RMW "Sail Panel" Removal

I have a '94 Roadmaster Wagon and the paint is flaking off of the plastic sail panels on the rear doors and in front of the quarter glass. I appreciate any removal and re-installation tips. I want to remove and repaint them.
Thanks,
Bob

Two phillips head screws on the backside, one on the top, one on the bottom. Then gently pry it right off. I would recommend you use windshield urethane adhesive to secure it back on. It will become permanently part of the door after this, but you will never have to worry about it blowing off.

Do not pry them off! Remove the 2 screws and then pull them away from the door (towards the rear fender, so to speak). If you pry them off, you will snap off the fingers that lock in. You don not want to do that. For the ones on the quarter glass pull them towards the door.

Tom C.

Thanks for the replies. Is there an adhesive helping hold them in place? I had removed the screws and it seemed as if there was something else holding them.
Bob

There are 2 spots that adhesive is used, just a small circular area. Roughly, down about 4 inches from the top and up about 4 inches from the bottom. Later on this PM I will take a picture.

Tom C.

silverfox103 wrote:

Do not pry them off! Remove the 2 screws and then pull them away from the door (towards the rear fender, so to speak). If you pry them off, you will snap off the fingers that lock in. You don not want to do that. For the ones on the quarter glass pull them towards the door.

Tom C.

Better yet, go to the salvage yard and practice on a car there before breaking your own car....my 2-cents!

Joel was correct, gently pry off the sail panels on the door. The sail panels on the rear quarter have the fingers that you do not want to break.

Tom C.

silverfox103 wrote:

There are 2 spots that adhesive is used, just a small circular area. Roughly, down about 4 inches from the top and up about 4 inches from the bottom. Later on this PM I will take a picture.

Tom C.

Thank you Tom.
Pictures will be great!

On the door panels when I took mine off to repaint them, I popped out a couple of the long white round tabs but just re-expoxied them into the sockets for a firm grip upon reinstall. Also, I cleaned off the crumbling padding and bought fresh wheatherstriping from home depot that matched the thickness and packed it on the panels so it had the same firmness when reapplied.

I had no luck finding windshield urethane like in the old days, everything is silicone now but I swear by urethane adhesive. I ended up buying a tube of roofing urethane as it is strong adhesive and completely weatherproof.

sherlock9c1 wrote:

I would recommend you use windshield urethane adhesive to secure it back on. It will become permanently part of the door after this, but you will never have to worry about it blowing off.

bob smith wrote:

silverfox103 wrote:

There are 2 spots that adhesive is used, just a small circular area. Roughly, down about 4 inches from the top and up about 4 inches from the bottom. Later on this PM I will take a picture.

Tom C.

Thank you Tom.
Pictures will be great!

Wagoninabox wrote:

On the door panels when I took mine off to repaint them, I popped out a couple of the long white round tabs but just re-expoxied them into the sockets for a firm grip upon reinstall. Also, I cleaned off the crumbling padding and bought fresh wheatherstriping from home depot that matched the thickness and packed it on the panels so it had the same firmness when reapplied.

I had no luck finding windshield urethane like in the old days, everything is silicone now but I swear by urethane adhesive. I ended up buying a tube of roofing urethane as it is strong adhesive and completely weatherproof.

Elsewhere, Fred Kiehl recommended windshield urethane for both reattaching the pins and for gluing the panel to the door.
What are the trade-offs? I'm a bit afreaid of "It will become permanently part of the door after this", and I don't know where to buy windshield urethane locally.
HD should have roofing urethane , right? How about that or JB Weld for reattachign the pins?

I would be interested in seeing where the adhesive is actually supposed to be used.
On the one I just took off a door, the goopy stringy stuff used as adhesive was used in two stripes top to bottom, and also on the back of a black plastic strip running along half the length of one of those good stripes (so the goop held the strip to the panel, and was also gooped over to goop the assembly to the door).

Don't know what the factory adhesive was but a quality urethane is a great substitute. I ran long thick beads down the edges and some big circles mid way and applied the pieces back on firmly. They have been sealed tight since. If need be, these can be taken off again but most likely a little tougher than factory applied and that is what we need as with time and prior removal, the trim piece on the door can fall off or "fly away" as these pieces are often refered.

JB Weld might work to reattach any of the long plastic pins on the back of the door panel if they need to be reattached before replacing on the door. I used epoxy with success.

You can get windshied urethane at Autozone, but it is expensive. About $22 per tube.

Do not use JB Weld.

The panel becoming one with the door is not a bad thing. The only issue with the trim is that it blows off while driving.

You can always paint it in place, if it ever needs repainting again.

You do not have to reattach the round T pins. The end fasteners align the part.

The strips along the lower sides of the panel are there for support, reinstall them.

Clean the door side of the trim, so that it is sanitary before reassembly.

81X11 wrote:

Better yet, go to the salvage yard and practice on a car there before breaking your own car....my 2-cents!

I have yet to find an RMW in a yard around these parts that has the sail panels attached. I think Fred Kiehl beats me to them ever time!