Vapor barrier redux - my attempt

[white74westy]

My vapor barriers were in pretty sad shape! The passenger's side had been hatcheted to the point of being completely useless. The driver's side was much better and at the very least functional.

This would not do, so I decided to make repairs with new plastic.

This is the driver's side barrier:

You'll note what's left of the masking tape that was used during a past repair, that I assume was put there to keep the flap from falling off.

The flap is somewhat critical to the design, as it is intended to keep your door cards dry. VW used a method that heat welded the seam. This allows the plastic to remain between the door card and the elements and still allows the driver and passenger to ventilate if they desire.

As I was wracking my brain with ways in which to emulate the process, my neighbor walks in and asks what I'm doing. I asked if he had a food bag sealer. When I explained what I was trying to do, he started to gain interest and we both started bouncing ideas off of each other. In stroke of genius, he looks at me and says, "why don't we put the seam at the top and cut out what we don't need?" It was one of those moments where you realize you've probably been overcomplicating things for no reason whatsoever. I know we all try to remain faithful to the original VW design, but sometimes, other ideas may work just as well. Perhaps this is one of them. We had some 6 mil polyethelene laying about and started to work.

We took a piece and folded it in half, so that the seam (folded crease) would be at the top and then placed the original vapor barrier on top of it, to act as a template.

I used a sharpie to trace the outline. It doesn't have to be exact. In fact, I would allow for a couple of extra inches all the way around, so that you can trim it up, once you have it on the car.

I made sure I marked the major openings too...the window crank and the lever that opens the door, need to be cut out. I know the image shows that I've highlighted them, but don't worry about marking the holes where the clips are going to be inserted, you'll do that later.

Once you've made all your markings, it's time to start cutting. I used a pair of nice sharp scissors to make all of my cuts. Worked out great. Also, don't be afraid to go back and forth between the cutting surface (dining room table, or whatever) and the bus. I made a couple of trips and trimmed additional material each time, until I was satisfied. Here is what you'll end up with:

So the intention is to leave the exterior piece long enough to sit inside the door cavity, while the piece closest to the driver/passenger will have the cutout that will allow the fresh air vent to function. Take a look at the pictures below, once it is installed.

Also, once I was satisfied with the fit, I took the newly formed vapor barrier and used it as a template for the other side:

Just remember it is going to mirror the opposite side.


By now, it's time to get to some of the fun stuff. Let's start installing them!!!
To begin, I wiped everything down, to ensure a nice clean work environment. The bus had just been painted, but I wanted to make sure I didn't have to do this again. Degreaser and some paper towels were used to prep the area. Obviously, you want to be able to get behind the vapor barrier to make any repairs that might be necessary down the road, so I used this stuff that I had read about in other threads:

It allows you to reposition the plastic, should you need to remove it.

Apply the caulk strips to the door and roll them out. Now I actually had a roller that is used for this type of thing, but couldn't find it. I suspect a couple of little scoundrels may have found it and put it to good use, while playing with their dolls. In any case, I decided to raid the kitchen drawers and found this one:

which I used to flatten the caulk strips around the door. Now I'm not advocating or recommending the use of your significant other's utensils. In fact this is my disclaimer, that doing so without prior consent may be hazardous to your life/relationship etc. Thankfully, I have a very understanding wife, and I explained that either way I would have to take a trip to the store. So, rather than go now, I would use hers, and replace it at another time, so that I didn't have to stop working. Phew...she bought it - and eventually, I'll have to buy her a new one!

Everything is squished and we're ready to install the vapor barrier:

I attached the vapor barrier to the caulk:

Please note how (as I mentioned earlier, the longer piece that is sitting inside the cavity of the door) the exterior piece is tucked inside the door and the piece closest to the driver or passenger will still allow the vent to be used and keep things nice and dry:

Once I had the plastic in place, it was time to attach the rubber clip retainers. I found that a file used for prepping a tire for a plug was the perfect size to puncture the plastic:

With the holes made, all the way around, I used a small drill bit to help push the rubber clip retainers into place. They have a small lip near the widest part of the cone, that helps keep them in the door. By using the drill bit, I was able to make sure that it was seated properly:

I have mentioned in the past, that I like to give credit where it is due. This is one of those cases. I used Wolfsburg West's kit to help finish out the doors. I was fortunate to have almost all of my original clips and their retainers. However, many of the rubber grommets had begun to show their age and some of the clips were missing. I ordered this kit and was extremely pleased with the way they performed:

A big thank you to Wolfsburg West for making the effort to find parts that are manufactured to work, or even better, manufacturing them for us!

Back to the doors. The night before I started all of this, I spent a couple of hours scrubbing the original door cards. There was 40+ years of grime, dirt and filth that had built up over the years. I used a little bit of GOJO hand cleaner on an extremely worn out 3M dish sponge...you know the kind with the green brillo attached to the yellow sponge. I like to keep a couple of them laying around, just for jobs like this. Be careful, not to get too aggressive with the vinyl. I think it paid off, and I'm pretty happy with the results. Here is how things ended up:

I hope this helps and proves useful!

a.

[riverside66]

That's some hot vapor barrier/door card action right there!

Looks great!

I may, possibly at some point in the future, decide to do mine. When and if I do, I will most likely re-review your write-up.
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1977 Standard Beetle -Sold-
1979 Transporter - "Wheatbread" -Sold-

[DucksHockey]

Awesome job!

That is next on my agenda. I will definitely be using your write-up as a guide.
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1971 Bus
2161 Full-flow Engine
Dual HPMX 44's
Vintage Speed Exhaust and Shifter

1972 Karmann Ghia Convertible
2007 Full-flow Engine
Dual HPMX 40's
Vintage Speed Exhaust and Shifter

1973 Thing
1904 Full-flow Engine
Dual HPMX 40's

[OB Bus]

Looks great and thanks for documenting things so well.

One additional thing I like to do is to put about 3 heavy coats of oil-based exterior spar varnish on the back side of the door panels (cards). This gives just a little more protection against water attacking from the back side.
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Larry in OB
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!
69 Westfalia and 2002 Eurovan Camper.

[white74westy]

[white74westy]

[camit34]

Nice work!

Gonna bookmark this one, thanks!
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In search of a Vanagon
1971 Westy (SOLD)
1971 Deluxe (SOLD)
1967 Freedom Camper (SOLD)

[white74westy]

[Ride_On]

Just finished following your lead - two nights ago, we had a downpour and all the water stayed outside the bus now! Terrific! Thanks for posting.

Also, nice job with the strip caulk. I did not have quite such a clean installation, but it worked well.
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1977 Westfalia 2.0 FI Skills EJ25 w SubaruGears 5sp
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=687254
2018 Golf Sportwagen 4MO DSG (Dieselgated 2013 Golf Wagon TDI DSG)

[white74westy]