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Door Panel Makeover


windguy
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I'm looking to fix up the original door panels (see pic below)

rear door panel

I remember forum poster Johnyguy mentioning in a post a few months back that he varnished or top coated the board with urethane to protect them. This masonite type material isn't very water resistant and if the door is open when it's raining you can see water streak marks on it later.

Not a very good solution in my opinion. Looks very unfinished as well.

I'd like to perhaps carpet the panels and add a storage pocket on the rear door panels if possible.

Anyone know how to remove the black fasteners that hold these panels on (see pic below)?

Thanks

door panel fastener

Edited by windguy
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thanks Mustang.

I tried prying that a little but it didn't budge and I didn't want to mess it up so figured it was better to ask first.

is it better to use a screwdriver on both sides rather than just one?

I was hoping this inner part was just a cap and there was a screw behind it but that was wishful thinking on my part.

Modern cars are all about using fast to assemble plastic fasteners now.

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did some exploration of the rear door panels.

I removed all four panels.

took a pic of the fastener. removing them is exactly as Mustang said. very easy to remove and put back as far as plastic fasteners go.

door planel fastener 02

three of the four panels had a protective plastic cover on it held by adhesive. interesting that one didn't. see attached pics.

rear door panel right 02

rear door panel left 02

the only viable opening that you can make a pocket out of is the driver's side upper one.

not sure if it's better to create some type of pocket or attach something externally, which was my wife's suggestion.

rear door panel left 03

in terms of finishing these 1/8" masonite panels, which I think is a requirement, I'm more in favor of spray painting them either black or silver.

wonder why Ford didn't make these panels out of black plastic to match the black side panels. using masonite is pretty cheesy.

.

Edited by windguy
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Hello windguy. My 2010 Transit connect came with the same cheap panels. They were the first thing I changed. Adrian Steel had (has) replacements. In 2011, Ford then added proper pockets to the wagon models enabling 2010 owners to retrofit from Ford. As for the 2014/2015 Transit connect models, the best I can find are flat replacement dark grey plastic panels offered on higher trim levels of the 2014/2015 Transit Connect. I have yet to find any aftermarket supplier that has 2014/2015 rear door pockets.

Edited by 103west43rd
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Hello windguy. My 2010 Transit connect came with the same cheap panels. They were the first thing I changed. Adrian Steel had (has) replacements. In 2011, Ford then added proper pockets to the wagon models enabling 2010 owners to retrofit from Ford. As for the 2014/2015 Transit connect models, the best I can find are flat replacement dark grey plastic panels offered on higher trim levels of the 2014/2015 Transit Connect. I have yet to find any aftermarket supplier that has 2014/2015 rear door pockets.

Your post is confusing to me. My 2014 wagon ( 5 passenger) does not have pockets in the rear door although the panels are not the Masonite delivery van stuff.

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@103west43rd - thanks for checking into that. I have the XLT trim level but that doesn't get you and better looking panels. you'd think it would since you're paying extra for a more stylish look. grey panels may look nice. I'd like to see what they look like.

@boomerweps - for Gen 2, there are no door pocket solutions available for the rear barn doors that I'm aware of.

The van models have masonite panels on the sliders and rear barn doors. Not sure what the liftgate has.

Does your wagon have rear barn doors and if they do, what type of panels are on them?

Perhaps you can take a pic to show us what they look like.

thanks

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windguy the Rear Barn doors have the same shape panels as the masonite van panels except they are the same material as the wiper motor covers that are on yours

I upholstered mine with leatherette vinyl fabric for auto interiors , gives it a nice finished look, well except for the bare cieling and rear walls , bwahahahaha

15 bucks for 3 yards of vinyl and a few bucks for some spray upholstery glue

Edited by mustang
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follow up: So my sliding door panels used to be quiet but ever since I removed them, painted them (I only painted the front, not the back) and re-installed them they've been creaking as mad while driving. The noise is almost like when you rub hard pieces of foam together - pretty annoying. Now I'm thinking I might have to put something behind to dampen the noise.

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windguy the Rear Barn doors have the same shape panels as the masonite van panels except they are the same material as the wiper motor covers that are on yours

thanks for the input. I should check those out.

as I said earlier, wonder why Ford didn't make these panels out of black plastic to match the black side panels. using masonite is pretty cheesy.

Edited by windguy
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I upholstered mine with leatherette vinyl fabric for auto interiors , gives it a nice finished look, well except for the bare cieling and rear walls , bwahahahaha

15 bucks for 3 yards of vinyl and a few bucks for some spray upholstery glue

sounds like a nice solution. can you share a pic of your handiwork?

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follow up: So my sliding door panels used to be quiet but ever since I removed them, painted them (I only painted the front, not the back) and re-installed them they've been creaking as mad while driving. The noise is almost like when you rub hard pieces of foam together - pretty annoying. Now I'm thinking I might have to put something behind to dampen the noise.

that's a bummer. what's behind the panel when you removed it? is there a plastic covering like in my pic of the rear door panels?

Is it the stiffer panel making the noise or the stiffer panel changing the resonance of the door noise.

keep us posted on how you mitigate the noise.

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that's a bummer. what's behind the panel when you removed it? is there a plastic covering like in my pic of the rear door panels?

Is it the stiffer panel making the noise or the stiffer panel changing the resonance of the door noise.

keep us posted on how you mitigate the noise.

Windguy - behind the door there was some dense foam. I tried a few things but when I ended up doing is getting some self-stik rubber foam weather stripping and used a super thin layer of it all around the backside of the panel. no more noise now :)

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Windguy - behind the door there was some dense foam. I tried a few things but when I ended up doing is getting some self-stik rubber foam weather stripping and used a super thin layer of it all around the backside of the panel. no more noise now :)

thanks for the update. glad you were able to easily fix that. nice job!

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Here is the parts picture for the rear doors with the panel part numbers

thanks for providing that.

so the purple color ones are the masonite panel version and the green ones are black plastic version.

I'd like to see those on a wagon model before ordering.

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No I think it is the other way Any way here are some Pictures of Mine

Its warmed up to 29 here almost summer

I figured since the wiper cover is shown as green then the other plastic covers would be green as well.

That diagram only shows 3 of the covers in green, so one is missing. The purple has 4 covers.

thanks for the pics. very nice. yours are gray. figured they would be black like the wiper cover in my van.

the fasteners on the masonite panels are black too, yet yours are also gray. Wonder what color the spare parts ones are.

will check out the other diagrams in the spare parts catalog.

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it would be very cool to have a pair of speakers mounted in these panels with a remote control for the radio.

so if you're hanging out back tailgating you can listen to some music.

Edited by windguy
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it would be very cool to have a pair of speakers mounted in these panels with a remote control for the radio.

so if your hanging out back tailgating you can listen to some music.

My Transit could totally use a stereo upgrade...

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