Replacing "Flaking" Interior Door Pocket Lids

[geoff]

Originally Posted by d18mike

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?

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.

[Bob O]

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

[d18mike]

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.

[Bob O]

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

[al83s]

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

[jmatta]

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.

[Bob O]

Thanks. Excellent job on your part too. Nice colors too! 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

[Homeboy981]

I like my painted version, thanks to @Boxtaboy and others here. I painted with a rattle can using proper prep, paint and polish techniques, it came out great.

Best thing is…sunscreen? No problem! Clean up is a breeze! I wax it when I wax my car and forget it the rest of the time. The silver is a LOT COOLER than the black used to be.

The hardest part was the prep work and getting the "coating" off the part. This took time and the curing of the paint took a week, so i combined it with dialing in a Short Shift Kit at the same time….end result? FANTASTIC!!! I plan to do more…after the IMS/RMS/Clutch.

Thanks for the idea!

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