DIY Door Cards

[Dundy2456]

Hey everyone,

I'm a fan of trying little DIY projects on my mx5, so I feel like making this thread and updating it as I go.
When I first got the car the driver side door card had a lot of water damage. So I went out and bought some 3mm MDF, traced and cut a new one, transferred the material and for the past year and a half it's been sitting nicely back in place.

I came across a picture on FB the other day of a miata in Hawaii with custom fabric on the door cards (it was a floral, palm tree type graphic.. but I digress) and felt like giving it a go myself. I later came across an entire thread on CR.net on this exact topic and my pioneering spirit somewhat deflated. But I'm going to go ahead with it anyway!

My plan at the moment is to use 3.2mm Masonite as the backing, give it a layer or two of sealant, use a thicker (1-2mm) fabric as an underlay, then have material over the top (currently learning towards something terrible like an animal coat print, or maybe a digital camouflage). Going to use spray adhesive to keep it all together, and use original clips to get it on the door. Will most likely keep the pull handle where it is as I rest my arm there etc. Also, keeping original crash pads. So, the card will be somewhat of a feature.

Approximate cost at the moment is $25/L for sealer, $5.75 for a 915x610x3.2mm Masonite board (both from Bunnings), fabric will probably come in at $20. So, cheap enough to stuff up, try again and go through the usual trial and error process of any good DIY endeavor.

Getting a start on this early on next week so if you're interested to see how it goes, check back for pics and whatnot.

Cheers,
Chris

[slug_dub]

I've done this, still have one side to finish! (lazy )

The main issue I ran into was that the original doorcard material is 2mm thick, and you can only by 3mm or thicker material from Bun Buns... when you paint and add sealer to it it gets even thicker, which can make putting the plastic clips back on quite difficult as they are designed for the 2mm material. I routed down material where the clips had to go so that I didn't break them.

Photos when you're done please!

[Dundy2456]

I'll keep that in mind! I'll probably have to do the same because...

First Update: Using 3mm MDF instead of Masonite as I came across a bunch of 1000x600 panels at work

Also, contemplating arm rest delete, I think I've seen too many in that style and it's growing on me..

Do you have any pics of yours slug?

[slug_dub]

Crashpads need to be redone as the suede used here was not UV stable and has faded badly.

[Mr Morlock]

virtually all old cars had flat door panels i.e. no custom mouldings. or decorative trims etc. You can put virtually any think you like on the door trim but vinyl used to the material of choice because its robust hard wearing and can be wiped clean. The vinyl was once called vinyl coated fabric i.e. its actually thinner than seat trim material. You might be able to buy backing board from a trim supplier though a very thin wood might be ok. You do no need to add plastic to the between door cavity and backing board and also use butyl mastic to seal it off to act as a water / moisture barrier Getting the trim to sit flat is a bit of an art i.e. corners etc need to be cut as one does for covering books- in the days of the Romans! A tube of Selleys butyl mastic will do more trims sealing that you will need i.e. useful perhaps for another job. Vinyls available at trimmer suppliers, Clarks and Spotlight and sold by the metre. Incidentally you can also add foam as well to the board i.e. thin foam. Best thing perhaps is mock up a small prototype to see what it looks like.

[Dundy2456]

Stage one (chose to do this because I plan on putting new gunk and plastic)

Degreaser, heat gun and just out of shot is a Costco-sized tin of elbow grease and perseverance.

In the process I also found out my driver side door has been hit and refurbished..

[Dundy2456]

Template cut and a test fit..

[slug_dub]

Noice!

[Dundy2456]

Sealing to increase water resistance



Adding a layer of spongey foam to make them feel fancier



Sprayed the back with adhesive spray then stuck it on



Cut to shape and a close up of dat luxury

[Rolley]

You don't need a set of my mats your killing it with these door cards I'm sure you could sort out mats in your sleep.
Trimming is one of the things I love to do. I have done a couple of sets of doors a lot of hand brake boots and shift boots and a couple of steering wheels.
Once you start you're always looking for the next job.
Keep up the good work I love threads like this!

My old Beemer


One of the MOMO's (it's on the MX now)

[Dundy2456]

Haha thanks

This looks awesome.. love the door trim too, suits the car pretty well!

[Dundy2456]

Thinking about how to attach the fabric.. I want to be able to change the pattern in the future so I'm thinking staples.. But they would need to be 3mm max..

I could use a thin line of glue that could be scraped off but that might get messy. Tape of any sort would become useless in the heat..

[Dundy2456]

So I did a test fit and came to a few realisations for next time I do this..

Use a thicker layer of spongey foam, because the smallest staples I could find were 6mm and in some places, the teeth poke through so I'd probably go for twice as thick. Or try harder to find smaller staples to suit a T50 gun..

Find a better way to trim around the two guide holes for the speaker cover, probably not put anything there at all, or go very close to them, as the cover covers a few mm past the hole.

Next step is to replace the plastic on the door itself, behind the card (and do the driver side)

[4sfed5]

heres mine...
its made from "alumabond" which is plastic sandwiched by aluminium. covered in carbon wrap.
i had to reinforce the door top pad screw holes with knead it as the plastic all broke when i removed the screws.

freebee door pull from the local boat trimmers. held on with a few carefully placed dobs of silicon sealer..

[Dundy2456]

That actually looks really good!