made by 3M called
Super 77. It is a spray adhesive. You need to apply the product to
the back of your vinyl, and to your new door panel, and then give them about 15
minutes to get tacky. Then you can put the vinyl on the panel, and make
sure you have it where you want it, cause moving it at this point requires an
act of God. I lay the vinyl down on one side and work it down towards the
other side with a smoothing tool that I have left over from when I used to tint
and stripe cars, but you can use a wallpaper smoother cut in half to a
manageable size. Make sure you work all of the air out. Also, I
would recommend that you put an 1/8" layer of closed cell foam over your door
panel before you cover it with the vinyl so that it has a "softer look."
Otherwise, you might end up with a very product that you aren't happy with the
look of. You can purchase closed cell foam by the foot at most upholstery
shops. Don't buy anything over 1/8" thick, or your door panels will be
much too thick. You have to buy closed cell foam because the adhesive will
adhere to it well, it will not adhere to other very porous foams. Really,
if you make a practice door panel with some scrap or cheap purchased
vinyl, you will find that door panels are pretty easy to do. I
couldn't ever understand why upholstery shops charge $150.00 or more
per panel. If you need to stretch the vinyl to smooth out your
corners, you can use a heat gun, very carefully, to slightly heat the vinyl
and make it pliable enough to achieve the desired amount of stretch.
Then, you just pull it around the back side of the board about an inch and use
some contact cement, or spray adhesive again (if you can keep from over-spraying
your project), and it will hold.
Let me know how it goes.
Teresa Smith
1959 Imp, and various other Mopars
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