Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2010 22:16:22 -0700
Reply-To: Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Removing door panels, was Dynamat
In-Reply-To: <0b5001cac58b$1de8c300$6401a8c0@PROSPERITY>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Pulling the interior panels is another good place to use your handy dandy
Dandelion garden tool...the one you have to remove your axle-nut caps and to
help you pry off sticky hoses and fuel lines.
You can find em in any hardware store in the garden section...these are
essentially very wide 'screw drivers' with a ready made notch in the middle
and they have a very convenient angle tip for prying (or cutting off a
Dandelion stem below the lawn surface, if you have a lawn and care about
it's Dandelions) off the panel retaining 'buttons' with equal up-force under
both sides of the head. The rounded corners and smooth thin blade are easy
to get behind the panel without harming the covering or cutting the moisture
barrier.
Don Hanson
On Tue, Mar 16, 2010 at 9:34 PM, Scott Daniel - Turbovans <
scottdaniel@turbovans.com> wrote:
> oh, it's you Michael.
>
> As the gentleman here says....
> no big deal.
> the front door panels, the sliding door panel, and the other interior
> panels pop off very nicely.
>
> use a flat screw driver close to where the clip is.
> They did a pretty good job there, now that's built.
>
> one panel that will not come off easily though is the rear hatch panel.
> those clips grab too hard in their holes ..and half the time they break
> coming apart ..
> or tear the cardboard ..
> but the 'normal' panels pop of real easily, you'll see.
>
> the clear plastic moisture barrier ...they intentionally used a glue that
> will pull apart, then stick back on again.
> Sometimes I might add a bit of tape ...
> but mostly .....and it does tear a little, but mostly you can get that
> clear
> plastic back on intact fairly well.
>
> one warning !
> got power windows ?
> I suspect you might.. late model GL, right ?
>
> IF you have power windows..
> you can not be too careful about the switch panels.
> they have tiny hooks on the back that hold them into the door panel..
> and if you even look at them funny they break.
> So if you have Power Windows..
> be extra, extra careful about the switch panels and how they clip into the
> door panel.
> Very weakly built there.
>
> have fun !
> Scott
> www.turbovans.com
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Marc Perdue" <mcperdue@GMAIL.COM>
> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
> Sent: Tuesday, March 16, 2010 6:36 PM
> Subject: Re: Dynamat...
>
>
> What are you afraid of losing? You take a flat blade screwdriver and
>> pry the panel off. You'll notice that there are places where it's
>> easy to get the screwdriver behind the panel. You want to look for
>> the places where the panel is held pretty tightly to the metal. This
>> is where the fasteners are. There are a number of connectors in the
>> panel that will stay in the panel and don't seem too likely to break.
>> If you're real concerned about it, you can buy a tool special made for
>> this purpose, that looks kind of like a two-tined fork. The
>> screwdriver works just as well, in my experience.
>>
>> The problem you will likely have is that there is a moisture barrier
>> behind the panels that needs to be carefully removed so you can get to
>> the metal of the door. This material may tear as you are removing it.
>> At the very least, it's kind of hard to put back on very well. I
>> don't know if this is available from our vendors or not. Some good
>> two-sided tape may be in order.
>>
>> Once you get to the metal, you'll want to clean it well. There's some
>> kind of funky material, I don't know what, that's usually on the
>> metal. I cleaned this all off before putting the Dynamat on. I don't
>> remember what I used to clean it. It could have been gasoline or some
>> other such solvent. It's good to do this on a warm day as the Dynamat
>> is more pliable. You'll wind up cutting all kinds of weird shapes
>> trying to piece it together to get good coverage. You'll also wind up
>> putting your arm way up into the door where you can't see very well.
>> It's not a trivial process, but for me it made a big difference in my
>> ability to hear my tunes. And I'm a musician. I like my music.
>>
>> Good luck!
>> Marc
>>
>> On Tue, Mar 16, 2010 at 8:08 PM, Michael Sullivan
>> <sandwichhead@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> I would like to do this but afraid to pull the panels and ruin/lose
>>> sumpin.
>>> Any tips on how to do this without causing any damage? Feel free to pmail
>>> me. Thanks.
>>> Michael in San Antonio
>>> 91GL AT 'Gringo'
>>> 73 Beetle
>>>
>>>
>>> On Tue, Mar 16, 2010 at 9:25 AM, Jeff Lincoln <magikvw@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> I used Peel N' Seal on my '90 Carat as well. Seemd to work great and at
>>>> a
>>>> fraction of the cost.
>>>>
>>>> I know people are concerned with smell and off gassing but i have to say
>>>> I
>>>> noticed no ill effects. I got the tip from a shop that does
>>>> restorations.
>>>>
>>>> I'm not saying this is the right thing - only that I did it and saw no
>>>> ill
>>>> effect - YMMV
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Thanks,
>>>>
>>>> Jeff
>>>> '85 GL (Gertie)
>>>> '90 Carat (Grover - the noble parts donor)
>>>> '86 (We call this one Scrap)
>>>> '78 Bus (Melissa) Patty's Bus
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
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