Interior: Door panel repair

[Geigs]

The door panels on my 56 President Classic (56H) are in good condition except for the front armrests. Any suggestions on what tools I should use to gingerly remove the staples and the vinyl wrap and chrome? Any precautions or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[Jeffry Cassel]

Just finished my 57 door cards or panels. Proceed very carefully as you cannot replace that nice Mylar. I use a flat blade sharpened screwdriver to get under the staples and pry them out. I actually made new cards from 1/8" tempered Masonite and took the old panels intact to the upholstery shop so he could see how they went together. The Masonite is stiffer than cardboard so I bent them for a few days to get them to conform to the curve of the door. Also found that the replacement clips were worthless and had to use clip # 8206 from Restoration Specialties (www.restorationspecialties.com) these are a little longer to accomodate the sound deadener I put on the panel. I would advise that you do that too--it is cheap and it relly helps. You will likely need a good upholstery guy to re-do those armrests. Mine turned out great after I finally got my original cards back from Harger after listening to him whine about how difficult they were to do. Local shop did them in 3 wks---without whining! (My advice---just take them to the upholstery shop and devise a strategy with your upholstery guy.) Any questions, just ask. 56-58 armrests are kind of a pain. i used marine Naugahide on mine 'cause it is super durable and looks just like the original and wasn't even very expensive.

[Geigs]

Thanks Jeffry! So my upholstery guy asked me to remove the lower portion trim and then bring it back to him and he will work on the armrests. I’m not planning to touch the Mylar although I can now see that the Mylar was gold and has faded to silver. I’m thinking of spray painting it gold and then add a clear coat to protect it. Does that sound like a good plan? I plan to disassemble the trim this weekend and I am concerned about the metal decorative trim as I don’t want to bend them during removal. Thanks again for the tips!

[JoeHall]

Good luck finding anyone who can deal with the flared armrest. I have seen some pretty competent upholsterers throw in the towel. I recently found a guy about 100 miles away who said no problem, $250 each for the pair in the 56J. I actually have a partial roll of silver mylar squirreled away, bought from the major supplier out west (forget the name), 25-30 years ago. I have looked at it recently, and it's still as good as ever.

[Jeffry Cassel]

Nothing will last very long on Mylar, but I have used Rustoleum Metallic gold paint on it and it will last for a while. My upholstery guy Todd Madden in Marshall did a nice job on those arm rests so it can be done! When you remove the trim , just be sure the you straighten the metal clips from the inside of the panel and pry them off very carefully. Usually they come off OK.

[Geigs]

Nothing will last very long on Mylar, but I have used Rustoleum Metallic gold paint on it and it will last for a while. My upholstery guy Todd Madden in Marshall did a nice job on those arm rests so it can be done! When you remove the trim , just be sure the you straighten the metal clips from the inside of the panel and pry them off very carefully. Usually they come off OK.

So there's no way to correct Mylar, the only option is to replace, correct?

[RadioRoy]

I sprayed the center of my 54 wheel covers with clear gold paint for mag wheels. Maybe that would work on your Mylar.

[Jeffry Cassel]

It cannot be replaced. Check SMS but doubt they'd have it. Let us all know if they do.

[JoeHall]

It cannot be replaced. Check SMS but doubt they'd have it. Let us all know if they do.

I believe SMS Fabrics, in Oregon, is where I got the mylar mentioned above. Later I recall someone else, who was told bySMS they were out of stock, complained, "some California hoarder bought it all up..." LOL

[Geigs]

Asked Krylon paint about painting Mylar. The response: “Thank you for contacting us.

You can use our Fusion All-In-One paint, which is available in a Metallic Finish. We would suggest performing a small test area to be sure of compatibility and satisfaction with the results.”