door panel- replace pressboard?

[Lil' Lulu]

Has anyone tried to remove the skin from the door panels and replace the pressboard? The skins and armrests on my doors are fine but the part of the board in the footwell is all but gone.
RB
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"There's no nookie like Chinookie" Ray Troll

[pwilson]

Removing then is easy enough. You just take of the arm rest, window crank, door opener and air vent then pop the panel out. There are a bunch of little clip things that go around the edge of the panel holding it to the door, they just snap into and out of place. I haven't replaced my panels, I had them out for other reasons. I can't imagine them being too difficult to replace, just trace out the old ones and cut new ones, swap clips and skin (or add new skin) and presto!

Phil

[Lil' Lulu]

They're already off. It's just how the pressboard comes off.

pwilson- Have you done this removal and replacement? I'd like to know how you removed the vinyl from the pressboard.

Thanks
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"There's no nookie like Chinookie" Ray Troll

[VDubTech]

[DurocShark]

What VDT said.

I've rebuilt all the panels in my bus and used the opportunity to make them nicer (IMnsHO).
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[akscooter]

My kick panels where peeling back, I used a hairdrier and a heat gun, heat it to the point where you see the vinyl turn glossy and pull slowly. It will come off in one piece if you do it slowly.....mine came off very easily and only pulled in a few small areas..hope this helps.
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1975 campmobile
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[Lil' Lulu]

It helps- and thanks. So what I get from your post is the adhesive melt temp is lower than the critical temp of the vinyl.

I really think the vinyl overall is quite good or I wouldn't even try.

Thanks again AK
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"There's no nookie like Chinookie" Ray Troll

[snotty]

[Lil' Lulu]

Thanks Snotty- Did you use heat to remove the vinyl? I wonder if any of the vinyl treatment stuff will restore the stretch.

RB
_________________
"There's no nookie like Chinookie" Ray Troll

[Randy in Maine]

I would suggest using something like Masonite or Baltic birch plywood and I would "seal" the inside with a couple of coats of polyurethane.

The factory set up contained 2 plastic sheets that allowed water to drip down past the window seals and drain out the drain holes in the bottom of the doors. You will have to do a search here but somewhere there is a picture of it.

New vinyl or fabric would not that tough to glue on there if you are so inclined.

[busdaddy]

If the vinyl is good and the board hasn't completely disintegrated at the bottom you can get it wet and sandwich it between some plywood with sandbags on it for a week, flattens it out nice. I've saved a few tough ones after that by fiberglassing the back of the panel to stiffen and seal it.
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Rust NEVER sleeps and stock never goes out of style.

Wanted, 68-73 westy OG plaid curtains, singles OK.

[snotty]

[joe73camper]

I just replace the masonite on the original door boards with a 3mm plastic called sintra or foamed PVC, from a company called alussuise, peel off the vinyl using water, then clean with pinol or pine sol, then use the old boards as pattern, cut the sintra with jigsaw, drill the holes, glue the vinyl to the new board with super 77 spraymount, and thats it, looks original and it has the benefit that it is moisture free, the problem with original panels is that the fiberboard tends to grow with the moisture and the vinyl tends to shrink with heat, thats why many boards are bended. I just upload pictures at my gallery

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_search.php?search_author=joe73camper

[moxnix]

In august I scrounged (free) some nice original tan door panels from a parts bus that were perfect except for the very bottom 4-6 inches due to water damage. (as usual) I cut up the repop incorrect black panels that I had in the bus to replace the rotted sections on the originals. I used some heat to peel the skin back and then cut the bad fiberboard out- then fit in fiberbaord patches from the other panels. Used some expanding wood glue and 3m adhesive to make the whole thing solid. Vinyl looks a little wavy , but hardly noticeable. Be sure to replace the batting under teh vinyl or it wont look right. And make sure you put the holes in the right places- measure 2x
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[Lil' Lulu]

Thanks again all- The board at the bottom is completely gone for about 4" so I'm going to try taking it off after it gets above 20 degrees (not usual here on the coast) I'll try some of the foamed pvc that Joe talks about.

Believe it or not, the plastic is OK on the pasenger side, so I can see the convoluted way they made the water flow inside the door. I use blue-tac to mount it now that I did the bug and it worked so good.

RB
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"There's no nookie like Chinookie" Ray Troll

[snotty]

Obvious point, but when replacing the door cards, refit the plastic membrane/sheet behind them. The window scrapers aren't the best in the world and even with new ones in my experience water still gushes in.

If you've got door speakers, best to arrange the membrane so it's draped over the back of thespeaker.
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1978 Sage Green Bay

[Lil' Lulu]

Looks like the membrane on mine has two parts, one that goes outboard to drain the water and one that goes inboard to cut off the airflow. They join together about halfway up the door.
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"There's no nookie like Chinookie" Ray Troll

[busdaddy]

Yep, you need that second flap to divert the water to the outside of the door, if not it all ends up on the mat beside the seat.

IIRC the 72+ vented door membranes had a flap that layed over the door side of the vent, kept water and drafts from coming into the bus.
_________________
Rust NEVER sleeps and stock never goes out of style.

Wanted, 68-73 westy OG plaid curtains, singles OK.

[suzygrnburg]

i redid all of the panels in my bus with baltic birch plywood. I think it was 3mm. I still have a few extra sheets if anyone is looking for some. I think i also have the pattern for the front kicks that someone on here traced for me. I can send them out if anyone is interested
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[snotty]