Door Panel Leather Sagging - **FIX**

0NF1R

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Wrote this back in '09 and figured i post it on here...panels still looks as if ive just done them today...did this on my previous stang...

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Okay guys, ive been posting all over these forums about the deal with my door panel leather coming off and from the feedback ive received, there are a lot more out there that are or were in my position and im sure there will be more in my position in the future as this is a continuing issue...

today, i took the challenge to fix it myself and i say "challenge" because im not very mechanically inclined...throughout the process, i took pics to help make this process a bit easier for the next guy to go down this road...

here were the panels before i started...
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I went to Wal-Mart and bought a few supplies that i thought i would need.

The supplies are as follows:
1 can of Contact Cement $5
1 wrag or tarry cloth
1 flathead screwdriver
1 pack of 3 Poly Brushes (from crafts section) $3
1 roll of masking tape $3
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STEP 1:
Go ahead and finish separating the leather from the door the rest of the way until you get down to the armrest.
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STEP 2:
You will immediately notice the padding that rests behind the leather. Once upon a time, this leather was glued to the back of the leather, but it has since deteriorated from heat and expansion/contraction of the leather and eventually comes apart from the leather backing...You can take a finger and rub the padding and it will just roll under your fingertip and come right off like crumbs...The next step is to use your hand with some slight pressure and finish rolling off all of the desintigrated padding that is on the panel...Once you are done, there should be nothing but a carpet type of material left...
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STEP 3:
Apply the Contact Cement religiously to both the leather backing and the door panel area and let dry for 15 min. Apply one more light layer of Contact Cement to both areas and let dry for 15 min. I suggest 2 layers because the material will absorb some of the cement. I went ahead and taped off the door panel to protect it from the cement prior to application.
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STEP 4:
Once youve allowed plenty of time for the cement to dry, use a small towel or wrag in hand to start pressing the leather back onto the door panel beginning at the bottom in the middle and gradually working your way towards the top as well as to the sides. The edge of the leather is easy to put back in its original position because it retains its shape (curved edge) even after its removed from the panel. When pressing the leather back on, the leather edge just falls back into place.
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Once all of this is completed, you have yourself a repaired door panel!
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You just repeat the process for the other door and then your done!
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All in all it took about 2 hours to complete but thats with taking my sweet'ole time and taking breaks from this Florida heat like every 15 minutes...Im very happy with how it came out and i hope this helps you guys...
-Mike
 

Brewster

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Is your liner still in place after all this time? Does the cement smell at all in the car after it's dried? This just happened to my car as well and I'm going to need to do this repair soon.
 

sinabite

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I secound Brewster's question. How have they held up? I got my hands on some Grabber Orange Leather that matchs my car........a year ago.......I've been too afraid to tackle this project and redo my interior.
 

joshualee7788

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I followed this write up and did my interior cause it was falling. I did it about 3 months ago and it's still holding up. As far as the smell of the cement. It had a strong glue smell for about a week or so. I just let it air out and it's gone away now.
 

sinabite

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Do you remember what brand of contact cement you used. My only scare is that i live on El Paso wherr summers in the desert can become unforgiving
 

0NF1R

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I've since sold the car but I still keep contact with the buyer and he said he has has no problems with them....

Keep in mind that this DIY was written to show how to repair your currect door trim that has fallen or is sagging and contains information on repairing the top half of the trim that is above the armrest...The area of the trim that is really narrow and runs around the bottom edge of the door panel might be a little more difficult to repair simply because of the size of the material and the curvature of the door panel...So for anyone who is planning in replacing the material altogether and not just a simple repair of the existing material, please post up your findings...


This DIY was performed in Florida and it gets very hot here as well but our humidity helps out some...
 

skwerl

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Hey Mike, good to see you again. Did you sell the Roush? :thud:
Or was that another Mustang you sold?
 

0NF1R

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Hey how's it been? No I still have the beast but I did this repair on my previous mustang...
 

crummyarchitect

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This just started happening on my '06 drivers side door. Gonna have to save this thread to my favs so I can fix it this spring when the weather is nicer. Thanks!
 

Professor

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This just started happening on my '06 drivers side door. Gonna have to save this thread to my favs so I can fix it this spring when the weather is nicer. Thanks!

Let me know if you do this. Wanna see how it turns out. I've thought about doing it myself. My go with an automotive grade interior spray adhesive, though. Not sure.
 

crummyarchitect

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Let me know if you do this. Wanna see how it turns out. I've thought about doing it myself. My go with an automotive grade interior spray adhesive, though. Not sure.

I thought about spray adhesive also, but of all the threads ive found across all the forums everyone uses the rubber cement. I don't know if I want to be the first one - still haven't done anything yet.
 

0NF1R

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I thought about spray adhesive also, but of all the threads ive found across all the forums everyone uses the rubber cement. I don't know if I want to be the first one - still haven't done anything yet.

If the adhesive is sprayed on, it won't penetrate into the material as well as brushing it on will...
 

AbdullaGT500

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I used Automotive spray adhesive(for headliners, carpet, etc.) on mine a few weeks ago. I did not separate it completely as I didn't have much time, but I pulled back the top half that was separating and sprayed the adhesive on the leather and on the door panel and pushed it back into position and pushed out the "bubbles." So far so good, but it's only been a few weeks.
 

Professor

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I used Automotive spray adhesive(for headliners, carpet, etc.) on mine a few weeks ago. I did not separate it completely as I didn't have much time, but I pulled back the top half that was separating and sprayed the adhesive on the leather and on the door panel and pushed it back into position and pushed out the "bubbles." So far so good, but it's only been a few weeks.

Did you remove that foam like the original poster did, or did you just leave it?
 

slick grey

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Thank you for this. Mine just started and i WAS going to pay 150.00 a door but now i will just be spending 15.00 to fix it my self thatnk you
 

SolarWar

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ive got to go this soon cheap and easy fixes are the way to go .
 

05mustang_TT_charged

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I used the spray cement and it would hold for a couple months and then start coming off again. I eneded up just ordering new door panels to replace them as it was aggrovating. If/when the new ones start doing this I will try the contact cement.

Thanks for the write up.
 

shark tales

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i did this on my brothers gto suede panel and this is the diy i followed. i got the same contact cement can from walmart.

it did a great job.
 

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