The cardboard stuff in my interior door panels has gotten wet many times, and after replacing the speakers multiple times, the cardboard is now pretty much destroyed. I know there has to be a good amount of people out there that have had this same problem, but has anybody done anything about it yet? I'm also interested in wrapping the door panels in a different fabric. Can anybody offer me advise in doing this aswell? I was thinking of maybe just replacing the cardboard with new cardboard, or like a 1/8" mdf board. Open to any suggestions or ideas.

 

do diamond plate and have a bling rig

 

I'm planning to do that to mine since I'm having a hard time finding Limited door panels (I saw a whole junk yard full of XJs & Grands & not ONE Limited! Sux! ).

I took a good look at my panel just yesterday & I see the leather is just glued & stapled on. I plan to go to a craft store and source the cardboard of the right thickness. I figure the old one would make a template for the new. Can't be any harder than making a cubby-hole sub enclosure - which I have done. I have some of the left-over poly-fill for that "plump" look, and I also have some spray adhesive. All these things (in red) I imagine we will need, plus a sharp exacto knife to carve the holes. I say exacto instead of utility knife because the holes for the factory clips are pretty small & you'll need finesse. Also a stapler if you're **** like me. I'm tackling this on my next days off (Mon/Tue) providing I find the cardboard.

But I only need to do 1 panel, maybe 2. Rears are okay. Good luck. I'll prolly do a little write-up as I go. I've never done it before, but how hard could it be?

 

I did my panels on my old rig with diamond plate. Really easy. I striped the fabric and udes the cardboard for a template. Used a jig saw to cut out. Hard part was finding dp at a good price. I was a little shiny when driving but was pretty much in distructable.

 

I'd be interested in that write-up when you're finished and i'd love to see how you make out with the door panels.


I'm not a fan of diamond plate unless it's black and I wouldn't see paint lasting very long on it at all. Diamond plate only looks good on our firetrucks, in my opinion.


How do you guys think a 22 or 24 gauge aluminum or steel plate would hold up? I could probably get 24 gauge brushed steel pretty reasonably priced.

 

I got my dp from a sheet metal shop they considered the peices scrap from other jobs cost less than 100. The dp was a different direction on my rear doors but I did not care. If you wanted to paint the dp have it sand blasted and paint it with marine topside paint(made for painting metals including aluminum). A quarrt at west marine is 40 and comes in basic colors. It takes a few coats with a foam roller to get the texture out but it will last a long time. I have painted several jon boats this way.

 

What do you guys think of that fake diamond plate wall panelling stuff? It's like 30-40 bucks for a 2'x4' piece and it seems pretty durable. Home improvement places sell it like Home Depot and Lowes. I work at Home Depot right now on the weekends so I would be able to check it out without going out of my way to go there. I don't know how thick it is though, I will have to look at it. I think it's made of vinyl. Stuff looks pretty legit, but idk how it will wear. If I decide to use it I will definitely make a write-up about it.

 

I have not seen this but anything is better than cardboard/wood! The thickness would be the issue. When you take the fabric off you will notice there is a piece of plastic that completes the curve of the panel up to the window, if it is too thick it won't fit right.

 

Ok, thanks. I was wondering how that plastic hook thing that hooks onto the top of the door was going to work with the new setup. I didn't think of the thickness being a factor with that. I don't want to use something too thin and have the door handles and stuff have a gap behind them. Now taking that the info you just gave me and entering it into the equation, I can't go too thick either. Would that plastic piece on the top matter if I were to screw the panel to the door if I used, say, a sheet metal to replace the current door panel?

 

Well, mine is cardboard like all other XJs and it's lasted 18 years. That's an excellent track record in my book.

 

1/4" plywood is too thick. The DPO of mine tried it...does not work.

BUT, Home Depot has thin plastic in 4x8 foot sheets that is flexible but rigid. I have used it to cover 4x8 sheets of plywood for a smooth, clean, white working surface for my wife's scrapbooking. $20 for a sheet, if memory serves. about 1/8" or less thick.

I'd take the original panel and lay it out on the thin plastic sheeting and outline. You can cut that sheeting with stout scissors, tin snips, or even a utility knife. When my panels fail, that is what I'll use.

 

Thanks for the info, I will keep it in mind when making my final decision. I know 1/4" would be too thick, but I think 1/8" would be just right. It's been a long time since I removed the panels and looked at them, but that's what I see in my mental image.

 

I have 4 burgundy panels laying here from an older XJ & I just measured. It's half of 1/8. So I guess that's 1/16 inch?

 

Wow, I would have never thought it to be so thin. Thanks for the info.

 

Yeah, I'm surprised too ...