DIY: DC2 /DC4 Integra interior door trim lifting? Here's the fix.

Disclaimer: The following is provided as a GUIDE ONLY, and neither myself nor Ozhonda take any responsibility for the outcomes of someone else doing the following. You follow these steps at your own risk!


Aim: Fixing lifting interior trim
Required:
philips screwdriver
a flathead screwdriver for prying trim off
A tube of contact glue with a small nozzle (Bostik Contact Grip works)
A pair of soft gloves


Steps:
All right mates, along with the saggy rear bumper, the interior door trim of many third gen Integras are notorious for lifting away at the armrest.

It looks like this:
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1.../doorpanel.jpg

There are all sorts of theories on why it happens, the most common is that there just isn't enough glue in the area.

Suggested fixes have included:
a) Buying another complete door card with no signs of lifting laminate. Not a good idea, because there's a chance that three months after you paid for them and installed them, they too can start lifting as the factory glue bond weakens.

b) Drenching it in vinyl protectant and hope for the best. Quite useless as the glue behind is already not bonding.

So here's the simple solution to the problem. All you need to do is re-glue it. I'm just going to assume that the reader has no experience with this, so I'll be explaining even the most obvious things.


1. You'll need to remove the entire door card. It's not difficult at all. team-integra.net has a complete article on it, so I suggest you look there. Basically, it involves two screws, one scrivet (those pesky plastic trim fastener things), and a lot of tugging.

One screw is in the bit that you pull to close the door. Unscrew and remove the little plastic 'bin'.

One more screw is hidden behind a small cover, in the door lock/opening lever area. Pry up the lid with a small flathead, undo the screw, then pull the door lever and slide the whole plastic surround backwards and off.

One plastic scrivet is at the front of the door, under the wing mirror and visible only when the door is open. Be careful with this. Scrivets are very delicate. Unscrew the centre bit gently, then once the centre plastic screw is out, ease out the plastic rivet.

Now tug at the lower edges of the door until the plastic clips snapping the door card to the metal pop and release, lift the whole piece upwards, disconnect the power window connectors and that's it.

TOP TIP: if it's hard to unpop the plastic clips, remove the speaker grille first. Pry it out from this angle at the bottom:
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...m/DSCN6117.jpg
Don't pry from the top. You'll break the plastic clips.

Then get your fingers in there, and pull to unpop the door. You get better leverage this way. Wear gloves so that any sharp bits inside don't cut your fingers.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...m/DSCN6118.jpg

You'll notice that the speaker in my car is craptastically stuffed. They work but the foam surround has disintegrated. I'm jobless now and can't afford to replace them. If you have a pair of stock speakers in usable condition and want to bin them, don't. Give them to me! Anything is better than the dried up, rotting thing in there.

2. Now that the door card is off, it's a good time to wipe down the back of it. There's probably 10 years worth of dust back there.

At this point you'll notice that the worth door card is perforated with small holes. They are there to ensure that air bubbles don't get under the vinyl when applied at the factory.
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...m/DSCN6122.jpg

You'll also find a pre-scored area near the top, it's the factory position of the tweeters. If you do fit aftermarket ones here's a good place to cut and install them:
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...m/DSCN6127.jpg

Incidentally, you see the goopy looking substance covering the surface? It's the factory-applied spray adhesive used to stick the vinyl trims. It got sprayed on sloppy.

These are the holes we're interested in:
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...m/DSCN6125.jpg

They run the length of the armrest, and behind these holes is where the vinyl has lifted off.

3. Get your tube of glue, verify where the vinyl has lifted, and inject glue into the holes behind them:
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...m/DSCN6129.jpg

contact glue is very runny when wet, so it should flow well into the gaps.

Fill up all the holes along the armrest area, and anywhere else the vinyl is lifting.

Now from the front, use your fingers to press along the surface, ensuring that both the plastic and vinyl get a coating of glue inside. Try and massage the glue into areas that are loose but you can't inject into. Here, I run my thumb along the 'valley':
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...m/DSCN6136.jpg

Look at the plastic side again, you'll see excess glue ooze out:
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...m/DSCN6139.jpg

You want to see this, it means that you've got enough glue inside, between the surfaces that's why the excess is coming out. Wipe it off the exposed plastic before it dries.

Note that also unscrewed the power window switch panel to make it easier to work on the trim.

4. Now this is the tricky part, and it requires patience. Contact glue sticks well only when almost dry. So the vinyl won't stick down yet. You press it down and it'll lift again at this point.

You need to wait 15-20 minutes. If it's cold, maybe even 30 minutes. So set the door trim aside and just wait.

20 minutes later, now you start pressing hard from the front. Apply sustained pressure for 20-30 secs at each problem spot.

The is the top view of one section before I applied force:
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...m/DSCN6131.jpg

And this is the same area immediately after. You can use a round screwdriver handle as well to press the trim down:
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...m/DSCN6144.jpg

Be patient and work it slowly.

No sharp objects please though.

Try to get any trapped air bubbles out. The glued area might look lumpy at some points (slightly evident in the photo above), but don't worry. It's just the intermediate foam layer, having been tortured flat when you applied pressure. It will even out smooth again after 2-3 hours.

here's a photo of the edge of the vinyl trim, where you can clearly see the foam sandwiched in between:
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...m/DSCN6146.jpg


And errm, that's it. Re-mounting the door card is easier with a few tricks:
a) Reconnect the power window switch and lower the glass window all the way. It's MUCH easier to hook the top of the door card over the metal with the glass fully lowered.

b) Pry off the black triangle covering the wing mirror's connector first, for the same reason as above. Refit the door card then clip it back on.


Working leisurely, expect 45-60 minutes for each door. But remember, 15 minutes is spent waiting for the glue to dry. An experienced hand can do it in 30 minutes.

nice nice. gotta do this 2 mine. till i get my ITR door trims .. cheers

repped, and totally made up for asking n00b questions.:p

Fek man 1+ rep, i didnt know what to do about this, so i bought new trims.
lol

my dc2 have the same problem too.

Thanks for the solution :)

question: can we use super glue or sikaflex ?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by adnoh

question: can we use super glue or sikaflex ?

---

No.

Superglue dries hard, brittle and inflexible. The bond will break very easily.

Contact adhesive works because of its slightly rubbery nature when dry. It's what was used on the trims from the factory.

The vinyl and foam material flexes with heat and movement. You want a glue that is pliable when dry to cope with the flex.

so, you still recomend us to use Bostik Contact Grip as the suitable glue? any other glue that you can recomend?

where can we get it from? Bunning?

thanks

update with the ozhonda template please.

did you create this or copy from another website ?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bennjamin

update with the ozhonda template please.

did you create this or copy from another website ?

---

Done.

LOL, have some faith in me. I created this. Hundreds of online honda forums, thousands of people worldwide bitching about lifting trims, and not a single definitive DIY of it could be found anywhere in the world. That's why I got frustrated and went ahead with one.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by adnoh

so, you still recomend us to use Bostik Contact Grip as the suitable glue? any other glue that you can recomend?

where can we get it from? Bunning?

thanks

---

Doesn't have to be Bostik brand, but the tube of contact grip has the nozzle, which is what's really helping inject the glue.

Any generic or other brand contact glue will work. It IS called contact glue, and is also used by carpenters to stick laminates onto tabletops and kitchen cabinets. It's in fact the main glue of choice in the carpentry industry.