The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Interiors Made new door panels and now I have a problem!

I just made new door panels out of 3/16" hard board (masonite) and covered with 1/4" foam and then black vinyl. I was real proud of myself until I put the door latch handle on and discovered that the latch mechanism will not move because of the hard board. Any suggestions? Do I just need to maybe put some kind of shim behind the panel to hold it out and away from the latch release arm? If so , what should I use? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

I would try peeling the vinyl back off the edges, apply a spacer strip all the way around the perimeter, back of the masonite- like a 1/8" thick (or whatever it needs) x 1/2" wide strip then re-glue the vinyl around the added spacer so you won't see it.

Great idea. I knew someone here would have a simple solution. Luckily I cut the vinyl extra big, so I should have enough to fold over the spacer strip. Thanks!!!

Awesome, glad I could help.