Made our own replacement door panels
 

Finally got around to making this video but idk if I ever uploaded the pics to show you guys!
Anyway here is a little DIY for those of you with trashed door handles that wanna make new ones on a budget!!! :lol:

Nice, very clean looking. I didn't have so much of a problem with the carpet falling off of the pocket but had more of the S3 vinyl splitting at the top.


So when I recently painted my car I got some vinyl from good ole Ebay and re-wraped them. Then used hot glue and some staples to re-affix the vinyl to the existing panel.


I used the staples on the fine carpeted area under the vinyl and chrome strip. I layed the vinyl under the carpet so the staples would hold both the vinyl down and the carpet up.


The hot glue attached the vinyl where it wraps around to the underside of the door panel.


https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...704e8e39fa.jpg




https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx7...0ea62e52b0.jpg



Its not a 100% match to the old color vinyl, but it definitely doesn't look half as worn and torn as the old stuff.

Good job Qingdao!

Yes, that's the number 1 problem I have observed over the years on Australian cars too. The vinyl was poorly adhered from the factory. Over time, it would shrink and begin to pull away from the back of the door card so you ended up with creases and bubbles. The problem would appear pretty early in the car's life. Most s2 and s3 cars I saw exhibited this even when they were 10 years old.

On better condition cars, the vinyl could be stretched back to the original position and reglued. However, most of them would do what yours (and mine) did and begin to crack along the creases when the vinyl continued to dry out and shrink.

I have located a vinyl repair expert who can actually reglue these rips back together so as to retain the original grain and colour of the vinyl. Fingers crossed it will work for me. My vinyl just has cuts in it - fortunately, chunks haven't started falling off yet.

The other part that goes is the chrome strip - the chrome actually peels away over time. The same feature was on SAs and older Mazdas, eg RX-3s. They had the same problem as well. You can restore these using aluminium tape or chrome vinyl wrap.