Replacing "Flaking" Interior Door Pocket Lids
 

Got very lucky to find a 2001 Boxster in outstanding condition. The only significant cosmetic flaw are the interior door pocket lids. The plastic/rubbery coating is peeling off. It's unsightly and I'd like to reaplce. Three questions:

1) How common is this peeling problem?
2) Did they upgrade in later models and would OEM equipment I buy now be of better quality?
3) Has anyone replaced these door pocket lids themselves, if so, level of difficulty (1-2?) ... want to know if there are any surprises?

Many Thanks!

I also have a 2001, and didn't notice flaking. Mine are flat back and have a few scratches. Maybe my previous owner pealed off the stuff. I put some mcguires detail spray stuff on them and it seemed to hide most of them. If its real bad you might just try getting the rest off.

Those door pocket lids peel easily when you get sunscreen on them, as there is an agent in the sunscreen that strips the thin layer on the lid. I was tired of it happening so I had the lids painted to match the exterior of my car and then clearcoated. The lids are easy to remove.. all you have to do is lift them to the up position, and then you'll see two hinges. Use a hole punch or large paper cliip to push the plastic pin thru the hinge and then pull them out with a needle nose plier. The rear hinge has a spring so be careful to remove that spring first before pulling off the lid completely.

If you want to strip the old thin plastic layer off prior to painting the lid or recovering in leather, just run them through the dishwasher, and the film will come right off.

http://i31.tinypic.com/2cf8x9w.jpg

Many Thanks, That's terrific information. I can buy new part for $42 per lid -- I might just do that as I suspect I won't be happy with my paint job.

BTW, I noticed your floor mats -- was thinking about getting the same ones. Have you been happy with the quality? It's between those and the OEMs.

I purchased some high quality black leather and covered mine, even though they were in perfect condition (car has 15k miles). Scuff up the surface with sand paper and glue with 3M spray adhesive (I used the heavy duty stuff). Wrap underneath and glue, then trim off the excess...looks like they came from the factory this way (and should have).

Otherwise, paint is a good option, in any color you desire.

No prob. Just so you know, the new ones will still end up peeling... I know because I had the dealer replace them when I was still on warranty, and they ended up peeling again rather quickly once my wife put her arm (with sunscreen on it) on the lid. The only true long term cure is to either paint it or cover in leather like Jmatta did. You can give your lids to a local body shop to spray them if you're not confident in doing it yourself.

The mats you see in my pic are Lloyds mats with red piping on the perimeter of the mats, and they are fine. I actually switch between those and the ones below which are the OEM mats with Momo aluminum floor plates screwed into them. I know some will think it's ricey, but I like em.

http://i28.tinypic.com/1pv42o.jpg

Dealer replaced door pocket lids on my '01 Boxster twice under warranty. No sunscreen used. After they flaked the second time, my friendly dealer service writer replaced them with the leather covered ones and I haven't had any problems since.

Most of the rest of my interior was replaced at one point or another under warranty, due to the "soft touch" finish flaking off of everything. Most of the replacements have held up reasonably well, but I'm starting to see the beginning of flaking/peeling again, this time from wear and tear.

As jmatta said below, if you're so inclined you could try this solution. I had the same peeling problem and followed a couple of other folks' suggestions to cover them. I didn't use leather, since I couldn't find any that was close enough to the grain match. But a local fabric store had some high quality vinyl that matched perfectly. And I decided to put a layer of padding under it just to give it a little softer feel. I used a quilt batting which seemed to be just the right thickness.

It's really a pretty simple procedure and the results are excellent. Anyway, here's a few pics of what I used and the final results.

Oh.....I found (the hard way) that the contact cement melts the factory finish on the pockets! So...you need to first remove that finish either by sanding or with a solvent before the contact cement will hold. Its not pretty when it melts and it scared the heck out of me at first. But it seems to not affect the underlying pocket cover, only the finish, so all was well...in the end. Other people have successfully used a spray-on 3M product, whose name escapes me at the moment, but I tried it and, at least for me, it didn't hold very well.

