After making replacement door panels for the Dodge using off the shelf vinyl sheet and some paneling for backing, I had to turn my attention to the top trim panels on both doors. These panels are metal backed with a Charger badge in the center and some design lines in the vinyl material on the outside of the trim panel. The color in the vinyl has been chipping and fading away due to the simple fact the material is 50 years old. Of course, just like with the regular door panels, these top trim panels are expensive as hell and until I can get to some point where I can afford to spend several hundred bucks for a couple of trim pieces, I'll have to make due with what I have. In this case since the panels are still in fairly decent shape, barring the chipping and fading color from the vinyl, I figured I could just paint the panels with some trim paint and reinstall them on the doors to go along with the new generic door panels. Since the door panels are black, I figured I'd paint the top trim black as well, duh. They used to be white but the white material has flaked off enough that under the old paint or dye or whatever the hell it is, the surface is a dark grey shade. The easiest way to prep the surfaces of the panels was to pull out a plain wire brush and get to work scrubbing the surface, breaking up any loose color from the vinyl. Of course I couldn't get all of the white off the panels as I don't know what this material is or how it was put on the vinyl to begin with. I just scrubbed and scrubbed until there was no more material flaking off. What remained was scuffed up well enough that it should help the paint to adhere better when I do spray it on. I then masked off the Charger badging and the one chrome ring where the lock knob goes that I still had on one panel. With that I went to spraying. I sprayed around the edges, holding the panels up to allow me to get all of the remaining trim paint out of one can and so I can get the harder to reach areas first. Once I emptied the first can, which had very little paint left, I laid the panels down and sprayed two heavy coats onto the panels, taking time to let the first coat dry real good, almost to the touch, before laying down the second coat. Once it dried, I checked the panels and touched up in spots, especially around the edges to make sure that every bit of visible surface will be evenly covered so when I put these panels back on, there won't be any white showing on these panels. With that I let them dry even more for a good 30 min or so, before pulling the masking tape from the badges and the lock knob ring. By the time I do get around to installing these panels back on the doors, the paint should be plenty dried enough that I can pick them up without my fingers leaving prints in the semi-tacky paint. Both panels still have some of the clips in them that snap them to the doors but the driver's side panel had a couple of screws installed at the very corners to hold it on more solidly. With the screws at the corners, they aren't as visible and to the untrained eye, may even appear to be factory. With those panels installed, the doors will be fully complete as far as the interior, the next thing will be making and installing the interior panels that go on the sides in the back seat area. I'll do the same with these panels that I did for the door panels, using paneling and sheet vinyl to make them, cutting the holes for the side window cranks. The next thing from there will be a rear firewall to cover the opening in the back seat going to the trunk. From there the last thing is figuring out how to cover up the sides of the sails where the interior works it way up to the ceiling of the cab. The more surface I cover, the better the car will look, even if it's not a factory look.
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May 2023
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