Inner door-trim upholstery

[theBRUCEofWAYNE]

Hello esteemed members,
As mentioned in my newbies thread, I'm working on restoring all the weathered components (plastic and fabric) for my '99 Golf GTI. I'd like to share and stimulate some discussion in regards to what most of you have experienced. I guess the German manufacturing standards of 1999 did not cater for the harsh Australian UV conditions of today.


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[theBRUCEofWAYNE]

First of all, the fabric of my inner door trim no longer has contact with the mould, which is some sort of fiberglass or plastic resin material.

Upon removal, I discovered the glue and foam backing have disintegrated entirely, into an orange oily sludge. I took it to an automotive upholsterer to get reupholstered. Opted for a similar fabric, but this time with no foam backing. This is quite important as without it, the cloth is easier to manipulate. I tried on my own a while ago, and FAILED!

$240 later ($120) for each trim, this was the result.

Nice and smooth finish, 100 x better than what I could've achieved that's for sure.

What do you guys think?


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[dubster99]

how did you go with attaching the mould back to the door trim? i did mine ages ago and cut the glue off of the back part and tried a hot glue gun to stick it back together but wasnt strong enough.

[theBRUCEofWAYNE]

Hey dubster,

Yeah, another 'genius' idea from VW engineers. The door trim clicked out easily once I peeled off their glue. We re-glued the tabs to the trim the same way as you. I hope it holds for at least 5 years. Otherwise, Sikalflex?


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