Door card, keeping it dry?

Cornishman

Cornishman

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I have some new upholstery going in soon, so I was wondering what is the best approach for keeping the door cards dry? My car had nothing to keep water off the cards, is that standard or is there supposed to be a plastic membrane on the door frame? As I live in the UK keeping it out of the rain is not an option if I ever want to drive it.

If there is no standard process does anyone have a good fix to do this, sheet of plastic and a tube of silicon?

Thanks
C
 
Chris
Thanks, do you mean spray glue to attach a plastic sheet to the door frame?
Do you know how they left the factory?
Thanks
C
 
Factory style vapor barrier

Walloth and Nesch sell a product that should work. Search A51951924961 on their site. I haven't actually used it so I can't comment on the ease of use. You would want the end result to look like this (E30 door)
 

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Mine has nylon barrier which I think is original.
The E36 has a better system which is stronger, molded to the right shape, and glued with that black gooey material that reglues forever.
 
Originally there was a plastic sheet that will get old and brittle over time.
After the repaint at VSR, HBChris was kind enough to help me reassemble, upgrade my headlights and get the car put back together over 4 days.
He recommended sheet plastic like the stuff used for painters drop cloth, cut to fit then used spray adhesive to attach.

Thanks again Chris :razz:
 
On my cars I seem to need to get at the doors more often than I would like (regulators, motors, latches , etc.) And if the adhesive is too strong the plastic backing often gets torn on or stretched given the force applied to get it off.

The plastic is basically held in place by being perforated by the fixings and the pressure of the door card. I simply use normal contact cement. Not the industrial stuff. A generous layer on the door and on the plastic let it get tacky. Easy to position and if you don't get it right the first time just rub off the adhesive and do it again.

Easy to pull off next time.
 
I forgot the name of the stuff but you can buy it at HD or Lowe's, it's a spray sealer ("as advertised in TV" :)). I just tape the edges and spray a thick coat. It dries overnight and makes the cards basically watertight. The problem with using anything thicker than the stock plastic sheet is that it's hard to get the cards nice and tight around the edges. I have had lots of fitment issues trying to add a little extra insulation to various parts of the car but the spray seems to work well and also strengthens the cards.
 
Membrane

Cornishman said:
I have some new upholstery going in soon, so I was wondering what is the best approach for keeping the door cards dry? My car had nothing to keep water off the cards, is that standard or is there supposed to be a plastic membrane on the door frame? As I live in the UK keeping it out of the rain is not an option if I ever want to drive it.

If there is no standard process does anyone have a good fix to do this, sheet of plastic and a tube of silicon?

Thanks
C
Click to expand...

The OE membrane is stil available (at a cost ) from BMW I have a bit here left over form an e3 rebuild. I will get the part number for you.
 
clear shower curtain, w/thin 2 sided insulation tape. i think one x-large may be enough to do both sides, front and back. did that on a few old cars and worked great.
 
I've read that some use Thompson's water seal (or the like) to apply to the cardboard, this helps keep humidity etc from warping over time, in addition to the plastic barrier.
 
I've used shower curtains as vapor barriers in the past. Doing it again, I'd probably go with 5mil clear plastic from home depot. Also, there is a product called RedGuard that rolls on and is used as a water barrier for showers. It's applied to cement board before you tile. Great stuff actually.
 
Markos said:
I've used shower curtains as vapor barriers in the past. ..
Click to expand...

Based on how ineffective shower curtains were when my teenagers took showers you should put a mop inside the door ...
 
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