How to repair door panel clip holes

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Madison, WI
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1971 Mach 1 w/408C stroker
As the titles says, I am trying to gather ideas on how to repair the door panel clip holes. When I removed my door panels a few were broken, and I probably broke some others. I tried to repair with staples and hot glue but it didn't work that well. The door panels are made of some type of cardboard that is not too robust. I eventually installed the door panels and they are okaysh. My problem now is that one of my power lock attachments came lose so I need to remove the door panel again to fix it. If i remove the door panel again I expect that some of my repairs will break so I would like to properly repair the hook holes. Any ideas? Unfortunately, i don't have pictures.

 
Awesome timing on this question! My passenger side is off for work on the power window, and I've been reluctant to put it back on until I figure out how to better secure it. Funny how 47 year old cardboard just doesn't last ;)

 
Has anyone out there dealt with the clip holes breaking on the door panel?

I wonder if something like a low viscosity glue like crazy glue that could penetrate into the cardboard would work. I still would need a material as filler. There got to be something out there, so i hope.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

 
Has anyone out there dealt with the clip holes breaking on the door panel?

I wonder if something like a low viscosity glue like crazy glue that could penetrate into the cardboard would work. I still would need a material as filler. There got to be something out there, so i hope.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

Just another thought. Velcro can work wonders in cases like this. No clips needed.

 
It might be difficult to get something to soak into the board. I think they have like a wax in them to help not absorb water. I know I bought some of the board at upholstery supply to make door panels for my 1950 Ford and they told me the board had wax in it.

Just some thoughts if I were going to try to fix. I repair consoles that are cracked with fiberglass mat and epoxy. I would think you could take a small piece of wax paper and put where you need your slot for the clip to slide in to prevent the epoxy from sticking. Put layers of fiberglass mat and epoxy to beef up the area and go maybe an inch to each side. 

If you are not using a trim removal plastic tool to pop out the clips you need to get some. HF has some that work fine and you do not use them lots so will last. Sort of like a pickle fork for door panels.

 
It might be difficult to get something to soak into the board. I think they have like a wax in them to help not absorb water. I know I bought some of the board at upholstery supply to make door panels for my 1950 Ford and they told me the board had wax in it.

Just some thoughts if I were going to try to fix. I repair consoles that are cracked with fiberglass mat and epoxy. I would think you could take a small piece of wax paper and put where you need your slot for the clip to slide in to prevent the epoxy from sticking. Put layers of fiberglass mat and epoxy to beef up the area and go maybe an inch to each side. 

If you are not using a trim removal plastic tool to pop out the clips you need to get some. HF has some that work fine and you do not use them lots so will last. Sort of like a pickle fork for door panels.
I did use the trim removal tool, but even with it, the clips were pulling hard enough on the panel to tear it. I am sure it was not in good shape from the start. I like the idea of the epoxy but instead of all fiberglass, maybe combined with a type of reinforcement that can be pushed into the cardboard. Something like a staple that could be pushed in to give it the ability to grip the cardboard.

 
Has anyone out there dealt with the clip holes breaking on the door panel?

I wonder if something like a low viscosity glue like crazy glue that could penetrate into the cardboard would work. I still would need a material as filler. There got to be something out there, so i hope.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

Just another thought. Velcro can work wonders in cases like this. No clips needed.
Interesting. Have you tried with Velcro? I will do whatever to get rid of those unfriendly clips.

 
Has anyone out there dealt with the clip holes breaking on the door panel?

