On Tue, Nov 23, 2010 at 12:42 PM, Don Hanson <dhanson928@gmail.com> wrote:

>   Pacific Northwest, east slope of the mountains.
>
> So I turned around backwards and gave it the boot...down near the
> bottom at the back...Wrong!  my foot wentright through the inside panel,
> that cardboard must have been a little old and brittle....The door didn't
> open, either.  I had to go back outside and use a flat pry bar to break
> loose the ice...
>

>  Don Hanson
>

I did the exact same thing to mine several years back.  Now I make sure, in
early fall, that there will be room in the garage when the cold arrives...

The vinyl kinda shattered on mine; it all stayed loosely intact (in a damage
area about the size of a softball.)  The cardboard backing was
ripped/cracked in several places.

I took the panel out that spring and put it out in the sun to soften it up.
I used duct tape to repair the back of the cardboard,  then used glue to
piece the vinyl back together on the front side.  I left a stack of books on
it for a couple of days to make sure it was good and set.

I was surprised that it came out as good as it did.  I mounted it back in
the Vanagon.  The first really hot day of the year, the whole thing wilted
like a flower.  Now it's an ugly mess, and an excellent conversation piece
for the passengers in the back who never fail to ask about it.

--
Joe T.
'85 Wolfsburg Westy Subie 2.2