Door panel Velcro

[John D.]

Anyone know any tricks on how to make the velcro on door panels and doors adhere together?

Thanks

[Patrick H.]

Re: Door panel Velcro

Hit it hard.

Seriously, it's not really velcro, of course, and the "heads" on the ends of those little plastic stems have to interlock. You usually have to whack them good. If they then pop loose, it may be because you have a reproduction door panel which is dimensianally "off" a little. You will likely be able to get it to lock in a month or two if you try again after the new panel has started to "set."

Patrick

[Gary S.]

Or maybe

you have original door panels, date stamp in place, that has warped. Try as I can, I cannot get the two sides at the "velcro" to join. I have conversed with other owners who have original door panels and apparently warping is not an uncommon problem. Afterall, GM never assumed that these panels would still be in use 32 years later! One correspondent was thinking of wetting or slightly dampening his inner door panel to try and straighten out his warpage. I suggested that it probably isn't a good idea since the inner door panel looks like a paper product.

Despite Patrick's usually great advice, I would advise against any undue pressure on the outer portion of the panel. When I try to secure mine, I can see the underlying foam start to deform and I am always afraid of breaking the vinyl skin of the door panel.

I live with mine, pulled slightly off of the plastic keepers.
Gary
72 LT1

[Mike McKown]

Re: Door panel Velcro

How about a dab of black silicone on each pad? Hold pressure against it until it dries. You can still get the panel off later if you have to, knowing how they were held on.

Regards,
Mike

[Steve Junkersfeld]

Re: Door panel Velcro

John, I had the same problem on my 77. The "velcro" fasteners were attached to the door panel with double sided foam tape. I removed the fastner and used a double thickness application of foam tape, which moved the door panel "velcro" closer to the door mounted piece. The result was that the two fasteners got a better grip on each other and there is no visual difference. Good Luck Steve

[Mike McKown]

Re: Door panel Velcro

Speakin' of '77's, at least on the one I just dumped, it had either one or two less screws holding the panel to the door vs. the '76 model. I believe the location is straight behind the top door hinge. There was a hole in the hard back panel but none in the trim. Anyway, the velcro wouldn't hold in this area so I got a stainless trim screw and washer and shot it in, just like the '76. That held the top okay but the bottom still flapped in the breeze. I had the cloth/vinyl option instead of leather. Maybe that"s why mine was different.

[Patrick H.]

Re: Or maybe

Gary,

No such concerns with the reproductions, and until Saturday that will be all I've ever owned. The plastic backs wouldn't crack if you wanted them too.

Nice hot summer sun and some pressure does a great job, though. Or maybe some Pre-Lube 6.

Patrick

[John D.]

Re: Or maybe

Patrick:

Mine were on all this last summer. They never got warm enough to warp or catch. The panels are reproductions from Corvette America and I almost thought the velcro, old verses new was different. The passenger door seems to be worse than the drivers door as far as the front to back fit, but the velcro does line up pretty close. Sometimes it does feel like the panels are "flopping in the breeze". I thought there might be a tool, what is "pre-lube 6"??

John

[Gary S.]

Patrick is just being

funny. Sort of an private joke.

Pre-lube 6 is a heavy, water dispersing agent sold by Quanta. He turned me on to the product and I passed the product name and its capabilities on to another board member without giving credit to Patrick. It has ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with door panels, interiors, etc. It is used on exposed metal.

Gary

[Patrick H.]

Re: Or maybe

John,

I too have the CA panels on my car. Mine actually warped OUT of shape when they sat in the boxes for several months before I made it far enough along in my projects to install them. Using hot days and strategically applied pressure, I've gotten them more-or-less re-bent to the appropriate shape. Only the forwardmost fasteners don't stick at this point.

Actually I'd suspect that you could similarly re-bend originals to shape with steam applied to the fiberboard backing, and then holding in position. I'm not about to try as I haven't got an original set in bad enough condition to use. Maybe soomeday.

And, as Gary said, the Pre-Lube was an inside joke. We had just swapped an e-mail about it, with him bugging me, so I got back at him. Believe it or not, we can have fun here...

Patrick