SKYLINE 1989‐93 DOOR INSERT COVERS – INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS

SKYLINE 1989‐93 DOOR INSERT COVERS – INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS

You can use the following instructions for both the front and rear door card inserts. If you do not feel confident installing the leather inserts yourself then you may want to seek the help of a professional. The most important part of installing the door card inserts: take your time and be patient. The door cards insert used for these instructions took a little over two hours to install each.

STEP ONE

The first step is to remove the old door card insert. Take care not to destroy or distort the original door card insert as you will need it to make trimming the leather insert easier. Once removed, you can overlay the old one onto the new one to compare the size. Mark the overlay with a pen or marker and then take your time trimming with a sharp pair of scissors.

STEP TWO

Sand the vinyl where you will be laying down the new insert with 100‐150 grit sandpaper. Do not sand too rough so that you do not break through the vinyl. You are trying to remove old adhesive and pieces of the old insert that are still attached. Also, the sanding gives the contact adhesive a better surface to grab onto. Be sure to thoroughly clean the surface and edges after you sand with alcohol.

STEP THREE

Overlay your vinyl on top. You are checking fitment and whether or not you need to trim more. More than likely, you do. Take your time to lay the insert down flat and press the leather into the edges with a dull tool. If the leather bulges out badly then you may need to trim more. Be careful not to trim too much; remember, you can always take away more material but cannot add any back.

This step is crucial in making sure your leather is going to fit once you start laying down the adhesive.

Also, remember that during the installing process you can lightly stretch the leather in any given direction. If your leather doesn’t quite line up with the seam then you can pull it up in that area, apply more adhesive, and stretch it into the cracks to give yourself a little more material to work with.

STEP FOUR

Make sure you use a good contact adhesive. The Weldwood contact adhesive that is pictured is a favorite of those that build custom auto interiors. It has a very high heat tolerance and grabs extremely well when used and applied properly. You can apply it with a small brush. When using this adhesive you need to apply it to both the door panel and the leather insert. The adhesive will not bond to a surface that does not have contact adhesive applied. Once the adhesive on both surfaces has become “tacky”, you can then press them together. If you want to practice beforehand then you can get some cheap vinyl from a craft store and wrap scrap pieces of MDF or metal.

Do NOT use a cheap all‐purpose spray glue from an auto parts store or home improvement store; your leather will peel during the summer months.

The best method to getting a good end result is to do the installation little by little. Start at one of the corners because those are the hardest spots. Overlay the insert onto the entire panel and press the

leather into the crevices to make sure it is lined up good. Once it looks like it is positioned correctly, you can pull up one corner and apply adhesive. Apply the contact adhesive onto BOTH the door panel and the leather insert as described above. Be sure to take your time.

Once the adhesive becomes tacky, you will lay the leather down like it was before and press the leather into the crevices. Press firmly on the areas that have adhesive applied.

After the corner is applied properly, you can then pull up the rest of the door panel do it in sections.

If the insert was properly aligned before starting with the corner, then doing each subsequent section should be easy.

Mark each section with a sharpie or pen as seen below so that you know where to stop with the adhesive:

If you make a mistake then you do have a short window of time to pull the insert up and reposition. If you do end up repositioning, then you will need to reapply the adhesive. Pulling up the insert requires a firm and abrupt “jerking” motion; if you apply gentle pressure then you make not accomplish anything except pulling up the vinyl that is on the door panel.

STEP FIVE

The final corners can be a little tricky. Once you get close you can overlay the leather to make sure it still fits well. You may need to trim the insert a tiny bit if you have either purposefully or accidently stretched the insert a little while applying it. In the following picture you can see how the insert is a little too large at this point and needs to be trimmed:

Once trimmed, attaching the piece is just like the rest. You apply adhesive to both sides, wait until tacky, and then press down the insert onto the surface and into the crevices.

STEP SIX

You can go back over the panel and press firmly while also checking the crevices to make sure the insert hasn’t peeled up if adequate pressure was not previously applied.

This is also the step where you are going to clean up any visual adhesive. Take your time!

The best technique to remove any existing adhesive is to rub it off of the vinyl with your bare finger. Do not wait a long period of time to do this; you will not be able to remove the adhesive from the vinyl very easily if you wait an extended period of time. You can use a dull scraper or tool to “rub” the adhesive out of the crevices as well. Be careful not to damage your vinyl.

If you have any trouble spots then you can use alcohol to assist in removing the adhesive. You can also use alcohol to remove the adhesive if you get any on the colored side of your leather.

STEP SEVEN

You will need to cut the hole where your door handle goes. You can cut an X into the hole with a razor blade so that you are left with four triangles. Apply adhesive to the backside of the triangles as well as the inside of the door panel where they would overlay.

Again, once tacky, tightly wrap the triangles around the backside so that you are left with a clean hole.

STEP EIGHT ‐ SUCCESS

REAR DOOR CARDS

The following are pictures of the back inserts for reference use. The same instructions apply. Remember, take your time!