MX-3.com

Hey. Sorry if this topic is a little off topic but i thought it would fit best here(i search the rest of the forum top to bottom but i didn't find anything very well said about it).

I'm re-doing the doors in my 93 mx-3 GS. i took the fabric off the driver door and found a black film above the foam. Do I have to take this black fil off as well as the fabric? or would it be better for me to leave it on? Any response would be better than no response.

Thanx,
A confused Mx-3er

Actually, the "Appearance" forums would have been the area to post this,

Take a look at Barry's how-to for this project. http://www.barrykclark.com/doors.htm Doesn't completely answer your question but still has relevant info. The biggest risk is that you'll end up with an uneven sub-surface after removing the black stuff and if you don't remove the black stuff, I'd be concerned that a nicely done glue job still won't hold up over time because the foam backing can/will break down with age.

I'd either sand the panels clean of all foam before application of the new covering or consider adding a fresh closed cell foam underlayment and to hold the new covering snugly, "tufting" it with matching covered buttons anchored through to the panel backing itself. This is a common upholstery technique and is the approach I've been considering after talking to a local auto upholstery shop. Otherwise, the difficulty working with the inside angled curvature of the panel could leave you unhappy with the results. Personally, my ride needs freshly covered door panel insets but I never want to have to do that project a second time...

<small>[ October 16, 2004, 07:17 AM: Message edited by: perhapsadingo8yerbaby ]</small>

Don't do the vinyl!!! trust me and ask other people. It a huuuge pain in the *** , and you probably won't be satistfied with the end result. Just take off the foam and sand and prime several times using a high build primer then paint. The vinyl looked great after I did it but after a couple years it just didn't hold up and I used 3m contact cement, after heat and cold the vinyl sorta warped and now looks crappy, and I used the best vinyl - marine grade. The REAL way to do it is have body filler layed over and sanded down then painted and clear coated...

if you do vinyl, get it done professionaly and you wont have any problems. Ask to see some of the guys other work....