I've been wanting to replace the cloth inserts of my EF hatch door panels for a while now. I've installed SI seats and a DC center console, and the lame DX door panels aren't cutting it with the overall look of my interior.

Well I've looked everywhere for a tutorial and have come up with nothing. Sure, if you own any newer body civic or integra, its a piece of ****. You just remove the panel with the cloth, pull off the old fabric and wrap it with your new stuff. Not so with the EF. I even started a thread asking for help, but wasn't given much support. Understandably, because it is a PAIN IN THE ***.

But I finally did it and I want to show you how its done.

Supplies:

-Fabric you want to use
-Maybe some thin foam
-3M Super 77 glue (There is nothing better than this stuff. And yes it is $20/can but I've been using it for years and it is worth it).
-An X-Acto knife. The pointy kind for crafts, not a yellow utility knife. You need precision. A new blade helps too.
-Large screwdriver or plastic trim tool
-Sharpie, or a pen is ok.
-Newspaper
-Masking tape

I recently bought some used beat up SI seats for cheap and got rid of everything except for the stripy inner parts. So this is what I am using for fabric. It already has a thin foam layer attached to it. If you are using your own fabric, you might want to get some foam and glue it on somehow. I'll leave this up to you.

First off, lame DX door panel:



It was looking pretty grimy so I cleaned it with an amorall wipe:


Better, but still lame.

The first step is to cut around the edge of the fabric.



Be careful not to cut into the tuby edge. You want to cut right in between the fabric and the tube. Take your time with this. Cut around the entire perimeter of the fabric.

Then start peeling it up with the screwdriver or if you have a trim tool better.



Careful not to damage the fabric, you need it as a stencil.



It will probably look something like this when you are done.



There is a foam layer that will probably remain. If you are lucky enough that your foam remained completely intact, you could probably reuse it, especially if you are putting thin fabric on top. Since my fabric has foam attached, I got rid of the left over foam. (Either way you want something there to push the fabric out and give it a plush look).

The foam is annoying to get off. I used my finger nails. A putty knife would probably help.



Once its off it looks like this:



Now you might notice there is a bit of an edge remaining on the vinyl, next to the tube shaped trim. You want to get rid of it as best you can, especially if it has bits of cloth stuck to it. Don't cut into the tube though!



Next, take the fabric piece that you removed from the door panel. Lay it on the fabric you are going to use and trace it with the sharpie. Make sure you trace it on the back! If its thin enough that that sharpie will bleed through, then get a thicker fabric. If you fabric is too dark, use chalk or something. And if it has stripes (like mine), be very aware of the angle of the stripes. if you cut it at a slight angle, it will look stupid (unless you want it that way).





Notice I screwed up. No big deal, its the back.

Now cut out the fabric. This is very important: CUT THE FABRIC LARGER THAN THE OUTLINE. The new insert will tuck under the vinyl on the door so it has to be larger than the old insert. Whats good about this is that the new trim doesn't have to be the exact right size, and it doesn't have to have perfectly smooth edges. But do your best anyway.



I started by cutting it roughly 3/8" past the felt marks.



This part is a bit tricky. Like I said, the new insert has to be larger, but how large? Well its difficult to put an exact number on it. I had to do it by trial and error. I ended up cutting it three times. The last time it was only about 1/8" wider than the felt marks. Take your time with this step. If you cut it too small, you will be starting over. With my ultra rare SI seat fabric, this was not an option.

Second cut:



(Third not shown)

Place the fabric on top of the empty space in the door panel and start tucking it under the edges of the vinyl. I used the screwdriver to help, but be careful not to pull up the vinyl too much. The first time you do this the insert will probably be too big, so cut it until it is the exact perfect size (as stated above).



Once you get the perfect size, tuck it around the entire edge of the vinyl. This is essentially how it will look when its done. I cannot stress enough tucking it entirely around, even though it is a bitch. It will be impossible to cut it once the glue gets involved, so you want to be sure.



