Hey guys, I felt like sharing my day with y'all so here we go ford fans.

Here we start with a plain door. Everything stripped off except for the door handle mechanism.



I used masonite. Basically the sawdust board at 1/4 inch. Its pretty darn cold but its gotta be done



Here is my cousin cutting while I take a picture. He's the brains behind the operation as he's done this once or twice.



I used a cutout of the same material for the 1 inch border around the outside.



I used some 1/4 inch spacers to lift up the cutout to give the total thickness of the door 3/4 inch. This keeps it light but strong.





I used some wood glue and some finishing nails to hold it all together.

Now you'll need some of this stuff. 3M Multipurpose adhesive.



Drill at least 4 holes for some clips. These can be found at any auto parts store. They are the little annoying clips that don't come out after they go in. This picture shows you the back where one is sticking out.



Started by spraying the center of the panel with a generous amount of the glue. Wait at least a minute for the glue to settle and get tacky, it works much better this way. Spread the fabric - which is just automotive carpet found at menards - from the center out to the edges using the end of your knife, blade not out! Let this sit for a little while. Apply adhesive to the border and stretch your fabric over it.



Flip it over and start spraying the border. Now you can either work quick and do them all, or one by one. Be warned there realy isn't a good way to do rounded edges!





Here's a side shot to show you the layers.



And the finished product.











Sorry some of them are kinda dark. We just finished up and the sun has been down for sometime. Hope you all enjoy!

 

That is some great work! I am very impressed. This makes me want to work on my door panels, I am just adding some diamond plate to mine!

 

i do say they look great. I will be doing this to mine very soon

 

Tomorrow I'll be making the arm rests that will go ontop of the mechanism. I'll post pics of that tomorrow.

By the way, total mats were $40.

 

Excellent work Casey! Nice job on those, very nice looking!

 

Indeed----they look great,,,where do ya find fabric like that? Ive got only one door panel in my truck now,,,but after seeing this,,,Im thinking of junking the one I do have and going your route,,,,,Its a really nice,clean look--------GREAT JOB! ! ! ! !,,,,Robert

 

Thanks for all the compliment guys. I found the fabric in the Carpet section at Menards. They actually have about 6 colors of automotive fabric. If you guys end up trying this on your own trucks let me know and I'll post more detail and a parts list.

 

I'm currently wanting to build mine. Was thinking aluminum or something or 1/4" wood. I live in cold weather and plastic eventually breaks up. What did you use to secure to door. anything extra around handle when you shut door. Plastic stuff usually breaks. Looks like it would insulate rather well also compared to regular door panel's. check you later.

 

To secure it to the door I used the little molding clips you can find on any vehicle. They look like a black rod with circles down the rod and a push top about 3/4" in diameter. I'm sure you've seen them many times. I used these with holes drilled into the door.

I would recommend using a vapor seal aswell, and perhaps some sound deadening material, although these help a lot.

 

Thanks check you later. need to upgrade mine but never seem to take the time.

 

It's How-to write ups like this that really makes this forum.

Very, very nice!

 

Excellent stuff here. I have toyed with the idea of diamond plate. But the auto fabric looks good.

 

Excellent write up! Thanks for sharing that. Please keep us up to date with the armrests and if possible a couple shots in better light.
A friend of mine did a set out of polished aluminum, there is no armrest or inside door handle. When you lift the door lock it operates the latch. He wanted a clean look for the pro-street style of the truck. Just want to keep everyones imaginations working.

 

Man thats looks great Pleae do post up when you do the arm rests/door pull. My doors are good but the way that turned out I may give it a shot and see wat happens

 

VERY NICE!,....My door panels are stock original the way I like them, and in very good shape. However, It's threads like this that help those of us with less then desirable door panels.

Casey_78, you certainly earned some rep points from me. It's this kind of sharing of imformation that makes FTE the great site that it is, GOOD JOB!






PS: Why can't you see the spelling mistakes untill after you hit the reply button?