Bellum
Junior Member
- Joined
- Jun 13, 2021
- Posts
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I just wanted to leave this here for future reference.. in case anyone is looking for another option
the door panel inserts on my Saleen were starting to peel, so instead of opting for plastic or the AM inserts, I decided to go with red diamond stitched alcantara from red line goods, I had to modify the inserts by removing the foam they used and used my own foam. the install was easier than expected but still a very long slow process that I would not want to do again, I think over 4 days I spent probably 15 hours from removal of door panels off the car to installing them back on the car. I've attached pictures for reference
This is after pulling the door panels and easily peeling off the vinyl insert from the backing you are left with a this heavily glued on felt type of piece. Total about 15 minutes per door
peeling this stuff off is a terrible process, Heat gun was useless, I used a plastic scraper to break the fibers while using lots of pulling force. it took about 1 hour per door.
all of these white spots of glue must be sanded as smooth as possible, this took 2-3 hours per door, I sanded by hand to help avoid doing any damage to the surrounding door panel with a wire wheel this could be done faster with one.
these are the red line goods inserts, I had to remove the thick piece of foam that they installed on the larger section of the insert because It didnt look or feel right when test fitting. I used 2 coats of weldwood contact cement on both the alcantara and 2mm high density eva foam. fitting, cutting and gluing the foam to the alcantara took 1-2 hours per door.
fitting the inserts to the door panel, I used a smooth brass scraper, razor blades and 2 coats of weldwood contact cement on the door panel plastic and the foam backed alcantara. This was the most feared aspect of this project, I didnt want to ruin these rather expensive pieces of fabric and not having any upholstery experience at all, I was a bit overwhelmed, but there are no competent automotive upholstery shops anywhere near me, so I said screw it and just jumped right in. overall it was easier than I expected, but there was a lot adjustment required to get it lined up correctly before pressing the fabric onto the door. weldwood contact cement is no joke, once you press it together, its together. There was also a ton of trimming involved and the contact cement was dulling my blades extremely quickly, I went through probably 20 razor blades. However! the door panels look and feel fantastic. each door took about 3 hours total from applying the contact cement to finishing tucking and trimming, I then let them sit for 24 hours with some weights on them
the door panel inserts on my Saleen were starting to peel, so instead of opting for plastic or the AM inserts, I decided to go with red diamond stitched alcantara from red line goods, I had to modify the inserts by removing the foam they used and used my own foam. the install was easier than expected but still a very long slow process that I would not want to do again, I think over 4 days I spent probably 15 hours from removal of door panels off the car to installing them back on the car. I've attached pictures for reference
This is after pulling the door panels and easily peeling off the vinyl insert from the backing you are left with a this heavily glued on felt type of piece. Total about 15 minutes per door
peeling this stuff off is a terrible process, Heat gun was useless, I used a plastic scraper to break the fibers while using lots of pulling force. it took about 1 hour per door.
all of these white spots of glue must be sanded as smooth as possible, this took 2-3 hours per door, I sanded by hand to help avoid doing any damage to the surrounding door panel with a wire wheel this could be done faster with one.
these are the red line goods inserts, I had to remove the thick piece of foam that they installed on the larger section of the insert because It didnt look or feel right when test fitting. I used 2 coats of weldwood contact cement on both the alcantara and 2mm high density eva foam. fitting, cutting and gluing the foam to the alcantara took 1-2 hours per door.
fitting the inserts to the door panel, I used a smooth brass scraper, razor blades and 2 coats of weldwood contact cement on the door panel plastic and the foam backed alcantara. This was the most feared aspect of this project, I didnt want to ruin these rather expensive pieces of fabric and not having any upholstery experience at all, I was a bit overwhelmed, but there are no competent automotive upholstery shops anywhere near me, so I said screw it and just jumped right in. overall it was easier than I expected, but there was a lot adjustment required to get it lined up correctly before pressing the fabric onto the door. weldwood contact cement is no joke, once you press it together, its together. There was also a ton of trimming involved and the contact cement was dulling my blades extremely quickly, I went through probably 20 razor blades. However! the door panels look and feel fantastic. each door took about 3 hours total from applying the contact cement to finishing tucking and trimming, I then let them sit for 24 hours with some weights on them
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