Interior panel clips- a good alternative?

[Prior owner]

Received my interior panels from Airtex.  My old door panel has the wire clips in it. Has anyone found a better alternative for mounting the panels using the original holes in the door, such as the GM style plastic buttons?

[Marauder]

Received my interior panels from Airtex.  My old door panel has the wire clips in it. Has anyone found a better alternative for mounting the panels using the original holes in the door, such as the GM style plastic buttons?

What wire clips? You got a picture? When Bruce Jaeger did my interior he used industrial hook and loop strips. I think it is the same stuff used in airline interiors.


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[N201MKTurbo]

Screws work well.

[carusoam]

My 65C used screws... the screws went into an unimportant piece of aluminum there for the purpose of landing the screws...

The clips I remember held the cardboard backing for the door cover for the baggage area... reusing them would be a challenge...

I resused the same holes in the aluminum, another goofy challenge...

Best regards,

-a-

[N201MKTurbo]

1 hour ago, carusoam said:

My 65C used screws... the screws went into an unimportant piece of aluminum there for the purpose of landing the screws...

The clips I remember held the cardboard backing for the door cover for the baggage area... reusing them would be a challenge...

I resused the same holes in the aluminum, another goofy challenge...

Best regards,

-a-

To match the screw holes, take a longer sheet metal screw and cut the head off and grind the screw to a point. Screw it in with your fingers or pliers so the point you ground sticks out a bit. Put the panel in place and put in a few screws you have already done. Whack the plastic gently with a hammer where the screw goes. The pointy end of the screw you made will leave a witness mark at the exact right place. Drill your hole there and move on to the next hole. If you make a couple of pointy screws it will go faster.

[Hank]

Industrial Velcro will go faster . . .

[jetdriven]

i tried to velcro some stuff together but what happens is the heat melts the glue and the velcro comes off both sides still stuck together.

[Hank]

1 hour ago, jetdriven said:

i tried to velcro some stuff together but what happens is the heat melts the glue and the velcro comes off both sides still stuck together.

Don't tell that to Bruce Jaeger! 

[Prior owner]

9 hours ago, Marauder said:

 

What wire clips? You got a picture? When Bruce Jaeger did my interior he used industrial hook and loop strips. I think it is the same stuff used in airline interiors.


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I’ll take a pic tomorrow when I get to the hangar. I thought these were the original method of a fixing the door panels...perhaps not?

[Andy95W]

Those clips are used for the pre-65 models.

Since you bought the Airtex interior pieces, you'll be kind of stuck using them.  They're really not that bad and hold very well without the gap that you would get from Velcro or the Dual-lock fasteners.

I just redid my 1964 interior and got rid of all of those clips by using 6-32 rivnuts and fabricating my own panels.  You could definitely do the same with the Airtex pieces, but it's a lot of work.

https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/hapages/rivetnuts.php

[DualRatedFlyer]

9 hours ago, Andy95W said:

Those clips are used for the pre-65 models.

Since you bought the Airtex interior pieces, you'll be kind of stuck using them.  They're really not that bad and hold very well without the gap that you would get from Velcro or the Dual-lock fasteners.

I just redid my 1964 interior and got rid of all of those clips by using 6-32 rivnuts and fabricating my own panels.  You could definitely do the same with the Airtex pieces, but it's a lot of work.

https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/hapages/rivetnuts.php

Really like that idea. Could you apply it to the top window trim pieces as well to get rid of all the various sized screws that have been used over the years as screw holes get wallowed.

[mike_elliott]

15 hours ago, Hank said:

Don't tell that to Bruce Jaeger! 

Bruce solved that issue about 6 years ago by using the right industrial hook and loop stuff, not the cheap stuff at aerozone one is prone to try.

[carusoam]

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-us/all-3m-products/~/3M-Dual-Lock-Reclosable-Fastener-MP3551-MP3552/?N=5002385+3293194313&rt=rud

Expect this stuff to work...?

