I bought replacement door panels for my 1971 442. The door panels on this car are covered in vinyl. I already did one of the smaller inner quarter panels but I'm not real excited about how it turned out. It is "lumpy." The new panel has a thin layer of foam rubber, then the vinyl. I reused the original metal upper portion of the panel and attached it to the new lower part. I then sprayed 3M upholstery glue onto the frame work and also onto the foam rubber and waited a minute or so for the glue to tack up, then while slightly tugging on the foam to prevent wrinkles, I stuck the two together. So far so good. I then sprayed glue onto the foam rubber and onto the back of the vinyl, waited a minute again, then again while slightly tugging the vinyl to keep it from wrinkling I stuck the foam to the vinyl. It is lumpy. What did I do wrong? Perhaps one is not supposed to glue the vinyl to the foam rubber?

Benji

Sounds like you're doing things right, Benji ... except - maybe - for the way you are applying the parts after glue.

It's generally best to line things up after the glue sets, and then work from the center, out, pressing them together. Working from the middle, out, usually eliminates gaps.

Does that make any sense? I'm thinking you're pulling and leaving air pockets?

Alan Horvath
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You should never really pull or tug on foam like that. It should be layed down naturally, foam (especially open cell foam, which is my guess is what is on your panels) is VERY easy to stretch, and when you stretch foam, it thins out. So when it is pulled (even slightly), that area that was pulled gets thinner than the rest. It would be very hard to tell that the foam is lumpy (or thin in spots), but when the vinyl is applied, the shiny surface of the vinyl will show the lumps ALOT more than a dull surface.

You shouldnt have to worry about air pockets underneath foam, if it is open cell foam, the air will simply pass right through. If you were to get air pockets underneath a closed cell foam, a small poke with an X-acto knife or razor blade will let the air out