Retrimming S14 Door Cards + updated interior

I retrimmed the door cards on the s14 earlier last year and am finally doing a write up on here. It seemed a bit daunting to do but was pretty easy actually. I’m assuming other cars would be a similar process. 

Peel off the existing fabric and you’re left behind with this foam which will take an eternity to remove.

I found a window scraper worked pretty well to remove the bulk of the foam and glue. I used a Stanley knife to clean up the crevices that couldn’t be reached. A vacuum will take care of the mess generated from the removal. 

One eternity later. 

Use the existing trim as a template. You want to leave some excess as you’ll be tucking it in. You also want to use chalk to trace it or trace on the backside of the fabric unlike I did here derp. 

Mask it all up. I just used plastic drop sheet and cut a slit. I wiped it with acetone then gave the surface a quick scuff as well.

Spray the door card with spray adhesive (I used permatex) and a little bit on the fabric too then let them both become tacky before laying the fabric. Push from the middle outwards to ensure there’s no bubbles. I also recommend a very light coat on the fabric as my first attempt was too heavy and bled through leaving blotches as pictured so I had to cut a new piece and redo it. 

I used the curved edge of a pick to push the fabric into the crevices. You’ll need to push really hard and you cut some relief slits when working around curves. 

Trim the excess material with a blade.

I used piping to finish off the crevices. This one was 3mm hollow core. I had to use two layers to fill the gap so ensure you buy enough. 

And all done. Hope the above has been helpful if you decide to try do yours too. It’s much easier than you think just requires patience. 

I ordered some chequered mats off YJ to go along with the red theme. 

I also got a red zeta 2 and brix 1.5. Pretty happy with how it all turned out I was worried it would be too much red.