Door Card Material

[puchak]

What are the backings of the door cards made of? Looks and feels like a corkboard or particle board.

One of my wood panels warped on the door and ripped a bit of the board out, so I'm thinking some wood filler and sanding should fix it.

Thoughts?

 

[nocfn]

More importantly is how it happened. Do you have a bad window seal that allowed water into the access of the door card or are you missing the plastic vapor barrier? While you are there clean off the old grease and apply new on all moving parts and be sure the drain holes are clear at the bottom.

 

[puchak]

No leaks at all, previous owner definitely fiddled around in the door though. Some roofing tape or similar used in random places.

What does the plastic vapor barrier look like? Is that the sheet that went over the inside?

 

[nocfn]

It is a white pink piece of plastic, similar to Tyvek for new construction on houses that if you look closely at the door from outer edge, a 3-5mm residue of contact cement exists where it was attached. Water enters from the glass seals over time and theoretically exits out the weep holes. If the moisture stays too long, say the drain holes are plugged- then you get rust. But mostly the moisture affects the door card, it warps or cracks in places. If your vapor barrier is gone, someone removed the card to do something, broken regulator, bad switch or locking mechanics, check strap RR or clean/lube, etc. Anytime you have the card off one should clean weep holes, lube regulator and or lube door check strap. The barrier isn't magic, just thin mil plastic. You can get a measured cut of butcher block paper and rough it out for size as a template and make your own vapor barrier out of some heavy plastic sheet. Perhaps others will chime in as to what they used but this will help keep the door card which is a version of compressed cardboard-like material. Gerryvz did some how-to on check strap or driver windows, and IIRC there may be some commentary and pictures regarding the vapor barrier for visual context.

 

[gsxr]

The vapor barrier is an oft-misunderstood piece of plastic that serves an important function, as nocfn explained above. People tend to either not re-install it after removing, or not seal it to the metal door frame.

First photo below is an example from my old wagon, the plastic was damaged and barely attached at all.

Second photo shows a fresh piece of plastic cut to fit, and glued to the door with rubber cement to seal properly.

 

[nocfn]

And a hint/tip. Get a can of 3m Adhesive remover. Used often in my garage, it will soften existing glue/adhesives such as for the trunk seal, activation of the adhesive on the plastic and on the door for bonding. I even used it to soften tar and bugs on other painted surfaces. Note that install instructions for non-pressed fit seals are to use the product to loosen existing adhesive for seal removal. While I chose to remove the adhesive when replacing the trunk seal on my W126, it isn't required. Merely allow the properties of the remover to work - softening the tack of the adhesive and as it evaporates after a few minutes, the seal is adheres to the metal of the channel. It will not harm painted surfaces, unless you use brute force roughly and repetitively rubbing the area then you could dull the clear coat. I suspect anyone reading this knows but use common sense, it never goes NLA

 

[sheward]

I recommend epoxy which will adhere better and provide more strength than wood filler.

 

[puchak]

Going to use a sawdust/epoxy mix to fill the hole, dry it, then drill through it. Will post my results in a few days when I'm free to do it.

I don't have the old vapor barrier and don't want to tear my passenger door down, so I ordered a new one. What adhesive would you guys suggest to stick it to the door?

 

[gsxr]

Going to use a sawdust/epoxy mix to fill the hole, dry it, then drill through it. Will post my results in a few days when I'm free to do it.

I don't have the old vapor barrier and don't want to tear my passenger door down, so I ordered a new one. What adhesive would you guys suggest to stick it to the door?

I find rubber cement applied with a brush works well. You can use spray adhesive but it's tricky to avoid overspray.

 

[nocfn]

contact cement of any kind, you are just tacking the outline, maybe 5mm on outside edge and some in the middle.

 

[puchak]

I'm pretty damn proud of this. Holding together really well, looks perfect and fits perfect. You wouldn't even know someone did this!

I mixed an epoxy with sawdust, 1:1. Taped the visible side, and filled from the inside. Removed the tape, applied more on that side and flattened it, then let it dry 24 hours.



Started with a pilot hole, then made it larger.



Lo and behold! Perfection. I need to replace that little lock grommet, it is crumbled entirely. Waiting on the vapor barrier and the grommet, then back on we go.

 

[sheward]

Very nice work.