Door Upholstery Adhesive

[ninjamoby]

This piece of fabric (black vinyl) has come unglued from my door.

What's a DIY method to get it re-adhered?



What I've seen online is folks removing the entire door to reglue the panel which is outside of my toolset.

[afadeev]

Originally Posted by ninjamoby

This piece of fabric (black vinyl) has come unglued from my door.

What's a DIY method to get it re-adhered?

Long long time ago, in the age of E36 ownership, I dealt with a similar problem. After trying many glues, the one that sticked (pun intended) was Gorilla Polyurethane glue. It's major advantage was that it expands when curing, thus filling all the nooks and crannies, and maximizes attachment surface area.

Originally Posted by ninjamoby

What I've seen online is folks removing the entire door to reglue the panel which is outside of my toolset.

Removing the door panel is brain-dead simple - they are (usually) held in place by a few 10mm bolts and plastic clips. Your job of gluing and weighting down the glued fabric will get much easier if you work on a table and then stack some weights on top of the panel vs. any other arrangement while the panel is still in the car.

Good luck,
a

[Altamate]

Plus,
There are dozens of Utube videos on how to remove a BMW 328 door panel.

[ninjamoby]

Originally Posted by afadeev

Long long time ago, in the age of E36 ownership, I dealt with a similar problem. After trying many glues, the one that sticked (pun intended) was Gorilla Polyurethane glue. It's major advantage was that it expands when curing, thus filling all the nooks and crannies, and maximizes attachment surface area.

Thank you! Did you remove the previous adhesive or just reglue?

[John in VA]

I was not a fan of the (uncontrollable) expanding nature of original Gorilla Glue. I'd use DAP Weldwood Contact Cement gel. To use it, apply a coat to both surfaces, let it dry to a tack-free state (15-20 minutes), and then press the surfaces together firmly.

[afadeev]

Originally Posted by ninjamoby

Thank you! Did you remove the previous adhesive or just reglue?

I pulled on the exterior veneer layer until it stopped separating from the hardboard backing, and then scaped away whatever loose material that was readily accessible.

Originally Posted by John in VA

I was not a fan of the (uncontrollable) expanding nature of original Gorilla Glue.

That's the beauty of the expanding Gorilla Glue - you don't need to be perfect getting to all the nooks and crannies. The expanding glue will get there by itself.
You do want to put the weight on the areas you are gluing, and then wipe away the escaping glue around the edges. Which is easy. If you miss some, it solidifies into packing popcorn type of material that is easy to cut away. The key is keeping even pressure across the surface, and a bunch of books did the trick for me. Then some more books on top to add pressure.

YMMV,
a

P.S.: I had tried 3-4 other glues before hand, and all failed. Gorilla Glue carried the day for me.

[stbm5]

Fabritac