Vinyl wrap for upper interior door panel!

[pbsupra90]

Went to a guy to does interior auto restoration. I have a tear in upper vinyl panel of dark blue interior that is driving me a little crazy. Because the rest of the interior is showroom mint. I was cleaning the upper panel, and my watchband caught some of the vinyl causing two three inch tears. They come together like a triangle. It's looks bad. Repair did not go well. They patched it up, but now it looks like I have a "scar" in the upper panel of driver's side. The guy at the auto resto place said he could use a vinyl wrap, but it would have to match the grain patterns of all the vinyl upper panels front and rear. Also he told me he could not reproduce the faux stiching that was pressed/embossed at the factory. So what to do? The dash has the fake stiches, and it sounds like a big job. He does not want to work with me, because he knows I am a stickler and will probably find something I will not like. But have you heard of this being done? It's very easy to take off the rug(a few screws) and the cloth insert and your are just left with the vinyl. But we are talking a long door panel and a lot of vinyl. The tear cannot be repaired...I tried that and it looks worse. It needs new vinyl or a new door panel.
I put in neoprene two tone seats to cover the blue cloth and they look very nice. Problem is...you start to get addicted to this customization stuff. He could put the vinyl wrap in dark blue and then maybe a faux leather insert that match the seats. I don't know. The other way to go is I ordered from a very nice man on this site, two mint condition 90 Burgundy panels. They just need to be painted. This resto guy did not want to touch them. He was afraid there was too much amorall and the paint would not stick. I know you have to really soap the thing up, scuff, use adhesion promotor, use SEM products and then a semi-gloss. He is afraid after a few months some paint would start peeling. So I could have the two front panels painted the same color at the rear panels. And hope they hold up. You really need a guy with skill and the right products.
Also if you notice in those old 90's the dashboard is a lighter blue(dash is plastic not vinyl) and does not match the upper interior panels which are more of a navy blue. So any suggestions? Go for a full vinyl wrap, faux leather custom to the match the seats or paint two burgundy's dark blue and hope it holds up. It has been over a year and I have not been able to resolve this dilemma. You really have to do a whole rehapolstery as there are not too many guys who do good spot repairs on vinyl tears that are too long. The place I took it too botched it...and now I am permanently screwed. I could put a nice carbon fiber decal with the word "Supra" in that fancy SUPRA script to cover it up, but I don't like decals on upper panels. Any suggestions? I can't get a decent pair of navy blue panels for a 90. Everyone I contact either sold them or have crappy one's that are WORSE than what I already have.
Also if they put the faux leather inserts do they stitch that in? I can live with the cloth inserts, they are in nice condition. But the driver's side panel with the scar is driving me crazy. Rest of car is better than showroom. Actually I would really like to sell the car and get a 99 S class Mercedes Benz 320 or 400. You can get a nice one for 8-9 K. They are actually cheaper used than a 98 Supra which I have seen going for 25K. I have had the car for 22 years, garage kept, park it carefully so no dings/scratches. It would be hard to part with it, because I have had it so long and it is a rare car. Only 1000 Turbo's were sold that year. So I don't know what to do. I could use that interior money on a new Benz, as I have always loved those two door and 4 door S classes from 92-99. Much nicer than the new ones, and the car would not stand out so much. If anyone has or knows someone with excellent condition dark navy blue panels let me know. I have the burgundy's and I could swap them and pay additional amount for your troubles. Thanks to all. p.s. Sorry, I know it's blasphemy to be talking about an MB on the site!!!lol

 

[Aku]

I'm sorry to hear that this happened to a mint original III. My Brother is currently in the same situation with his 89', same color interior as well. We've gone over the options and most of them are what you mentioned already, either costly or imperfect if not done correctly. We'll probably end up buying new door cards of any color and doing a full interior color change. I hope you find a way to get your problem resolved.

 

[AbsoluteSpeed]

That is a lot of text for a torn door panel.

Buy a door panel from this guy http://www.supramania.com/forums/showthread.php?174686-Perfect-Blue-Interior-UPDATED
Done.

 

[pbsupra90]

Thanks...so are you painting your dashboard a new color? Seems like a lot of work for a few tears in one panel. But I guess it has to be done to get everything to match up. I am kinda lucky in that I found a guy who does good work, and can paint the burgundy panel the dark navy blue that I need to match the rear. For some reason, the retard who fixed it, painted the panel the same color as the dash...a lighter blue. So now the front panel is lighter than the rear panel on driver's side. Passenger side is fine. I didn't know who I was dealing with. It was a high end place but they really specialize in body work. Not vinyl. But the driver's panel has got to go, as there is no way to fix it and get the proper grain match. It's just a matter of getting someone who knows what he is doing to get it to match the panels in rear and passenger side. Sorry to hear your story. Let me know how it goes. If you need parts I do have a mint burgundy passenger side panel, and two mint burgundy rear panels. I may have to end up getting both front panels painted if I am not satisfied. But the guy is doing the driver's side. I just hopes he does a good job. He has been in business 40 years. We talked for a long time, established a good relationship, and he knows that I will not settle for anything less than perfect. PM me if you are interested. And again I am sorry about your situation. It sucks that a little tear can force you to redo your whole interior!!!!