Bob

This is great -- I'll give it a try today. Nothing to lose. So, I'm off to Jo-Ann Fabrics -- now there's a phrase I never thought I would utter!

I'm wondering if the 3M adhesive did not work because of the porous soft quilt material? Might work better on direct vinyl-to-plastic. I'll try to take pictures as well.

I used the 3M on the vinyl, before I decided to use a padding. It didn't hold, so I tore it off and did it again with what I described above. Technique? Amount of glue used? I don't know, but the contact cement worked fine. Just be careful with it..lots and lots of fumes and I suspect they're not the best thing to be breathing in the morning.

Bob

I just refinished all the trim in my 02 boxster and 00 Jetta. I used interior spray paint maid by "Color Coat", color is called Landau Black. It maches factory black soft touch perfectly, but doesn't peel so easily. $10 at local auto paint store and can be aplied to little pieces that cant be recovered. just my .02

Bob O...looks like a nice job with the vinyl. Here is a shot of the leather covered door pocket on mine...I used the 3M spray adhesive, which stuck to the leather backing without issue. I didn't pad mine, however.

Thanks. Excellent job on your part too. Nice colors too! :cheers: I'm so jealous.... I wish I could have found some leather that was the right grain. Yeah, I think the 3M stuff must work better with leather than with vinyl, or I just can't read directions, one or the other. lol.

Hey.. do you know if the aluminum bar, or whatever its called, just above the lid in your car, is available as a replacement? I love that look.

Thanks

Bob

Geoff below notes that he got some OEM leather-cover covers as replacements. Anyone know where you can get those? I can't find them anywhere on the Interweb.

Bob, I noticed your color combo, as well! The door pulls (for lack of better description) are quite expensive, but since you are a DIY guy, I would recommend painting them (base + clear coat) if you like the look.

Though mine came that way, I found a link with the color code:

"Aluma Look" is ALU 03 Effect Du Pont stock code X1070

Here's another shot...d18mike...now you have lots of options!

Thanks. I'll look into the paint option. It shouldnt' be too difficult, assuming one can get the silly thing off the car without disassemblying the entire door. If that works, I see more aluma look parts in my future....like the door pull and door latch surround, maybe the instrument bezels. Need a parking brake handle too, and a new shift boot, and, and, and............need??? want maybe


Bob

You can easily get thes pocket lids off without disassembling the door. Actually disassembling the door wouldn't buy you anything. Look at the hunges of the pocket lid. Use a small nail punch or even a thick paper clip and push the little hinge rods through. Then you just have to unhook the spring latch. Easy peezy.

Take your peeling door pocket lids and pop them in the dish washer and wash them on hot without drying. Run it for about five or ten minutes with hot water and this will start to break down the rubber coating that's peeling off. Pull them out while still hot and you can rub that stuff right off with a little elbow grease :cheers:

I painted mine and they still look great. Got the paint from expresspaint.com. You can type in your year and model or color code (which you can get on the inside of the front hood) They can give you your color match in spray cans. Get two cans of that so you have extra, a can of primer, tack cloth, and clear coat. Be patient.

Tim: Thanks, but we sorta diverged from the original post. I wasn't talking about the pocket lids...see my post above for what I did to those. I was asking about the pull bar. I just looked at Pelican and from their diagram it appears like there are only two screws holding it on....so, off to the paint store for some alumna look paint.

Oh.. and jmatta.. you're right about those things being expensive. Holy cow! $200-$600 on Pelican, EACH! you gotta be kidding. New paint is in my future


Bob

Here is the info I picked up on the Aluma Look:

BUMPER PORSCHE 4W9 Alu 03 Effect O X1070 0 2003/10/1 14*:add

Go to the bottom of the last page on the list...

http://www.refinish.jp/dupont/color/news/0412/index14.pdf

can they be "restored"
 

I read with great interest all the solutions to the peeling door pocket covers that everyone suggested and that might be my future but in the interim...Has anyone found a product that can be applied to restore the covers to their original factory "soft" finish?