HELP! Has anyone attempted this?


As usual, there’s the usual sticky mess to remove (yuk), but I’m not sure if it’s the remains of glue and foam, or just glue?

I presume the backing is plastic, as it appears to be melted onto the door card.


Before I attempt to repair it, do I………

a) Have to clean the sticky gunge off?

b) If yes, with what as I’m worried about damaging the cloth?

c) I’m assuming that because I can’t remove the backing, my only option is to carefully fold it back under?

d) Should I just attempt to glue the bits which have come loose?!!!

As always, thanks in advance for any suggestions!

Can't advise on what to do other than make sure you use a high temperature trim adhesive when you put it back on.

Given that the current adhesive is 'sticky' that would point to it being a lower quality one having softened due to heat. I had that happen on a car once before and now use 'Livedale Trimbond' which is stable to 120c

The material on my Vi was in perfect condition, it was just coming away from the backing, so I had it reattached by the trim shop at Allon White sports cars in Cranfield. They did a superb job, and didn’t charge too much - from memory it was around £120 to do all four door cards. Much better and neater than I’d have been able to achieve on a DIY basis.

All you have to do is :-

a) Clean the sticky gunge off.

B) Attempt to glue the bits which have come loose around the edges using Evo-stik impact adhesive.

C) Use the edge of a mini steel rule or an flat implement to push the material around the edges.

Hope this is of help.

Topcat Tomcat wrote: ↑Wed Jun 05, 2024 10:05 am
As usual, there’s the usual sticky mess to remove (yuk), but I’m not sure if it’s the remains of glue and foam, or just glue?

Never done one of these, and don't own an R3. But you can be sure the sticky mess is the failed scrim foam. The original glue cured completely after manufacture and has probably just flaked to dry dust. The glue isn't sticky - it's definitely the unstable scrim foam which has turned to orange gunge. I can see it on the back of the material you've pulled away too - dead giveaway. I've explored enough upholstery on an R8 including taking door card inserts and seat covers off as well as replacing the headlining, to know what it is!

Don't wash the material to get the gunge off - it'll shrink by 5% or more, and the orange powder will soak through to the front of the material. Just scrape off the excess gunge and make it look presentable.

If you're using adhesive to reattach. be VERY careful with the thickness you apply to the material and try and scrape it across rather than do anything to push it down, as it may soak though to the visible side.

Another option is extra strong carpet tape. Tesa "extra" strong (they do 2 types and both say extra strong, but one is stronger than the other [edited: and don't buy the 5-year repositionable white stuff. It's the extra strong type with the yellow backing paper you need]) or Scotch weaved-backing carpet tape. You can also use super strong double-sided tape from 3M, such as GPT-020F, but that's a bit expensive.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. Assuming that I don’t make a complete and utter mess, I will let you know how I get on………perhaps I will even if I do, as it might help prevent others making mistakes!

Topcat Tomcat wrote: ↑Wed Jun 05, 2024 5:27 pm Thank you everyone for your suggestions. Assuming that I don’t make a complete and utter mess, I will let you know how I get on………perhaps I will even if I do, as it might help prevent others making mistakes!

Please do as we're all likely to be in the same situation sooner or later...

Are these the correct tapes to buy? I’ve decided that glueing is potentially too messy, awkward and likely to end in tears!

I’ve made some progress (not a lot!), so here goes.

For the first experiment, I used a wipe to remove the gunge, which worked quite well, although the rough surface did tend to shred the wipe a bit.


I also tried scraping it with a small steel ruler,which appears to have rubbed a lot of it into the grooves!


It’s a bit messy, but I think using the wipes is probably the best method. Cleaning around the edges is going to be a really tedious and awkward job.


Oh well, just keep plodding on.