HOW TO STRIP THE DOORCARDS

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Southernboy
Joined: Thu 07 Oct, 2010 12:39
Posts: 6436

  Z3 roadster 3.0i
Location: Johannesburg

HOW TO STRIP THE DOORCARDS

Post by Southernboy »

For those who like me try to do as much as possible rather than leave it to someone else, here's the details of how to dismantle doorcards so that all the components can be re-used.
There isn't really that much that can be removed, but the central upholstered padding, and the plastic strip above it are removable with a little care and the right tools.
If you flip the doorcard over so you're looking at the "inside surface" ...the side that attaches to the car door - you will see black plastic buttons wher the above mentioned components have been attached to the card by means of plastic pins that penetrate the card and are melt heated / rivetted to hold the piece in place. To remove the part you will need a long (300mm) screwdriver, and a decent heat gun with a narrow nozzle attachment. Starting with the plastic strip at it's narrowest point. gently insert the screwdiver between the strip and the doorcard whilst heating the tip of the first rivetted point on the reverse side. Apply a gentle leverage and as the heated plastic softens, it will pull through the hole in the card..go to the next and next etc etc until you have the plastic strip released, now tackle the padded panel which is attached to a plastic plate with the respective rivets...
Take your time, and don't apply undue lverage, the heat will soften, but not melt the plastic.
The end result is the parts are now freed from the card, and can be easily separated from each other for re-covering / replacement from a donor card etc.
Replacing the components is essentially the reverse... start with the padded panel, pushing the rivets through their respective doorcard holes, and then heating and expaning them in the inner side to act as rivet heads again. Allow the "head" to cool before moving on to the next rivet... until they are all done and the card is re-assembled.
"Normal is overrated"
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