Take your door panel and mask off the area you want to glue. Add some newspaper just in case. The glue we are using is very powerful stuff and we don't want it wrecking the door panel.



Here's the glue we are going to use:



Place the fabric you are going to use backside up on some newspaper and spray the glue on. I used quite a bit of glue. Set aside the insert and throw away the newspaper right away. If the gluey part of the newspaper touches the front of the fabric, its ruined. Trust me.

Spray the door panel where the insert is going. I used a lot here too.

Let them sit for a minute or so.

Saying this next part is difficult is an understatement. You will want to hurl the door panel through your window. You will utter profanities that would embarrass Ari Gold. You will curse the day you stumbled on this satanic tutorial.

Ok anyway, you have to place the insert EXACTLY in the right spot, and start tucking it under the vinyl just like you did when mocking it up. You can pull up and reposition if you mess up, but try not to. Any glue that touches the face of the insert will ruin it. If you get glue on your fingers, it will ruin it. Get my drift? Carefully tuck the fabric under the entire perimeter of the vinyl. The corners are the hardest part. Try to keep the fabric flat, its easy to wrinkle the corners, and difficult to un-wrinkle them.

Then you are done.



Install back in car and revel in the glory of your custom door panel.









Just to compare, here's how the other side looks still:



Rest assured, this looks completely stock, apart from the extra awesomeness. It doesn't look hacked or ghetto at all. Speaking of which, the garishly ugly purple shifter surround will be gone soon. I originally upholstered it in black fake suede, but the sun turned it purple. So if you are using suede for the door panels, use quality stuff. Or it will turn purple.

This whole project took about 3 hours, just for the driver's side. I imagine the passenger side will probably take 2 with the experience.

 

that looks great man. good write up.

 

great pictures with full detail how to do it.

 

wow this is really nice bro this should become a sticky like asap

 

Definitely sticky worthy. Will be attempting this once I swap seats. Good job on the write-up

 

Love the write up !

 

definitely sticky...looks super clean ties the whole interior together nicely....one question when using the glue is the molson mandatory or can i still use my sierra nevada for liquid encouragement?

 

yo this is dope! thanks for the thread

 

That looks crazy good, excellent job! Thanks for writing it up!

 

Thanks guys, this was my first write up and I hope to do more in the future. I figured the Iphone camera wasn't going to cut it for this one so I broke out the D90 with flash - makes a huge difference

 

Haha well I don't really recommend the Molson for liquid encouragement either, you need something like a Stella for this.

 

ok i think im gonna try this but with black alcantara suede kinda material......should look pimp... im gonna do my a pillars and headliner too

 

Yeah that would be sweet, just use quality stuff. That was my original plan with the console but it turned purple. I originally did that with the armrest too, but I have the si stripes on there now.

 

dude your interior looks freaking amazing!!!
thanks for the amazing write up

 

Just for a bon(us) shows us some pics of the outside
.....................er

 

Heh, nice one. See my build thread in sig! Outside is clean but nothing too fancy, paint is not great and trim needs help.

 

Excellent post and nice work.

 

Awesome job! Looks really good and good explanation!

 

*BOOKMARKED* Thank you!!!! i'm going to do this to my hatch. i need to re do the vynil on the whole top half of the door panels any ways.

 

This helps a lot! Good write up

 

Sick! You did great man!

 

wow, the interior looks so on point. it looks great man! quick question. i know this doesn't have anything to do with your tutorial, but the dc center console; how does it fit? what year dc did you get it off of. and does it bolt right up the the ef upper console (where the stereo goes)?

 

I don't know why I didn't see this sooner. Good job! I'll definitely try this in the future.

 

It's been said but I'll say it some more. That looks ****. Very nice job.

This is going in my bookmarks for when I do my own interior stuff this summer (headliner, door cards, center console). Hopefully tweed or a strong cotton material will work well.

 

amazing write up really helpful