Sorry for the layout, I have never done a DIY on here, so I tried my best

So there have been discussions, but no solutions on fixing the alcantara panels on our door cards. The alcantara is actually applied to a hard plastic panel that is actually removable with a little creativity. The driver’s door panel is the one that I will cover in this write up. So the alcantara panel is anchored to the door by 5 clips that anchor into wells on the door panel.

 

The first thing to do is remove the wood trim, and the leather handle pull on the door. The handle is held on by two goldish colored Philips screws with washers that are on the back of the door card. The wood trip piece is held on by five plastic cap nuts, although I do not remember the size. Once the wood and leather pull handle are removed, the real fun starts. Using a long thin flat head screwdriver, pop the 5 clips out of their little wells that are in the door card. There is a trick to doing this, the clips have 2 anchors on each clip, you have to pry up in between the two anchors, or you will break the clip. I found it best to take a narrow flat head screwdriver and slide the head flat between the two posts on each anchor then rotate the screwdriver back and forth to get even light prying on the two posts. Once you have the 5 out step one is done.

 

You really have to be careful on step 2. Taking that long thin screwdriver, go as far under the curved lip that is pulled up as you can. Prying up too hard right now on the curved portion will crack the panel. What you are trying to do with the screwdriver is use it as a pry bar to push up on the back of the alcantara panel as far down as you can, the closer you are to the middle of the panel (near about where the bottom of the wood trim piece would be) the better off you are. The two pry points should be near the front and rear edges of the panel, and vertically in the middle. The panel cracks easily, so be careful. The rest of the panel is just pressure fit into a groove. Once you get that first prying done, so the longer vertical side is half out, it prys easier, just keep repeating the screwdriver pushing from the back as you work your way down the panel. The panel is held in only by a tight fit, there is no adhesive holding this panel in. Once the panel is out you have your choice of how you would like to refinish it, it is a material over a fiber backing, so you could either have a shop remove the fabric and put in new stuff, or take off the old and go with an entirely different look using other materials, that is up to you

 

Once the panel is redone, you have to refit it. I found this easiest to do by starting in one corner and pushing the panel back into its groove. You may need to use a small flat edge to tuck the fabric down as you slide it into its groove, a light and I mean very light bit of dish soap also helps it slide back in, but don’t overdo it. I also found that if I applied a little force from my knee to the back of the door card right where the groove is, the door card would bend slightly which would open up the groove a little bit and make the panel easier to get into its groove. Take your time on this step, it can be done, but it requires a lot of patience, the panels you are working with are very fragile. The hardest part is getting the two corners and the bottom groove in, once those two are in you really just work your way up the front and back sides evenly and the top 5 anchors slipped in a lot easier than I expected them to.

 

The only issue I can across what that the holes for the leather pull handle did not line up, not sure if there was just a manufacturing tolerance there that was different (I used an alcantara panel from a junk yard disco that had a broken door card) the panel sat fine, and once the holes in the panel were drilled a little, the leather pull went on fine too. The end result was really great, and I don’t think anyone would ever know that I had changed out the part.

 

Couple of things of note, I have done this now on four different door cards, I got better each time. The alcantara panel may crack a little at the bend, but it is not a big deal if it does so long as the crack is minor. I suppose that if you cracked it too much, you could JB weld the panel back together when the material is replaced. I would recommend you try first on a junk door panel first, as once you have done one, it gets a lot easier to do. I take no responsibility if you damage your door panel.

 

I've write up. My drivers door piece looks bad from wear and abuse. Been thinking about using cordura nylon fabric on it in a shadow grass since I do enjoy enjoy duck hunting and use it to get me to some spots. This forum is great for the ideas and sucks in the same aspect BC it cost me a fortune BC it's one of those, damn I need to do that!

 

This is a cool thread. I've been on the search for a decent door card and now you have shown me it can be redone. I may look for a junk one to practice on as you said and seen I can find someone to make a replacement piece of alcantara.

Thanks!

 

Thanks for the write up. This should be a sticky. It is a common issue.

 

Done.