Door Armrest Repair?

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opamp
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Joined: Sun Jul 30, 2017 9:47 pm
Your car is a: 1980 Fiat Spider 2000 FI

Door Armrest Repair?

Postby opamp » Sun Jan 14, 2018 1:16 pm

I'm sure this has been pondered by those of you on here before, so I'd love to hear what everyone has to say about the following:

1. Repairing cracked door armrests (even the replacements I'm finding second hand have signs of cracking)--I'm not optimistic, but I'm curious to hear thoughts.
2. Painting the chrome trim in the door armrests (mine have zero chrome left and are just the vinyl strip)--I'm going to go with a rattle can chrome spray and see how bad it looks for now...

Photos to come.

opamp
Posts: 18
Joined: Sun Jul 30, 2017 9:47 pm
Your car is a: 1980 Fiat Spider 2000 FI

Re: Door Armrest Repair?

Postby opamp » Sun Jan 14, 2018 4:44 pm

Here are some images of what I'm talking about.

Cracked armrest (chrome trim removed)--anyone ever repaired these?:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1CXY8uN8rP-C962Z8zX__gBA2d37hBfeo

Trim (that should be chrome, but it's just all worn off)--I'm going to just try spray painting it chrome:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1bnMXr2tr2NY2yJ6WWukYzvxUWhBYoKTe

DRUMMOND
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Your car is a: Fiat Spyder 2000 1980 Pininfarina

Re: Door Armrest Repair?

Postby DRUMMOND » Sun Jan 14, 2018 9:16 pm

Hi Opamp

you can cover it in Vinyl or our fiat vendors sell new ones. (Arm rest and the separate chrome trim) I am sure if you paint it, the cracks will still show. if you go that route you can also get new chrome trim from Autozone which will fit inside where the old chrome trim fits. (not an exact fit)
Image
Image

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RRoller123
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Your car is a: 1980 FI SPIDER 2000
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Re: Door Armrest Repair?

Postby RRoller123 » Mon Jan 15, 2018 7:18 am

I dyed mine (from Tan to Black) and you are right, eventually the dye cracks a little. I touch it up every Spring. I used to pull the armrest off and spray another dye coat, but found that I could spray some of the dye in a small can until there was a little puddle, then dab and brush the dye on with a Q-Tip, and it blended right in, don't need to pull the armrest off. It seems to only crack at the point where the arm takes a bend where it narrows down.

The chrome strips that I got from AR are very good for the money, the top square clip holds that end in fine (front of the car), but I had to put a tiny SS screw in the far end (towards the rear of the car) to hold that end down. The adhesive would slowly lift over time. The small screw solved that issue and it is not visible in normal use.
'80 FI Spider 2000
'74 and '79 X1/9 (past)
'75 BMW R75/6
2011 Chevy Malibu (daily driver)
2010 Chevy Silverado 2500HD Ext Cab 4WD/STD BED
2002 Edgewater 175CC 80HP 4-Stroke Yamaha
2003 Jaguar XK8
2003 Jaguar XKR
2021 Jayco 22RB
2019 Bianchi Torino Bicycle

opamp
Posts: 18
Joined: Sun Jul 30, 2017 9:47 pm
Your car is a: 1980 Fiat Spider 2000 FI

Re: Door Armrest Repair?

Postby opamp » Tue Jan 16, 2018 7:59 pm

Thanks SO much--I love both of these suggestions--I also love the colours of the arm rests that you posted: that tartan pattern is awesome. Thanks to both of you for the responses--really appreciate, I'll update once we figure out what we are going to do...

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joelittel
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Re: Door Armrest Repair?

Postby joelittel » Wed Jan 17, 2018 9:18 am

Drummond, sorry if you mentioned this in your others posts, do you have a pattern for your armrest covers?

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spidernut
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Joined: Wed Jan 25, 2006 12:20 am
Your car is a: 1979 Fiat Spider Automatic
Location: Lincoln, CA

Re: Door Armrest Repair?

Postby spidernut » Sun Jan 21, 2018 12:44 am

I've had some success filling the cracks with siliconized painter's caulking available from any hardware store. It can be pushed into the cracks, the excess wiped off. When it is dry it can be lightly sanded and painted with vinyl paint. It works well on light cracking. If the arm rest has heavy cracking, you'd be better off to cover it.

The 81 Anniversary Edition Spiders had these installed. I have set but haven't decided if I'll use them on my project car or sell them on Evilbay.

[url]http://www.midwest-bayless.com/p-6005-arm-rest-right-beige-stitched-fiat-124-spider-1979-82-oe-nos.aspx
[/url]
John G.
1979 Spider (Owned since 2000)
1971 124 Sport Spider (Owned since 2017)
1977 Spider (Sold 2017)
1979 Spider (Disposed of in 2017)
1979 Spider (Sold 2015)
1980 Spider (Sold in 2013)
1981 Spider (Sold in 1985)
2017 Spider (Owned since 2019)

DRUMMOND
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Re: Door Armrest Repair?

Postby DRUMMOND » Mon Jan 22, 2018 9:55 pm

Hi Joelittel

To make the pattern from the original armrests. I just split it into 3.5 segments, top, bottom, side, inside. Photos attached show the basic outlay.
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profcucchi
Posts: 248
Joined: Sun Oct 23, 2011 2:12 pm
Your car is a: 1979 Fiat 2000
Location: Toronto, On

Re: Door Armrest Repair?

Postby profcucchi » Wed Jun 09, 2021 11:04 am

While I realize this is an older thread, that's exactly the info I need, and those armrest covers are awesome!
1979 Fiat 2000 "Luigi"


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