Installing leather/Vinyl door panels. Anybody done this on there own? I am about to order them from a group deal & was wondering what I was getting myself into by trying to do this. Anybody who has done this please chime in. 5th Gen specific please. It is my understanding that it is fairly difficult. I am also probably going with leather & not vinyl. Thanks in advance.

 

i have leather but when I took apart the dorr I wondered how people swapped the pieces out. They seem pretty stuck in there.

 

You can get this inofrmation off of the company's website, the write-up is very detailed. I am getting my leather kit next week, I might do a write up when I do it. It does not seemall too difficult.

 

I agree that the install of the leather on the seats seems to be pretty straight foward just time consuming. But the door panels seem pretty hard. I too have looked at the back of the door panel & cant seem to understand how it is done on our cars. The instructions on there site are not for our door panels. I assume that not all door panels are the same when it comes to installing the leather panels. Like the other poster said . There is almost no room to stuff it under the lip? As well I imagine the leather insert will be harder to get under there than vinyl. Are you getting leather door inserts or vinyl? A write up with pics would be most helpful.

 

I'm getting the two tone leather, I think it's going to run me $800 when all is said and done. I'll most def have a write up done when I put it all in.

 

Again go to nissan if you cant do it or dont wanna risk f*ckin up your door,
and find out the proper way to pop it off.

 

C'mon, man...half the fun of modding your car is messing things up.

 

The door panels where the fabric or leather are held on by glue. All it is a piece of fabricated wood of some sort with the cloth or leather wrapped around it attached with staples.

 

I watch overhaulin too. Thats how its done on american muscle cars. Is what your telling me is rather than stuff it in there while attached all I have to do is take off the door panel & then from behind take out the whole insert piece which should be attached to a piece of wood & it will come out via removing a couple of staples? Or are you assuming this is how it is put on or removed? I have had the door panel off never viewed staples holding the panel in. Actually that part of the panel is covered up by insallation. Have you done this on a 5th Gen if so is this how you did it? Thanks

 

when i swapped out the cloth on my 4th gen, the seats were easy. the door panels were a ***** to get right, it seems as if the 5th gen wont be as difficult. on the older maximas, the stock fabric is glued into the insert, so just a putty knife will peel it back enough to rip it out. you need some 3m 'super 77'- or something named vaguely similar. take your precut leather or vinyl and line it up, make sure you throw some alignment marks around the edges with chalk- on both the insert and door panel, it washes clean. spray on the adhesive on both sides and either let it tack up, or hit it with the heat gun until it bubbles. use too much and you will get pockets, too little and do it again. mineral spirits are a good cleaning agent.

also an interesting fact- vinyl only stretches in one direction, leather on the other hand has a seven way stretch. crazy, huh?

 

They are glued on well at least my cloth ones were, it says that you can just put them over your existing panels but i took the cloth panels out. You have to remove them slow so that the adhesive doesnt get stuck to the panel, then you would have to spend some extra time rubbing it all off.