Plunk.  Awww Crap!

Yet another tale of woe begins with my DB9.  One day when I rolled into the garage and parked, I opened my door, and then heard a faint “Plunk”.  Anyone that’s owned a British Car before knows that you need to get out and look around for what’s fallen off.  Sitting right there on my garage floor was a neat little do-dad wrapped in leather.   I quick look back up and at the car revealed that it had fallen off the end of the drivers door cap.   This little cap is designed as a finisher to hide one of the door card mounting screws.  It was held on by some double sided tape that gave up (much like the glue in my sagging headliner – read about that here).   Its an easy fix that anyone can undertake, and here’s how I did it.

Tools Needed

Not much is needed, basically:

• Scissors or a Utility Knife to cut the tape
• Tape measure or ruler to measure out the tape
• Isopropyl Alcohol and a towel to wipe of any residual glue from the old tape if needed

Parts Needed

I purchased a roll of Scotch brand 1″ wide Outdoor Mounting Tape (part 411P).  I picked this since it was heavy duty and being ‘outdoor tape’ was designed to be subjected to heat and weather, so I though it might hold up better than the old stuff.  After the install, I still have 59″ of spare tape.

You can purchase this from your local home store, or online from Amazon.com for just $4.97 USD with free Prime shipping.

Installation Procedure

The whole effort will take about 5 minutes unless you stop for a Whiskey along the way. [Feel free to send some 18 year old Macallan if these articles are helping you out :>)]

How does Aston Martin say to do it in the Official Workshop Manual?  They don’t even mention it in the section on removing the interior door panel.  Like it doesn’t even exist.  No worries.

• Carefully peel the old tape from the back of the leather piece.
  • If any glue residue is left over clean it off with a little alcohol on a shop towel (hmm, or would whiskey work better)
• Carefully peel off the old tape from the mounting bracket in the door cap area.
  • I had to use a judicious amount of finger nail to scrape it all off.
  • I didn’t worry about glue residue here since what was left was super sticky and would bond to the new tape.
• Optionally you might use this chance to use a little leather cleaner and micro fiber towel to clean up the leather on the end cap before reinstalling it.  Never going to be an easier time to do it.
• Using the tape measure or ruler, measure out a piece of tape 3/4″ x 7/8″ (19mm x 22mm).  Doesn’t need to be super precise.
• Use your knife and/or scissors to cut it out.
• Press the tape onto the mounting bracket in the door cap
  • Rub it on firmly to adhere it well
• Peel off the protective cover on the tape to expose the outer mounting surface
• Carefully position and press the leather end cap onto the tape and squish it in firmly to mount it.  Press and hold for a few moments.

That should be it!   Hopefully your car is whole again.

Video

I shot a quick video of the problem and process to repair it.  Check it out here.