I wonder if something like a low viscosity glue like crazy glue that could penetrate into the cardboard would work. I still would need a material as filler. There got to be something out there, so i hope.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

Just another thought. Velcro can work wonders in cases like this. No clips needed.
Interesting. Have you tried with Velcro? I will do whatever to get rid of those unfriendly clips.
Actually yes we attached my wife's 1970 door panels with Velcro only.  They were new door panels and none of the clips wanted to align so after much discussion and thought, that is the route we chose. We used like the 1 inch, I can get you picture and size when I get home if you would like. If I ever remove mine again that's what I will go back with. The only issue we had was removing to adjust the window. Man that stuff holds. Just take your time and all is well

 
Just another thought. Velcro can work wonders in cases like this. No clips needed.
Interesting. Have you tried with Velcro? I will do whatever to get rid of those unfriendly clips.
Actually yes we attached my wife's 1970 door panels with Velcro only.  They were new door panels and none of the clips wanted to align so after much discussion and thought, that is the route we chose. We used like the 1 inch, I can get you picture and size when I get home if you would like. If I ever remove mine again that's what I will go back with. The only issue we had was removing to adjust the window. Man that stuff holds. Just take your time and all is well
I have used the "industrial" Velcro and it is very good. I may consider that as an option.

 
I've done a set of door panels with Velcro before. They were very small, lightweight panels on a 63 Triumph so I wasn't concerned that they could sag. Not sure if that might be an issue with the heavier door panels on the mustang.

 
I've done a set of door panels with Velcro before. They were very small, lightweight panels on a 63 Triumph so I wasn't concerned that they could sag. Not sure if that might be an issue with the heavier door panels on the mustang.
The good thing is that our panels hang from the window slots so that should take most of the weight. In theory, the Velcro just needs to keep the panel tight to the door.

 
I've done a set of door panels with Velcro before. They were very small, lightweight panels on a 63 Triumph so I wasn't concerned that they could sag. Not sure if that might be an issue with the heavier door panels on the mustang.
The good thing is that our panels hang from the window slots so that should take most of the weight. In theory, the Velcro just needs to keep the panel tight to the door.
Good point, I completely forgot about that. Been so long since I had mine off. I think I might go the Velcro route next time I have to remove mine.

 
I've done a set of door panels with Velcro before. They were very small, lightweight panels on a 63 Triumph so I wasn't concerned that they could sag. Not sure if that might be an issue with the heavier door panels on the mustang.

None what so ever. As matter of fact they are a lot more secure feeling when puling closed than with the clips.

 
The velcro combined with the metal strip at the top would probably hold the panel but you could also put in a couple of small screws in the bottom corners to help. On mine, I have a black bottom carpet so its hard to really see them.

 
As a follow up. This week I finally took the door panel out and put it back in. A lot of the repairs I did to the clip pocket holes broke. I only had about 4 good pockets. I ended up trying a combination of velcro and the 4 good clips. I tried to stick strips of velcro near where each clip would have been. The final result is similar to stock when the panel is on. With the panel off it doesn't look that professional, but what the heck, it is supposed to be used with the panel on. In summary, green light to the velcro idea. I used the outdoor velcro rated to 15 lbs (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JJPPMRI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1). Let's now see how long will it last.

 
I posted this earlier this year. At that point I went the velcro route. It did the job, but when the door panel is removed the velcro tends to detach from the door side. Plus, although it worked, I felt it can be done better. So I tried the fiberglass route. I used my Bondo polyester resin kit with chopped fiberglass. I didn't use a fiber mat because I don't want to create a too thick of a layer that wouldn't allow to slide the clips. A few hours of manual work to layout the resin and chopped fibers. I ended up cutting filler pieces from the speaker panel cutout that I had removed earlier in the year. In a few of the clip holes the panel was completely ripped so the cutouts were use as a bridge for the clips to slide under. I made sure the viscosity of the resin was high so it doens't flow into the clip hole. The cold temperature of the garage took care of keeping the viscosity low enough. Just in case, I inserted masking tape into the holes to prevent any possibility of the resin flowing into the hole. You can see some of the tape leftover in the pictures. Before laying out the resin, I roughed up the area to increase adhesion. The adhesion is very good since the resin is able of slightly impregnate the carboard.

The results look good. It looks sturdy enough so I hope that once I get the panel back on the door that it holds. 

20201116_111817.jpg20201116_111740.jpg

Door speaker cutout that I used as filler material:

20201116_112156.jpg

 
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