 

[Aku]

Thanks...so are you painting your dashboard a new color? Seems like a lot of work for a few tears in one panel. But I guess it has to be done to get everything to match up. I am kinda lucky in that I found a guy who does good work, and can paint the burgundy panel the dark navy blue that I need to match the rear. For some reason, the retard who fixed it, painted the panel the same color as the dash...a lighter blue. So now the front panel is lighter than the rear panel on driver's side. Passenger side is fine. I didn't know who I was dealing with. It was a high end place but they really specialize in body work. Not vinyl. But the driver's panel has got to go, as there is no way to fix it and get the proper grain match. It's just a matter of getting someone who knows what he is doing to get it to match the panels in rear and passenger side. Sorry to hear your story. Let me know how it goes. If you need parts I do have a mint burgundy passenger side panel, and two mint burgundy rear panels. I may have to end up getting both front panels painted if I am not satisfied. But the guy is doing the driver's side. I just hopes he does a good job. He has been in business 40 years. We talked for a long time, established a good relationship, and he knows that I will not settle for anything less than perfect. PM me if you are interested. And again I am sorry about your situation. It sucks that a little tear can force you to redo your whole interior!!!!

We'll probably end up painting the dash along with the rest of the parts, unless of course we get lucky and come across a fairly nice blue door card. As for the actual damage on the door panel it's very strange. The car had been sitting outside uncovered for a while and we came to the conclusion that sun damage was the culprit. What's strange is it looks like a couple small circular chunks are missing, so a re-wrap might not be an option for us.

I'm actually thinking of re-wraping with different material or glassing over my dash + semi-matte paint since I can see the infamous dreaded dash spider cracks forming :icon_frow

I hope the restoration goes well, I'm curious to see the result and hope it's done to your liking. :bigthumb:

 

[Maple191]

Im sorry but someone has to say this. You keep making posts for peoples opinoins on how to fix the tear in the door. You posted this a couple of times last year. Either fix it, or dont, spend money or dont. Welcome to having an old car, that parts arn't avilible. YEs you manitained it pefrect for all these years but guess what life isnt perfect and neither is your car without actually spending money. And I can tell already if you do completely redo your car, youll end up being one of those people that says "but its just not the same"

 

[91Supra313]

Im sorry but someone has to say this. You keep making posts for peoples opinoins on how to fix the tear in the door. You posted this a couple of times last year. Either fix it, or dont, spend money or dont. Welcome to having an old car, that parts arn't avilible. YEs you manitained it pefrect for all these years but guess what life isnt perfect and neither is your car without actually spending money. And I can tell already if you do completely redo your car, youll end up being one of those people that says "but its just not the same"

Wow who pissed in your coffee this morning? So what if he is talking about the same shit a year later?! People do that all the time on this forum. I don't blame him for holding out for a shop that does damn good work. Some of us take pride in our cars ( not saying you don't ), and want nothing but the best for it. I know when I go to get mine painted in a year or so, I will be on here asking for opinions on shops. But that is a year at least from now. So when I start that thread up, are you going to jump on here, and flame me for bringing it up again? I think my question is, why in the hell do you remember this was brought up a year ago, or did you decide to check on his posts or something? The last time I checked this was a forum for opinions.....Even as shitty, and pointless as some may seem......

 

[pbsupra90]

Yeh.... I sweat the details. I am an attorney.

 

[pbsupra90]

I am just writing about this because I know I am not the only person with this problem. Most people are not so anal with their car and live with tears in the vinyl, seats etc. However, to me it stands out because the rest of the interior and car and in near perfect condition. I want to keep the car that way. Ofcourse I will have to spend the bread. Just wanted to know if anyone else out there had a similar problem and what they did about it. And your right...it won't be the same because it will be painted and not dyed in the factory. The only way to get the thing exactly the same is to get the same colored panel in the same condition, which is virtually impossible at this point. I see panels for sale, most are NOT dark blue, and if they are dark blue they have tears and impressions in them. So essentially I am back where I started. But the lesson for today is....don't mess with your car unless it is absoloutely necessary. I was just using some product on the interior, pressed a little too hard, and the vinyl just gave out.It's not so much the damage, it's that I know I created it.....and should have just left the thing alone. Also it's going to get hot soon. When the car is outside on a hot day for any length of time, the vinyl compound or whatever crap they used, starts to bubble up. So I need a new panel either way......unless I don't use my car over the summer which is not an option.

 

[jetjock]

Lmfao! It's just a friggin' car and an old one at that!

 

[hvyman]

Find a good used one then. Post in the want to buy section.

 

[3p141592654]

By the way, the color changes you observe between the various pieces of the interior were not there when the car was new. 25 years of sun, oxygen, outgassing and heat have faded the parts to different degrees. To make it all look like it was new isn't going to happen, no matter what you do.

 

[Supracentral]

Enough of the flame bait already people.

Back on topic, or go find something else to do.

 

[pbsupra90]

True it's "Just a car". But obviously I am a bit OCD about it. Even lost a girlfriend because I would not leave the car over night in her neighborhood.Her neighborhood wasn't bad, but I know eventually something would happen to it. The bumper and nose of those cars are too vulnerable to parking lot damage. That's probably the biggest fault of the car.
It would not look better than new, and be worth a good chunk of change if I was not anal about it. I am also neurotic about the car because people gawk at it and I have had people bash out the rear hatch and key it. So...I have had a number of bad experiences. I think a nice old Camry that runs well might be the way to go.

 

[Insidious Surmiser]

yeah, I've always been OCD about my car. so, it's understandable. a 20+ year old car that has never had any parts replaced, or been repainted, and still looks brand new usually gets a lot of respect, sometimes hate too. the car I have now had a giant key mark all the way down the passenger side when I bought it