Painting door panels

terryjm1

Well-known member
Jan 23, 2011
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In my quest to find front door panels for my D1s, I have found some in really good condition to fairly decent condition. However, one of them is really sun “darkened” along the top edge but not showing pitting or degradation. I have 2 sets with all 4 sourced from different D1s from different parts of the country. All are slightly different shades of Bahama beige now.

After doing some shopping around I found, at least from the can cap color, that duplicolor medium beige (HVP113) vinyl and fabric coating is really close to Bahama beige. I have some spare seriously sun damaged panels I am going to test the color on.

Any advice for doing this job? Anyone used Duplicolor medium beige vinyl and fabric coating?

Duplicolor recommends using their adhesion promotor for plastic surfaces but I’m not sure D1 door panels qualify. I’m thinking that is more intended for the hard plastic pieces like the center console and I do not plan to paint anything but the doors panels.

Im thinking a 1000 grit scotch brite pad to scuff the surface and some alcohol to clean the surface should be enough surface preparation.

Thanks to Discostew for suggesting painting the door panels.
 
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discostew

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Sep 14, 2010
7,706
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Northern Illinois
What I plan to do is take mine to a guy who paints plastic interior parts for a living. He touches up interior stuf, mixes his own paint and matches it all pretty well. I'm sure theres a guy working around your area too. It's not uncommon and most dealerships will know someone who does it.
 
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terryjm1

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Jan 23, 2011
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Hey Skip,

I must agree taking it to a professional is the best option. I’m just going to take a swing at it with the can I purchased. $8 is worth a try. Online reviews of the Duplicolor product are very good. I will post some photos of the test panel.

Terry
 

logan_gibson

Well-known member
Dec 20, 2016
258
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Alabama
Clean them, and clean them again.
Probably some wax/grease remover.

No telling how many times someone coated one in ArmorAll.
As long as you prep them really well, I don't see why the paint would fail (other than the high use areas).

I would give the adhesion promoter a shot, its just a clear primer but may help getting into the pores of the fabric.
 
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BDM

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May 23, 2005
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Is there anyone that makes new D1 door panels out there? I know Congelton Service does full rehabs of RRC's and make some of their interior parts. Wonder if its the same for D1's....
 

WaltNYC

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Mar 3, 2010
707
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NYC
That would not seem practical. Will Tillery has 50-100 trucks On his lot, all ready to be used to save other trucks. It is a good bet you can get some very nice doors from him.
Also check the ‘for sale’ section of this and other LR forums.

 

terryjm1

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Jan 23, 2011
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I asked Will Tillery a few times over the past couple years. Didn’t have anything nice and said he would contact me when some came in. I do wish someone would make new ones. Non sun damaged D1 door panels are very hard to find.

Same story with Paul Grant and Logan Gibson as well.

I also posted in the wanted section here multiple times, Defender Source, and NAS-ROW. I know I posted on a couple other LR forums as well. I had zero luck until I posted on 2 Facebook groups which yielded one nice driver side from Maine and one from Quebec. I got another one thrown in with the last D1 I purchased from a forum member here. There is one currently posted on eBay but the seller doesn’t respond to my questions about condition of the top edge where they get sun damaged and the photos seem to carefully exclude that area.

i have also learned “nice“ is subjective. I did have offers of very well sun damaged “ nice” panels. I have adjusted my expectations but not that much.

if anyone can find me a nice set of front panels, I will pay them a finders fee.
 
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terryjm1

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Jan 23, 2011
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Is there anyone that makes new D1 door panels out there? I know Congelton Service does full rehabs of RRC's and make some of their interior parts. Wonder if its the same for D1's....
I looked into Congletons underseat trim (same as D1) which is very nice and priced as such. I imagine D1s still need some time to become worthy of full restoration before someone like Congleton invests in reproducing parts for them. I have noticed prices start to come up on nice D1s. Perhaps it is not too far off.

D1 door panels don’t seem overly complicated. I’m surprised Britpart never made them.
 

terryjm1

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Jan 23, 2011
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Here are the test results on a door panel that is too far gone. It’s obvious the cap color is not the best representation of the actual color. However, if I paint all 4 to match, I think it is close enough to the color scheme of the overall interior to be ok.

i also decided to buy the Duplicolor cleaner/prep and surface adhesion promoter.

