Leather Door Panel Armrest Cover Fit for Volkswagen Beetle 1998-2010, Synthetic Beige Microfiber Door Panel Insert with Tools, Left Driver and Right Passenger Side

DATE OF ORDER: 09/27/24DATE RECEIVED: 10/04/24DATE OF REVIEW: 10/13/24PERSONAL BUY / PRODUCT TO REVIEW: Personal BuyDELIVERY: UPS - Came in a smaller package than what I would have thought and all rolled up. Not in a box laid out flat. But a few minutes with a hair dryer took most of the initial wrinkles right out. We purchased both the Black and Tan colors. Although I purchased the Tan, I also ordered the Black. I actually used the Black but both are the same quality.QUALITY: WARNING....It is a great product but it IS thicker than the original OEM product and without a foam backing (which is great). It can make it a bit harder to reinstall as it wants to spread the plastic panel opening wider which could cause cracking or breaking of the door panel. Be careful. It can be done though.INTENDED PURPOSE: Door Panel Covers to replace baggy, sagging OEM Door Panel CoversRECOMMENDATION: I make a HIGH recommendation to buy. But just be aware that the product is thicker than the original. In my case, I had to practically rebuild the door panels (both driver and passenger). Germany makes a lot of great products that I respect them for. They must have some of the best engineers on the planet. However, The VW Beetle door panels, dash, center console, rear side panels are all junk. Over a few years (from new), the panels ALL get sticky. You can't sufficiently clean them to remove the sticky. The process entails making the parts out of ABS plastic and then coating them with a soft surface product. As the top coat gets hot over time from the sun, that top coat ruins the panels. In the case of door panels, there is a light foam backing held by adhesive glue that wholly fails over time causing the door fabric to let go and bag. Then the plastic is so thin, it easily cracks and breaks over time. Pure junk. A huge failure in this area. To fix the cracking, there are not many products that will adhere to ABS plastic. The ONE product that I found that works great is a 2-Part JBW type Plastic Epoxy. To clean the door panels, what I found that works best is Xylene and plastic razors. Acetone will not work sufficiently. They are VERY sticky and gooey. When the panel is clean, use an Orange Hand Cleaner product on the surface of the panel where the adhesive was. Then rinse completely BUT, DO NOT soak the panel. It is a cardboard/wood splinter mix and will fall apart if soaked. I gave it a quick rinse and hand dried it immediately. Then, I let it set overnight. From there, I used a strong Spray Adhesive to re-coat the surface. You'll also apply it to the fabric. 2 coats worked best for me. You WILL want an extra set of hands to keep the fabric held high while applying. Once the materials touch, they are stuck permanently. Use the tools supplied to rub down the fabric stretching it as you go. You'll need a heat source such as a hot hair dryer to make the fabric stretch properly. This is not a project for the novice if you are not comfortable with this kind of time consuming project. It took two days per panel to do it right. The cleaning part takes the longest and you'll have to let it air dry overnight when rinsed. One warning about this product....They DON'T give you much spare to work with. I trimmed about 1/4" off in most cases so accuracy is essential when installing. They SHOULD have given a bit more all the way around. Pre-fit to make sure you have enough and can plan how to lay it down FIRST.PRO 1 - The material is thicker, heavier and better made than OEM.PRO 2 - It costs FAR less to recover yourself than buying OEM.CON 1 - There are no instructions on how to install this in a proper manner.CON 2 - Because it is heavier, when you reinstall it, it subjects the plastic at the door edge to break. I re-enforced the end to the outside with additional 2-Part Epoxy and additional plastic. And keep in mind that when you rebuild the door panel, and then have to reinstall it, you will NOT be using the original process to re-adhere it to the door panel. That is a separate work that requires additional time and processes. Another project NOT well suited for those without patience or skill sets.COMMENT: After a weeks work, I am please with the outcome. I have a much better handle on how to do this entire project. I highly suspect no future problems with the fabric portion of the door panel as it is glued DIRECTLY onto the door panel instead of soggy foam. NO MORE BAGGING. The plastic door remains to be seen. But using the JBW 2-Part PLASTIC Epoxy fixed the cracks and made them hardly noticeable (it comes in colors of black, tan, gray and clear). I purchased both the tan and black fabric products. Our VW Beetle is Harvest Moon Beige. The tan was not a good match. The Black was a change that actually worked out better as a color contrast. IMHO, it 'classed' up the VW. The top dash, center bezel and some other parts were already black, so it just worked. Just be aware that the tan color just doesn't look right with the Harvest Moon Beige as the OEM is more of a whiter creamy color than slightly darker tan.You will want to make sure that you have plenty of shop rags and wear latex type gloves. The Xylene will eat the latex quickly so for that, you'll need a different plastic glove. The latex will keep all of the sticky off your hands and keep fingerprints off all surfaces.You will also need large tie wraps to re-secure the panel to the door frame. Cut them to about 2" each with the pointed end. Cut the heads off to that you can slip them on when completing the project. The end closer to the outside (by the latch - not hinge end) will require 1.25-1.5 inch pieces (you'll see why when installing the door panel. I used the 'Plastic' version of a 2-Part Super Glue type product to hold them temporarily in place. Note that you will have to hold each piece until that dries (about 1 to 2 minutes). Once I had them all in place, I used the JBW 2-Part Plastic Weld Epoxy to hold them permanently in place. You'll need to be careful. The Super Glue type product doesn't do a great job holding them initially. They will break off and you'll have to do them again. Using the Epoxy alone will not hold them long term. Best of luck should you chose to do this project yourself. Its not impossible but on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being most difficult, it is certainly a 7 or 8. Patience is the key. Cleanliness of the door panel piece that holds the fabric is another. If you try to re-apply adhesive over the existing, you'll be kicking yourself.

While the quality seems decent, this is a dark tan, not a beige. It does not match the OEM panels at all. So, back it goes.

No instructions or help putting them on very disappointing

The materials are a nice replacement for the garbage that VW used initially. It comes with some thin double-sided tape that I don't think is a reasonable means of securing it. Also, there are no instructions whatever for installation, so if you're not handy or have experience taking apart a car door (hopefully this particular car door), this might not be for you.