Here's the door panel with my last mod. Turned out good, but not insane enough for my taste...

Here goes. Took off the panel and brought it into the kitchen. Now we're cooking! As you see it has the insulation and that cardboard thing beneath, shaped like Rhode Island is what will be replaced with mirrored Acrylic. Yummm...

Carefully removed the sound insulation from the cardboard (and yes... it IS cardboard!) Notice the slots at the edges where the plastic tabs poke through...

Here's a closeup of the edge tabs near the speaker port. These suckers gotta be trimmed nicely.

Also, there are these white posts that anchor around the arm rest and door handle. These gotta be trimmed as well. You want to remove enough of the melted end to allow the middle panel to be removed with reasonably clean edges and anchor holes...

FYI Here's a macro shot of the original materials. What's gonna take the place of this will be STRONGER and ooooh so good.

Allright. Time to put down the camera and do something. Trimming the tabs with a utility knife. Not worrying about digging into the cardboard as long as the rest of the panel (and my major arteries) aren't damaged.

About 15 minutes later and PRESTO... the old cardboard panel is out and put aside for now. See the arm rest/door handle? It's just resting in place now. There is no direct attachment between the armrest and the outer door panel. There will be, though, to add reinforcement, strengthen the overall panel and eliminate the possibility of squeeks or rattles.

Closeup of Speaker Port. Note: Speakers aren't typically mounted on the panel. Factory installation is in the door. Mine is mounted on the panel because it's 1/2 inch larger than stock and has a larger magnet.

Closeup of armrest posts. See all the melted plastic at the ends? That's gotta come off...

Wiss Shears made this a really quick and clean job. Can't miss any!

Same post, with plastic trimmed. NOTE: The idea is to NOT shorten the posts and tabs! You need to trim AROUND them! Listen to me now and believe me later!

Okay, now it's time to prepare the cardboard for use as a template. Grab the leather and carefully pull it off of the cardboard. Do I really need to say carefully? You should know better.

RIP! Well not rip, but um... well it's coming off.

And there it is. A very poorly drawn map of Rhode Island, made of cardboard. Oh, and ladies, don't get excited. My hand only looks huge in this pic.

It's time to bring out da good stuff! This is 1/8" thick Mirrored Acrylic. Two 21" X 49" sheets and a bonus 14" X god knows how long sheet cost me 80 bucks in Philly. Since I'm not paying myself for labor, this mod is a bargain.

I laid the Rhode Island template onto the mirror (visible when complete) side of the acrylic, making sure the side of the template that had the leather peeled off is facing UP. Dammit, make sure you get this right or you'll have a grey panel instead of mirror.

The template was outlined by SCRIBING with a pointy um, something. Ya gotta do it this way because it traces very accurately and the mark is nicely visible, especially when you run back over the scribing with a typical highlighter. DO NOT use a sharpie or anything like that. The protective film on the acrylic is resistant to well... everything. Using a highlighter sunk the orange ink into the scribing to see it better, and it washes off if it gets on anything.

Here's yet another closeup of the prepared scribing. Time to go to sleep. Will continue tomorrow. This will be incredible.

THE JOB CONTINUED the next day...

Well, I've found use #1002 for a dremel, fabricating door panels from scratch. I probably went through 40 cutting wheels, and none of them fit the dremel shaft, so each had to be reamed before putting them on so I could continue the madness.

Finally, I have created a piss-poor map of Rhode Island... in mirror. Unfortunately I still gotta drill holes. Being the thinker I am sometimes, I tested drilling holes in a scrap piece and realized standard high-speed drill bits BREAK this kind of plastic as if it were shot by a BB gun. I discovered that SPADE bits (yup, them flat things for wood) work wonderfully.

This is the piece completed and ready for installation to complete the panel. It looks like shit, but under the protective layer is pristine mirror.

TO ASSEMBLE DOOR PANEL:

You will need for EACH panel:

- about eight (8) #12 self-tapping screws, preferrably with hex heads (not panhead phillips)
- the same amount of rubber faucet washers, approx 5/8" in diameter.
- Automotive GOOP adhesive (available at WalMart in automotive section)

I recommend having a Dremel and an ample amount of cutting wheels handy, as well as an
Xacto or utility knife, and a small socket driver that fits the self-tapping screws.

After cutting the mirror has been completed, peel off the protective film.

Using a blade or Dremel, Cut back the panel posts about 1/8", making the ends as flat as possible.

Apply GOOP at flat surfaces where ARM REST piece meets the DOOR PANEL, in a way that
it won't ooze out and be visible, and put the armrest in place with panel facing down on a
flat surface. Let glue congeal for about an hour.

Leaving the panel lay face-down, position the mirror and align it with the tab and post
locations. Working around the perimeter, CAREFULLY push the mirror over each tab so that
its snug and move to the next one. DO NOT apply too much pressure or you will break the acrylic.
If you're having a hard time with a tab, pull back the mirror and trim the tab with an Xacto or utility
knife, then try again until it fits right.

Align the post holes with the holes in the mirror. Install a self-tapping screw and rubber washer
into the hole in the center of each post, and tighten until the mirror is snug, and the rubber washer
is compacted slightly.

Making sure all the tabs, or as many as possible are seated as well as possible throught the slots
in the mirror, apply a dab of GOOP on each tab, making sure to also dab the mirror surface. Work
your way around the perimeter, getting all the tabs.

Wait a few hours for the glue to set. The longer, the better. If the panels can sit for a day or two,
that would be optimal although I didn't have nearly that much patience.

The finished product should look like this: