How to make door panels

[BP68]

Hey all

Just wondering if you have made you own door panels. Just looking for some tips on what materials to use for a backer, and the overall steps to getting it done. I am trying to come up with a design to fit my build.

Pics would be great also.

[Dingfodgy]

I haven't done this yet, but I plan to. For a backer, I'll be using 1/8" masonite. It's cheap, fairly durable, and easy to work with. For finishing, I'll first glue on some fairly dense polyurethane foam thats 1/2 - 3/4 inches thick and probably score out some vertical ribs. I'll then go to my local furniture store and order some upholstery material and glue that on too. Haven't figured out how to mount them yet, but with a little searching I'm sure to find a suitable post and socket type of dooey-bob that will be concealed on the backside of the panels.

[72swb_327stroker_?]

Originally Posted by Dingfodgy

I haven't done this yet, but I plan to. For a backer, I'll be using 1/8" masonite. It's cheap, fairly durable, and easy to work with. For finishing, I'll first glue on some fairly dense polyurethane foam thats 1/2 - 3/4 inches thick and probably score out some vertical ribs. I'll then go to my local furniture store and order some upholstery material and glue that on too. Haven't figured out how to mount them yet, but with a little searching I'm sure to find a suitable post and socket type of dooey-bob that will be concealed on the backside of the panels.

i did almost exactly that!
you can get most of this stuff from your local- home cheapo, lowes, osh or hardware store.... i used 1/4" mdf, its a little thicker but turns out nicer panels and adds some to sound deadening as well as lending more for shaping and rounding corners and edges. spray adhesive= you can also get this there or try the hobby/crafts/fabric stores they actually have the stuff that upholstry shops use in a can(super strong). 1/4" sheets of foam from fabric store. vinyl, leather, tweed or whatever material you want to wrap the doors in, also from the fabric store. yah yah, i know..... the dang fabric store? yep, and there is usually some nice eye candy in there to boot! so in a nut shell here is a quick run down of a how to:

1. make a template, use some very big sketch paper or water color paper taped together or maybe construction paper be creative. this will make it easier to make two identical panels, assuming you have identical doors.

2. cut 1 panel from the template than fit and trim. than try the template on the other door first, and adjust if necessary if its good than cut out the 2nd panel.

3. round off edges and cut holes with a hole saw for your manual door and window cranks, this will get your door panels to sit some what flush with your doors.

4. then you need to figure out how you want the panels to mount to the doors. do you want or care about seeing fasteners/screws, if so you can use a router to make a recessed top and bottom oval about 2"x24" 1 for each.only take of half of the material so if its 1/4" board go in only 1/8" so that you have material to screw down the doors and cover the screws.

5. then using 1/8" board make the same cut outs trimming 1/16" all around to allow for the material thickness. wrap that with material and viola you just press those in after screwing in the wrapped panels into the doors. you can pop those in and out when you need to and gain access to the door innards . if not, use your trusty templates as a guide or try using your old door panel back to back with the new panel to mark and drill the holes.

6. spray the foam and the panel let it set a few mins to get tacky then press together, remember to trim the edges!

7. measure and trim the material and spray both the fabric and the panel/foam, again let it set up and get tacky. then press together and wrap to back side past the previously drilled holes.

8. test fit your doors and press in your fastener cover panels and your done!

you can find fiberglass door pulls/arm-rests online for about 40-70 bucks depending on styles..

when i sort out all my build thread pics i will post them and possibly an in depth door panel and center console how to. sorry for the lengthy post! just tryin to help. i was a high end sound system designer/ installer for a few years and learned some pretty cool tricks along the way.
hope this helped!!

[1LoC10]

what if you just used the stock metal door panels, and just wraped them in whatever material, then they would just bolt up

[Longhorn Man]

How about something like this?

[19723DR]

I am also making my own door panels. I'm using 1/4 masonite wrapped in vinal, check out my build thread, I should get further along this weekend.

[70GMCer]

Check with 70c10 on here. Once in a while, he makes panels for others & might be able to make your panels at a real good price. He did mine and they look & fit great.

We didn't have to mod the doors or do any extra drilling. This is tweed material and about 3 yards was needed. Remember, you have to figure out how much material you'll need depending on how much pleating or mold lines you'll be adding. Jo-han Fabrics is a great place to find a lot of the things you would need.

[whatnow123]

Originally Posted by 70GMCer

Check with 70c10 on here. Once in a while, he makes panels for others & might be able to make your panels at a real good price. He did mine and they look & fit great.

We didn't have to mod the doors or do any extra drilling. This is tweed material and about 3 yards was needed. Remember, you have to figure out how much material you'll need depending on how much pleating or mold lines you'll be adding. Jo-han Fabrics is a great place to find a lot of the things you would need.

Wow, those look really cool! I want a set.

[BP68]

Originally Posted by 70GMCer

Check with 70c10 on here. Once in a while, he makes panels for others & might be able to make your panels at a real good price. He did mine and they look & fit great.

We didn't have to mod the doors or do any extra drilling. This is tweed material and about 3 yards was needed. Remember, you have to figure out how much material you'll need depending on how much pleating or mold lines you'll be adding. Jo-han Fabrics is a great place to find a lot of the things you would need.

How do those attach to the door. Obviously with the arm rest, but what else is holding the edges and bottom panel on?

[Andy4639]

I made these for my 71 out of the same stuff a pro shop uses.

[nuke1]

here is some i have done, i know they are not our trucks but it gives you an idea.

[70GMCer]

Originally Posted by BP68

How do those attach to the door. Obviously with the arm rest, but what else is holding the edges and bottom panel on?

A special kind of "course Velcro"......

[Sport/Truck]

The 3M spray supper 77 didn't hold when I redid some panels on my BIL's car. It started letting in a few months or a year. Not sure if it was the humidity or heat in Temple Texas. I wont use this anymore, & I suggest a better glue.
s/t

[Yukon Jack]

Hmm, I thought I had an old post on doing mine but I can't find it. Here is a link to a tech page of mine over at stovebolt.com

Here is the finished product. Simple, but I like it for my build.

[TonyJohnson]

Originally Posted by Yukon Jack

Hmm, I thought I had an old post on doing mine but I can't find it. Here is a link to a tech page of mine over at stovebolt.com

Here is the finished product. Simple, but I like it for my build.

Very nice and simple. That's what I'd do. My metal panels are in good shape, so I'm going to wait until I do the rest of the interior, but that looks great. Nice writeup. Did you cut the foam to the same size as the panel, or does it over/under lap?