1998 V70XC Door Vinyl Removal and Refit Part 1

[Ludermilch]

This is a write up of my solution to the ugly door panels that the 98-00 Volvo's suffer from. It may not be for everyone and improvements to this method are welcome and wanted.

Many of us have this in our cars.

Before

And this is my solution.

After

To get to this point use the following tools and chemicals.

Supplies

Clamps

Power Tools

Remove the panel. No details on how this done here, check out posts on how to remove door panels in this forum.

Removed Panel

This is where you will begin to disassemble the panels, from the back.

back of front panel

back of rear panel

The glue in many of the panels in these cars are no longer holding everything together. You can pull and pry all around the edges of the fiberboard to loosen the two main parts.

Loose Fiberboard

Use tools to get behind the fiberboard and pry apart the two parts.

pry bar

Some sharp tools may be necessary.

knife cutting glue

Some areas are easier than others.

Easy sepperation

The area where the handle is glued together has very strong glue. Take time and care cutting this area. Only cut loose the grey handle from the fiberboard and the black plastic. Don't cut the black plastic from the fiberboard. The grey plastic part will pop out of the panel once you free it from the glue. Remove all the glue from the fiberboard/handle, because when replacing the handle, the fit is different and needs to set lower.

Door Handle Area

The two main parts will eventually come apart.You will most likely also have a few of the black panel clip attachment points fall off, not to worry they can be glued back on.

two parts sepperated

black panel clip

Here is the part you will be working on. You can see where much of the glue never fully made contact with the other half. Now to remove the speaker grill.

Inside part removed

back of speaker grill

Using a dremel tool, cut the plastic welds. You will use screws later to reattach.

Cutting the grill

Grill removed

The next few photos show why these doors look so bad now. The manufacturing process failed to completely adhere the vinyl to the foam in a few places and when the vinyl began to shrink from heat and age, it pulled away from the contours of the panel and the foam glued to the fiberboard.

removing the vinyl 1

pulling up the vinyl

front panel vinyl removal

rear panel vinyl removal

just foam left

In the next installment, I will take you through how to remove the foam, refinish the panel and put everything back together. Part 2 https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... =1&t=72945

Cheers,
Alex

[kahl]

The finished panel looks great. Please don't leave us hanging for part II.

[cvergi01]

You beat me to it! I'm in the middle of putting mine back together, I got some new foam down, and tried just spray gluing new marine grade vinyl down but it is all wrinkled. I was going to put some new foam down (again) and just finish it with fabric. I really like the look of yours, and can't wait to see how you did it!

[Rondo]

This thread has me intrigued. I really hate the door panels in my car. Can't wait until the next part. Has anyone seen these: Volvo S70 1997-00 door insert covers - front by RedlineGoods https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TN8REKO/re ... qwb1FEX1CB? They have rears, also. Looks interesting and if the quality is good, could really do wonders for our cars' appearance.

[Ludermilch]

This thread has me intrigued. I really hate the door panels in my car. Can't wait until the next part. Has anyone seen these: Volvo S70 1997-00 door insert covers - front by RedlineGoods https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TN8REKO/re ... qwb1FEX1CB? They have rears, also. Looks interesting and if the quality is good, could really do wonders for our cars' appearance.

The insert covers look nice. I wonder if you have to go through many of the same steps to put these on the panels. Color options don't seem to match my interior.

[cvergi01]

"Product contains LEATHER COVER ONLY - RE-USE FACTORY TRIM for installation or contact us with any questions. Installation write-up provided with purchase."

seems like it?

[Rondo]

Yeah, I think you'd still have to put in the work, but if it's cut correctly (molded to fit the curves), then gluing it down after following all of Ludermilch's steps might look really good. As far as the colors go, I have been dreaming of doing a two tone interior for a while now, so the black with tan stitching would be sharp.

[obayha]

Waiting for more information.
Thanks