Indoor/outdoor, 200°F operating temps...

Kind of thick though...about a1/4”.

3M really knows modern industrial, and automotive environments...

They make adhesives that are used to glue emblems on the outside of cars...

Check details to see if this is the best they have.

Best regards,

-a-

[Andy95W]

2 hours ago, DualRatedFlyer said:

Really like that idea. Could you apply it to the top window trim pieces as well to get rid of all the various sized screws that have been used over the years as screw holes get wallowed.

Yes- but it may be more trouble than it's worth.

I used to have a '67 M20C, with window trim that mounts similarly to your M20F.  From what I remember of that interior installation, it was better to use the sheet metal screws.  

It would be worth taking the time to remove the frames and discuss it with someone who's installed rivnuts in the past, though.

[Marauder]

Bruce solved that issue about 6 years ago by using the right industrial hook and loop stuff, not the cheap stuff at aerozone one is prone to try.

I’ll post a picture of what his industrial stuff looks like. It is not at all what you think Velcro will look like.


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[Andy95W]

I beat you to it, Chris.

Bruce Jaeger's 3M Dual Lock:

[Andy95W]

13 hours ago, Andy95W said:

Those clips are used for the pre-65 models.

 

For anyone interested, these are examples of the clips the OP was referring to.  Again, they weren't used after the 1964 models.

 

[Andy95W]

On 11/24/2018 at 10:41 AM, PilotCoyote said:

Received my interior panels from Airtex.  My old door panel has the wire clips in it. Has anyone found a better alternative for mounting the panels using the original holes in the door, such as the GM style plastic buttons?

This is my door, with fabric covered Kydex installed with 6-32 screws and rivnuts.  I should probably take pictures of my complete interior using some Spatial Interior pieces, some original, and some fabricated.

[David_H]

6 minutes ago, Andy95W said:

This is my door, with fabric covered Kydex installed with 6-32 screws and rivnuts.  I should probably take pictures of my complete interior using some Spatial Interior pieces, some original, and some fabricated.

Very cool.

You should start a thread to show off the work. I’d like to see how It progressed.

[Marauder]

I beat you to it, Chris. Bruce Jaeger's 3M Dual Lock:

 

 

 

Here are LIVE views of them as Bruce prepares them.

 

 

Bruce uses a backing plate and 3M double sided tape plus tie wraps to secure it for side panels.

 

 

 

 

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[Prior owner]

The rivnuts idea is great, but I’ve got so many things on the list that never stops growing that I can’t do it this time around... perhaps in the future after I’ve got her flying again.

the industrial Velcro looks like a quick solution. I wonder if that is the same stuff they use to hold up fuel bladders?

If I used Adhesive, with my luck the door lock mechanism would break to following day, necessitating adhesive removal..!

 

thanks for the replies guys- very helpful and now I’ve got a few more options to choose from!

[jetdriven]

21 hours ago, Andy95W said:

For anyone interested, these are examples of the clips the OP was referring to.  Again, they weren't used after the 1964 models.

 

Those are 1965 ford mustng door panel clips. 

[Marauder]

Those are 1965 ford mustng door panel clips. 

I knew I saw them somewhere else.


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[carusoam]

Matching the 1965 baggage door clips in the M20C...

They must have been replaced by a PO in my plane, in other locations...

 

@PilotCoyote, something must be getting lost in translation..? the industrial hook and loop fastener is extremely similar to Velcro... except the Velcro is held in place with 3M adhesive...

Put the panel up, take it down the next day, put it back up again, pull it back off the day after... replace again... repeat every year if you want to...

As many times as you need to...  up to 1,000 times according to the spec.  So don’t over do it....  

Best regards,

-a-

[Prior owner]

8 hours ago, carusoam said:

 

@PilotCoyote, something must be getting lost in translation..? the industrial hook and loop fastener is extremely similar to Velcro... except the Velcro is held in place with 3M adhesive...

 

You are correct- I did get lost!