701B1687-265D-4D0B-A5FF-B48F4A8005EA.jpegBAD94B65-0168-4B80-BE3F-BA5AA31996A9.jpeg2F5BC0D1-900A-4A02-B6FF-C4AFDDC7DAA7.jpegA0E12F69-15B8-44EB-84B8-EC428DBF6D99.jpegA6ADF9BF-CC94-49DB-999C-EA7308E082A9.jpeg9F28C5AD-C97F-46D6-A5FD-E0A56349B66A.jpeg34781304-1137-40C1-BA76-48DC771975F3.jpeg
 
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terryjm1

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Jan 23, 2011
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As it dries, it darkens and gets pretty close to the cap color. This photo shows a freshly painted area (lower)next to the areas (higher) I painted earlier today..2E0B71A5-EB73-455D-A544-E3ECB4BDFE64.jpeg
 

terryjm1

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Jan 23, 2011
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Think I’m going to experiment with filling the cracks and painting over that area. Body filler? Some sort of caulk? Any suggestions?
 

nashvegas

Member
Feb 12, 2009
23
11
Another option. Go to Superior restorations online. They have paints they custom match and have Bahama Beige (which I think is your color?). --- I just redid a few bits on my D2, 100% perfect match and if you prep it right should be super durable. I think better quality, adhesion, texture than Krylon/Duplicolor or similar.

Just be careful to either order solvent based primer/prep and solvent based plastic color paint, or water based of both. I screwed up and ordered one of each which then had to re-do my order.
 
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terryjm1

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Jan 23, 2011
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Another option. Go to Superior restorations online. They have paints they custom match and have Bahama Beige (which I think is your color?). --- I just redid a few bits on my D2, 100% perfect match and if you prep it right should be super durable. I think better quality, adhesion, texture than Krylon/Duplicolor or similar.

Just be careful to either order solvent based primer/prep and solvent based plastic color paint, or water based of both. I screwed up and ordered one of each which then had to re-do my order.
Any photos to share? I’d much rather use a better color match. Did you have to send them something to match the color or did they already have the formula?
 

nashvegas

Member
Feb 12, 2009
23
11
Nope - no sample to send. They had the color on file. In my case, it matched the dash binnacle and center console spot on. Like literally new. I think dealers and other used car places/detailers buy this stuff when flipping cars.
 

terryjm1

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Jan 23, 2011
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Nope - no sample to send. They had the color on file. In my case, it matched the dash binnacle and center console spot on. Like literally new. I think dealers and other used car places/detailers buy this stuff when flipping cars.
Fantastic, I will be in touch with them tomorrow!
 

terryjm1

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Jan 23, 2011
1,485
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Nope - no sample to send. They had the color on file. In my case, it matched the dash binnacle and center console spot on. Like literally new. I think dealers and other used car places/detailers buy this stuff when flipping cars.
Did you buy the aerosol spray can or use a spray gun?
 

terryjm1

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Jan 23, 2011
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So, while I do plan to purchase the correct color and since I already have the Duplicolor paint, I decided to go ahead and complete my experiment with repairing the sun damaged / cracked door panel. I was going to throw it away anyway, so why not?

i picked up a tube of Bondo spot putty (red stuff) and filled the top edge cracks. I sanded it down and painted it. I really thought I had a smooth surface but after the first coat of paint, the cracks were still slightly visible. I put another coat of the spot filler on and sanded it again. This time it was better, but you could still see very slight evidence of the cracks.

However, if the repair holds as is, I am really happy with the results. It is more than passable. The final photo shows the door panel I purchased to replace the painted one. My 98 LSE has the lighter color beige seat upholstery. While I will purchase the correct bahama beige paint for my 96, I think the lighter color is not a bad choice for the 98 LSE.

I am concerned the spot putty is not going to expand and contract with the door panel. I am going to leave it in the sun for a while and see what happens.

I decided to not use the adhesion promoter and Duplicolor cleaner. I didn’t think it would be a good choice for when I get the correct paint. I used a scotch brite pad and cleaned with alcohol for the test panel. By returning the unused stuff, I am into this experiment for less than $13.

If the “repair” fails I will post up photos. If you don’t see follow up, assume it worked.DB5FC623-D8E4-40F4-828D-15CD6F7DF07E.jpeg01108607-6418-45D5-9FB2-E9B5415E05BC.jpegF9F8FD2E-EEB3-4EE1-8E4E-5F951238B5DB.jpeg
 
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