Wood door panels

Danno · Post by **Danno** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 9:46 am

I sometimes jump ahead of myself. this usually happens when I get frustrated with a project (due to lack of progress). Then I usually take on some ridiculous project that might never see completion, but sometimes, I take on something that will be easy so that I can see results and NOW!

I'm not sure which of these kinds of projects this is, but I thought that putting more wood into the car would be fun. I also thought that I'd see if i could use stuff I happen to have laying around (ie, make it a CHEAP project).

so, here we go. Something fun, but certainly not super fancy or showcar worthy:

Step one:
Take off interior door panel.

Step two:
Find some good grade plywood, this is 1/4" A-C, A is the best grade you can get, but it is NOT veneer plywood. i repeat IT IS NOT the same as a veneer plywood, or something that has a beautiful top layer that has the grain of wood in all its glory. This is just a nice piece of wood that can be sanded and has little in the way of imperfections.

Step three:
Trace door panel on the wood.

Step four:
Cut it out with a jig saw or whatever you want.

Step five:
Sand it with about 150 sandpaper. get edges as nice as you can. bevel the edge just a little so there isn't a sharp 90 degree edge.

Step six:
Apply a pre-stain wood conditioner.

Step seven:
stain whatever color you want. I picked something I had lying around that was pretty close in color to the dash inserts. It won't be the same, because this is very soft pine with no grain, but unless it's wayyy to black, or yellow, or orange it should be pretty close.

that's about where I am now. I was going to use Tung oil, because it's what I use around the house, but it just sucked up way too much, and this was supposed to be a budget mod anyway, Tung Oil ain't cheap. I did have some polyurethane, so I got that out and put a coat on. Much nicer, probably a little more resistant to damage from bangs and bumps as well as UV rays. I'll sand between coats with 220, probably will need at least 3 total coats. we'll see.

mbouse · Post by **mbouse** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 10:13 am

i am real curious to know how it will mount to the door and how it will follow the contours of the door.

i do not think i have seen wooden door panels on anything except a custom pickup.

keep us posted, it sounds interesting.

Danno · Post by **Danno** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 10:53 am

mbouse wrote:i am real curious to know how it will mount to the door and how it will follow the contours of the door.

you and me both. I'm hoping it will bend easily enough to fit properly. I plan on using the stock mounting points with screws and also the top piece of vinyl that bends around and creates the seal on the window. all in all if it totally fails then I'm out nothing except time at this point.

next will be making an armrest out of wood.

mbouse · Post by **mbouse** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 12:31 pm

that is true. just time at this point.

the upholsterer friend of mine would not let me use masonite to create the door panels for the Spitfire. he insisted i use the proper cardboard material for the job.

after i stapled about three million staples into the cardboard with an electric stapler, i am glad i did not use masonite.

how are you planning on trimming the wood edges?

Danno · Post by **Danno** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 12:35 pm

mbouse wrote:how are you planning on trimming the wood edges?

They turned out pretty nice, I think I might just leave them. I dunno yet.

Gerard Del Monte · Post by **Gerard Del Monte** » Mon Sep 24, 2007 4:03 pm

Interesting project. I wanted more wood in my interior too and eventually settled on a custom walnut knob, replacing the chrome trim door strips with walnut, and replacing the cheap chrome armrest trim inserts with walnut. I think I will veneer the ashtray lid too, and beyond possibly a custom wood dash, that'll be it.

Danno · Post by **Danno** » Tue Sep 25, 2007 8:39 am

3 coats of poly done, I'm thinking maybe one or two more. turning out to be pretty decent looking.

Danno · Post by **Danno** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 10:29 am

and we'll call it finished after 4 coats of poly.

Still need to drill holes to mount it, and need to get an armrest made before I put the panel in. That will be a while though....

sorry about the crappy picture, I took it on my way out the door (literally on the move). AND... to answer your next question (i'm a mindreader) my wife DOES freak out when she sees I've done stuff like that in the house.....

mbouse · Post by **mbouse** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 10:45 am

nonsense!

I use pictures like these to assure my wife that i am perfectly sane, and act as all other Fiat Freaks do.

She uses the same pictures to persuade me that i am completely loony, and has the GAWL to insinuate that you are daffy too.

Danno · Post by **Danno** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 12:35 pm

lol, Mike, I do the same thing with some of the guys at the "old house web" forum. they live in some pretty crazy conditions during some of the projects they do while working on their houses, so I like to remind my wife that "it could be worse" whenever I take forever to do a project that is only a "slight" inconvenience to us.

While I'm here, how do people feel about the location of the armrests in their fiats? I've never driven mine, so was the stock location good? that will give me some idea of where should put the new armrest. if it makes a difference, I'm 6'2" so if I won't use the armrest because I'll put my arm up on the door/window, then that's worth knowing too.

mbouse · Post by **mbouse** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 2:41 pm

the trouble with changing the existing location for the stock armrests is that after you relocate them, you will goof up the alignment between the armrest handle and the chrome handle that operates the latch.

i am only 5'7", and if i could, i would raise the arm rest on the door about 3-4". it is too low to comfortably use as an elbow rest.

So Cal Mark · Post by **So Cal Mark** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 3:30 pm

at least you did the work on a hardwood floor, so if you spilled the topcoat you can always claim you were refinishing the floor

mdrburchette · Post by **mdrburchette** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 7:34 pm

Dan, have you thought about the extra noise that will come from unpadded door panels? You may want to insulate the inside before installing. Also the armrests screw right into the inner door skin so if you change the location you will have to add more holes into your door.

Danno · Post by **Danno** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 8:29 am

mdrburchette wrote:Dan, have you thought about the extra noise that will come from unpadded door panels? You may want to insulate the inside before installing. Also the armrests screw right into the inner door skin so if you change the location you will have to add more holes into your door.

you betchya, I was just at the hardware store pricing some insulation/sound barrier last night. I was trying to be sure I wouldn't interfere with anything if i put it inside the door (not between the door and the panel).

as to the armrest, I wasn't too worried about the wood supporting it anywhere I put it, but I guess that would be a couple of spots my panel wouldn't be secured to the door, so maybe I need to think that through a little more.

-now, to figure out how to connect these wood visors.....

fiater · Post by **fiater** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 4:04 pm

I'm a wood-guy, so I'm anxious to see the finished project. You may have started a trend. I would use at least 4 coats of marine varnish instead of polyurethane. Poly doesn't hold up very well outside, but if you limit the exposure to the sun, you'll be ok for a while. I used oak plywood and marine varnish on my dash and it's held up reasonably well, but I don't drive much and I live in the north east.