put Quick Roof over all the inside door holes after removing the door panels.

The stuff can be found at Home Depot in the rear most aisle next to roofing and HVAC fittings. It is aluminum backed with super tacky rubber. Comes in 6 inch by 15 foot rolls for $15

It is going to be a bytch to get off if I ever have to get to the window regulator!!

I have a nice soggy door panels and some minor floor panel rust thanks to the OEM plastic sheeting design.

WTF was mazda thinking???

And I cut my hand trying to seal the door with sheet metal, WTF was I thinking???

 

huh..??? I'm not to sure i get what ur talking about... but while on topic here's my 2 cents...

I have my door panels off because the top plastic / fake leather part is gettin reupolstured (sp?)...

Well, it was raining real hard the other day while I was sitting in my car for lunch...

And I watched the rain hit my window, pool into heavy drips, and then roll right down the window and btwn my BRAND NEW seal / window strips.... which then soaks the inside of the bottom of my door.

I think it'd be safe to say this is why most of these cars have a rotted bottom portion of the door/s.

If I ever had a door skin off I'd like to properly make a drip vane to direct the water out a small drain hole.

Yea yea as if i don't have enough to do already...

 

That's why they have drain holes at the bottom, so water won't collect in there. Unfortunately, they do tend to get clogged up just like the hatch drains...

 

Yup, when the drains get clogged, rust will start to form.

 

Yep. The factory plastic was just there to prevent splashing on the masonite door panels; the outside window seals are for airflow & debris, and to prevent the windows from rattling, not specifically to keep all water out.

Running a small screwdriver thru the drain holes in the bottom of the doors every few months keeps em clear.

 

Those drains, and many others, have been known to get plugged by "Rustproofing" getting sprayed on the car. A lot of good it does to spray a rust preventative coating on the car, when they end up closing off all the drains that were designed to let the moisture get back out.......

 

Rogue, after a coworker's door panels rusted out from the INSIDE due to the mazda dealership undercoating them, he went back to the mazda dealership to complain , and they laughed at him

devil,
now is a good time to clean the door panels insides with a tooth brush, and prime and paint them

Also there are holes at the bottom of the door that are inside of the weatherstripping. I'm plugging mine, and putting that Quick Roof on all other non essential holes

 

Are you talking about the plastic sheet that covers the openings the inner door panel goes onto?

Because almost all the vehicles I have ever worked on have those...

 

yes, that is what I'm talking about.

Maybe all car manufacturers intend for the door panels to get soggy and moldy after a few decades?

Not a safety or reliability issue, just an annoy the driver so he buys a new car issue.

 

Honestly? I'm not quite sure... ussually it seems those plastic sheets are pretty nicely sealed on the door, but then again... I've also never dealt with the issue of my doors filling up with water.

Of course I'm also guilty of just ripping that sheeting off because its annoying as hell to put back on.

 

It is better to use that $15 Quick Roof stuff than to mess with that cheap OEM or other plastic sheeting. <<-----original point

I'm thinking of replacing the vinyl and composite mason board with stained polyurethane coated plywood. And doing the center consul the same.

 

The plastic should be sealed. Sealed around all of the holes for window crank, switches, etc. The door release may not be completely sealed.

This protects the door panel, but it is more importantly to keep moisture out of the cabin. Older cars were not as air tight as newer cars, but the idea is to seal the cabin from road and wind noise as well as moisture. A well sealed cabin would be better at clearing fog from the windows.

Steel is used for car bodies because of cost and its ability to be recycled. Rust is a planned obsolescence. Car companies know that the average consumer is not going to pay to repaint a car. Instead they will purchase a new car. My next door neighbor once asked me where I bought tires? He never owned a car long enough to replace the tires.

Everything is disposable these days.

If you want a millennium car buy a Delorean.

 

ya, everything is disposable. So how is it Cubans still drive around in 1940 era cars? And Cuba is super tropical, ergo super humid.

 

Someone clogged my rear holes in my doors with bondo. Now whenever it rains and my car is outside (which is once in a blue moon) I have to park it facing down hill so it drains. If I don't, I have to open the door first thing in the morning and let it pee for a while.