How To Recover Door Panels By: Crispy SUPPLY/TOOL LIST NEEDED Dremel with drill cutter attachment (or drill with drill bit) contact cement 1/2 inch self tapping screws Carpet/Headliner spray on glue Phillips Head Screwdriver Flat Head Screwdriver Torq screwdriver set Pliers Soldering Iron or Plastic Epoxy (if you choose to take off the speaker grills) Extra set of hands for prying panel apart when welds are broke Gloves (optional) Additional items needed if you have vinyl on your doors or want to lay vinyl onto the panels putty scraper power sander (Black and Decker Mouse is great) FRONT DOOR PANELS remove entire door panels -- remove the 2 lower plastic plugs in the carpet area of the door and gently pry out the kitty head in the swoopy door handle.. behind all those areas there are screws that you must remove.. some are phillips some are torq.. remove the small screws from around the sides of the panel.. there are 3 torq screws you must remove.. 2 onthe outer area and 1 inside the door jam where the door and fender area of the panel are... gently pry up all your door switches.. disconnect them.. same with the mirror control on the drivers side.. lift up the entire panel and pull forward.. it should be free.. you need to now disconnect the door cable.. pull it out of the holder and then out of the black hole when you have the tip lined up.. (once you are doing this it will make complete sense) remove entire door panel.. flip it over... there is a large metal washer/nut on the back of the swoopy handle.. grab the pliers and unscrew it.. this will allow the panel to bend back so you can pull the insert out later.. remove the 2 screws for the door handle and take it completely out.. take notice of all the plastic welds.. you will need to break these in order to get the insert out.. take your dremel and start drilling right thru the center of each one that holds the panel in.. be careful in thin areas such as the speaker grills so you don't drill thru.. use common sense when drilling.. you should be able to tell when to stop or when you are thru the weld..
now put on a pair of gloves and grab a flat head screwdriver... insert the driver twards the rear of the panel side and start prying -- you will hear and feel the welds cracking apart.. do not be alarmed you MUST do this.. you will have to insert your hands behind the panel and push down on the front of the door panel with your knees.. now take the screwdriver and insert it around the back of the speaker grill -- you need to lift up that area to break those welds and to lift the cloth panel off of the posts that are there to keep the panel in.. I found that another set of hands at this time is pretty helpful -- you take a screwdriver and pry the grill up from the front while holding the door between your knees or your feet as the other person pulls the panel twards them from the side... at this time you can remove the speaker grill completely or leave on.. it is your call just do not drill thru the grill.. also take care with the swoopy handle.. you could break it off.. Once the insert is out it is time to recover.. fabric best for this is something that will stretch a bit and will not bleed or get soaked when you are gluing.. I used Ultra Suede which I bought from Fields Fabric.. If you have vinyl on your doors you will need to remove it with a putty scraper and then sanding the fiberglass liner smooth before you recover... if you have fabric you can recover fabric over fabric.. if you plan on laying vinyl over fabric you will need to remove the cloth and foam as well.. for the fabric over fabric use the Carpet/headliner spray on glue.. spray alot on the insert and a bit on the back of the fabric you want to use for recovering.. lay the fabric down on one portion of it and work the rest down a little at a time with your hands.. you will need to stretch a bit and press where needed.. it's time consuming to get it perfectly smooth but you can do it.. these 2 panels are easiest of all.. if you are laying vinyl you need to use the contact cement.. let your inserts dry 24 hours and then put it back into the door panel.. put the door handle back into the panel - same with the silver nut... now you must take the self tapping screws and a drill and start putting those in next to the welds you broke.. use as many as possible to keep the door feeling sturdy.. again be careful in the thin areas, you do not want to have the screws go thru the insert... if you used vinyl you will have to back down on your screw size or else you will drill thru it.. if you removed the speaker drill completely you will need to reattach it.. you can either use plastic epoxy or use a hot soldering iron and re-melt those areas back together.. re-install the door the same way you took it off the frame...