Door panel question. What would you do??

[jesse977]

I bought some old door panels for my 74 truck. I have doors from a 84 truck so I went to the junkyard and found me a nice pair for $20. They are in good shape but I want them to look better. I was wondering is it best to paint the panels or to have them upholstered?? Im thinking of gluing a thin carpet like fabric on them. What do you guys recommend I do that will last and look good? Any pics would be great.

[N2TRUX]

I suggest you strip them and re-dye them to the color you want. I haven't seen to many covered "stock" door panels that looked very good.

[jberkeley]

jesse, DON'T use the thin red carpet...looks good for about a week..after that you have red fibres all over the place.... strip them then redye.. i used that crap.. ugly... just my two cents....jberkeley

[jesse977]

How do you redye the panels???? Were do I purchase the dye?? Thanks

[Slonaker]

The dye can be bought in most auto parts stores in a wide selection of colors. It is usually in the same section as the spray paint. It is usually grouped with other specialty paints, like engine, barbeque grill, and wheel paint.

Slonaker

[jberkeley]

try recon products..or check online just type vinyl dye...brings up a bunch of companies.... hope this helps...

[N2TRUX]

I used lacquer thinner to strip mine. They were blue and had been dyed maroon. Someone had done a pretty good job at one time but they needed to be freshened up. It took about an hour per panel, but I got every last bit off.

The key to getting vinyl dye to adhere is making sure the panels are "really" clean, and use a good quality vinyl prep and dye. SEM's is one of the best I know of if you are using spray cans.....