[horvath]

Door Panels | Attn: KristCustoms

I just made my first template ... it's for a door panel and I'm wondering about sizing it right.

I started with poster board, cutting pieces to get the shapes of corners and fitting things together until I had a full template of the driver side door panel. Then I used that to cut out a full single-piece template out of some sturdy 4' x 8' x 1/16th inch waxed cardboard that I have - nice stuff!

Now, if I place that over my door, it fits perfectly; width, height, corners, etc., and I plan on saving this to use as the template to cut my "real" door panels out of ... but I thought, "I'd best check with Shawn and make sure I'm doing this correctly and save myself from moaning about something later."

So my question is, should the template and/or the final panel that will get covered with foam and leather be smaller? I know you're gonna say, "yes" ... but how much smaller should it be so that when it's covered it fits perfectly? Should I take off 1/8th inch from all four sides? 1/16th inch? What's the rule of thumb, bro'?

Thanks.

Alan
54 Chevy Pickup

 

[kristkustoms]

Does your truck have windlace? Is the windlace installed? What type of material is the panel going to be covered in?

 

[horvath]

Yes ... my truck has windlace -- the old windlace is in now; I'll be installing new windlace later (black rubber) and I plan on covering it with vinyl as well, which will make it slightly larger, eh?

I haven't selected materials yet, but I'm planning on using foam and a nice supple vinyl on the panels.

Alan
54 Chevy Pickup

 

[kristkustoms]

I always install my windlace first, cut my panels and screw them temporarily to the doors. Then shut the doors so the windlace is pressed nice and tight. Then trace the windlace edge onto the door panel (hopefully you first cut of the panel will be behind the windlace when the door is shut). Once you trace this edge onto your base panel, trim it off with about an added 1/16" of clearance. Then when its covered and the door is shut, you should have a perfect fit. A nice seal on the windlace, and the edge of the door panel "butting" up against the windlace.

 

[horvath]

Ah-ha!
:thumbup:
Thanks, Shawn! I wasn't thinking about the windlace at all and you've taught me that it's the primary thing to consider when fabricating the door panels!

A great lesson. Thanks for helping me out, bro'.

Alan
54 Chevy Pickup