I wanted to make a 3D Bird in the door panels and recover the door panels with black microsuede.

Here’s how I did it:

1) Remove the door panels and separate the cardboard backing from the rest of the door.

2) Strip the vinyl covering from the cardboard.
3) Using ½” high density foam, cut the individual pieces of the bird.

4) Use a hot-glue gun to glue the foam pieces onto the door panel in the desired location.
5) With high-tack spray adhesive (use a brand that is safe on foam and fabric… I used Elmer’s) spray a coat on the entire door panel (to include the foam cutouts) and also on the backside of the fabric.
6) After 1 minute to allow the adhesive to get tacky, carefully work the fabric onto the door panel. This will be time-consuming getting it to stick around all the edges of the foam cutouts.

7) After allowing sufficient time to dry, double check that you have good adhesion and reassemble the door panels.

This took me several attempts and several yards of fabric to get the hang of it. Hopefully if you’re thinking of doing something similar, this will help you out.

Written by W es 6