Door Panel Reinforcement on Second Gen

[moshbrandonmosh]

Hey everyone. On my camry ('91 DX) I've noticed that the door panels have seemed to weaken around the inner door handles and the top area near the windowsill. I was thinking of reinforcing them with fiberglass and resin, or something to that effect. I never really realized it, but from the weakening I basically noticed that....they're cardboard! Anyone run into this problem? Any ideas?

[atobe]

well nope.. but if you'r going to re-enforce it do it from the back.. the resin will soak into the cardboard pretty good... u going crazy with the door or what ?? slamming em shut ?

[white90dx]

My original Camry had a broken arm rest on the drivers side that I was able to mostly fix by using a paper-mache (sp?) method. Wood glue and some extra cardboard worked well enough... I suppose fiberglass would work, but you might have a tough time getting it to stick on there.

-Charlie

[TBayToyotaBoy]

I've beaten the hell out of my Camry, and the door panels are still fine after all this time...I just can't speculate why this would be happening to yours (although if the screw that holds the inner door handle in place loosens then it might cause the cardboard backing to start flexing).

If the wear is really bad, why not just replace the panel with an identical colour/fabric panel from the wrecker's? Fibreglass resin would work, but might be more of a pain than simply replacing...

[stanno]

Hey... my gen 2's drivers side inside door cover is damaged too... and when i lifted the outer fabric/material, i too realized it was cardboard... on the other hand... literally... at the rear passenger door, the arm rest section of the door cover has a slight depression in it... i was of the idea that fiber glass would do the job... but i haven't been to the fiber glass pros here to hear they're take on that... I'm wondering... if cardboard is used to repair it (my front damaged section) how would i go about that... would i cut pieces to resemble the original shape (copy the shape of the opposite door at the front) .. and just glue 'em together? Hey Charlie... u wouldn't happen to have any documentation on how u did yours... would u..? *finger's crossed* Replacing the cover is hard for me here... only place i'd get that is the dealer and that would be a special order...

[moshbrandonmosh]

The door panels are weak in certain spots due to wear and tear and age. the cardboard softened and weakened around the door handles on the insides of the doors, and where the armrests are. I was thinking of doing a lining of fiberglass followed with resin, providing that the resin doesn't soak through too much. Just an idea though! It's not too much of a big deal. I was just seeing what others had to say and if they've encountered the same problem.

[white90dx]

Wood glue and cardboard are your friends for the repair.

-Charlie