1972 Dark Saddle door panel makeover
 

I’ve been fighting the 1972 only Dark Saddle/Saddle interior color for more than a year now. A very accomplished builder out of Southern California named Fidel Limon posted he used Rustoleum “Chestnut” for his Saddle interiors. I was shocked the results a rattle can of Rustoleum “Chestnut” gave and honestly I couldn’t believe how close the color was to the OER replacement armrests.

After a year of frustration, and hundreds of dollars spent, here are the results $15 of product from Walmart gave me. Yes I already had the adhesion promoter and the matt clear but for $30 and a 1/2 days work, you can replicate the results.

Re: 1972 Dark Saddle door panel makeover
 

I typically use a very dark brown and black self adhesive contact paper made by Yifely to redo the Deluxe inserts. I used instead.

Re: 1972 Dark Saddle door panel makeover
 

Heck Yeah! I love it when it turns out that good.

Re: 1972 Dark Saddle door panel makeover
 

Very nice, good work.

Re: 1972 Dark Saddle door panel makeover
 

Looks good. I might need to steal this idea.

Re: 1972 Dark Saddle door panel makeover
 

How did you cut contact paper to get the small chrome band to look that good?

Re: 1972 Dark Saddle door panel makeover
 

Those came out really nice. I remember the thread we were working this out in. Glad you found a shade you're happy with.

Re: 1972 Dark Saddle door panel makeover
 

That’s stupid nice good job

Re: 1972 Dark Saddle door panel makeover
 

Turned out great. I follow Fidel Limon on Instagram, turns out some great looking trucks.

Re: 1972 Dark Saddle door panel makeover
 

Id like to see a how to on how he did the entire thing ... Really looks great in the pics.

Re: 1972 Dark Saddle door panel makeover
 

I used mylar tape on my '70 door panels with the "chrome" around the woodgrain. I think it was 3/8" wide. I don't remember where I got it from, but it is the perfect width to cover up the trim. If anyone is interested, I can try to dig it up.

Re: 1972 Dark Saddle door panel makeover
 

That looks really nice. How did you get the thin inner metal lines? marker? or did you cut the woodgrain?

Thanks ...

Re: 1972 Dark Saddle door panel makeover
 

I use a firm 3M plastic squeegee to make sure the contact paper is down right up against the raised detail on both sides. Then I use a new razor blade to cut the contact paper off the top of the detail.

Re: 1972 Dark Saddle door panel makeover
 

Ah. Got it. Thanks. I'll have to try that ...

Re: 1972 Dark Saddle door panel makeover
 

SoCoC10

Getting around to doing this myself. Got a few questions
1. What did you use to clean the panels up before painting?
2. What did you do to prep the deluxe inserts before applying the new contact paper?
3. For the darker contact paper, do you have a item/model number for the darker color you have used? This is the closest I have found so far: https://www.amazon.com/SimpleLife4U-...95758792&psc=1

Thanks in advance

Re: 1972 Dark Saddle door panel makeover
 

Posting to make it easier to find later. I need to do some saddle painting myself.

Re: 1972 Dark Saddle door panel makeover
 

I just used Simple Green and hot water followed by denatured alcohol then the adhesion promoter, paint and just as they start to flash a light coat of the Satin clear. That Yifely product is the dark brown wood that I used previously.

Re: 1972 Dark Saddle door panel makeover
 

Thanks for the tips! Got mine off and working on finishing them up this weekend. Crazy (and not surprising) what the sun and in my case, cigarette smoke from the original owner does over 50 years.

How do you prep the inserts for the new contact paper? Just clean and knock down any high spots then just put the new contact paper down? Or do you sand the existing wood grain off?

Thanks in advance!

Re: 1972 Dark Saddle door panel makeover
 

Subscribed.

Re: 1972 Dark Saddle door panel makeover
 

This is great! I was wondering how the heck I was going to do this. First truck with the 72 style door panels.

Re: 1972 Dark Saddle door panel makeover
 

Paint turned out great! Color was a perfect match when I sprayed the back and the part that’s been covered by the insert. Struck out on two different contact paper patterns that weren’t as advertised from Amazon.

Re: 1972 Dark Saddle door panel makeover
 

The top defroster vent is NOS, the bottom painted with the chestnut paint referred to in Post #1.