How can I fill in window crank holes on door panels?

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BigandTall

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I have a '94 Sierra that was missing door panels when I got it. The door panels I found don't match and I'm scratching my head trying to figure out how to make them look better. The donor trucks both had manual windows and the right door panel had a badge inset just above the trim panel where the door trim inset goes. How could I fill in that small rectangle (maybe 1"tall x 1.75"long x 1/8"deep) and the two window crank holes? These panels don't have any velour on them, they're 100% plastic to bottom and I'd prefer to leave them this way, so I'd like the patches to blend in. I'm sure there's a way to weld abs plastic but I'd like the seams to be as close to invisible as I can get. Would body filler break out of the plastic in severe weather extremes or constant door shutting? I've dyed these medium grey and the color looks great but I don't know if that dye would work if sprayed over body filler.

If anyone has priced new door panels lately, you'll know new panels can cost more than a used engine so I'm dead set on using these.

Thanks in advance for any tips on how to make these things look like they belong!
 

sgmbald1

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When I converted from manual windows to power windows, I cut out 2 rounds from a spare piece of trim that I had, then I broke up some trim and put it into a jar, added some acetone. Close the jar and wait a day... Presto you now have ABS glue. I taped the rounds in the hole from the front. and glued them in from the back. Depending on how well you cut and glue the rounds will depend on how much work you need to do to make it look good.
 

BigandTall

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That has a certain mad scientist element to it that I love. I've never heard of that method before and I really like it. Thanks for your input. I'll definitely give that a try.
 

superdave

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I have used the round hole plugs from Lowes hardware section on other projects. A little butch, but it gets the job done. Scuffed up and painted, they aren't so bad.

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sewlow

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I've done similar to what sgmbald1 has done, but after cutting the rounds out, I used some additional sacrificial trim plastic cut larger than the hole & glued those in place in behind the openings in the door panel.
Let the glue holding those set-up before moving onto the next step.
That backing plastic is thin enough that it won't cause fitment clearance issues when re-installing the door panel.
Then glue the rounds into the hole & to that backing piece.
Just be sure that any of that glue holding the backing piece does not ooze into that opening around the edges. It'll affect the way that the round fits into the hole.
 

df2x4

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I just put a tweeter in the hole on my 88.

That's actually pretty genius. You could get a nice component set with some angled cup mounts for the tweeters and point them right at your head.
 

BigandTall

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I did mine flush for aesthetic reasons, they swiveled inside the cups so i angled them up just slightly.
That's pretty damn smart.

These door panels don't have any speaker cut outs at all so having a lone tweeter in the center of a door panel would look wierd but if I added a component set like DF2X4 said, it'd be a nice touch.

Super Dave, the metal insert would actually be a great quick fix for this if I can find the right diameter.
 

88GMCtruck

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Personally, I dislike aftermarket speakers in the door panels. The tweeters were a solution to not have to replace the panels, and turned out pretty well. I wouldn't put anything else in the door, however, unless I could make it look factory as possible. A speaker with a stock style grille in the lower portion could look good.

My door panels are likely different than yours, being mine is an 88 and yours is a 94. The early trucks used a very plain/flat panel which became the lower level door panel a few years later.
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On my 98, obviously it has the newer style door panels, but I added a GMT800 pillar tweeter to the door panel above the stock speaker. The reason being is the escalade/denali switch panels do not have a tweeter like the stock speakers did.
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