Just removed both passenger and driver side door panels to put "felt" on the inner weatherstrips
so that the new window tint won't get scratched (a MUST here in Arizona, and this car famous for
tight, hard rubber inner w/strips that scratch the tint). I was wondering if anybody would be interested
in hearing or seeing the steps and tools necessary to do this job properly. No? If I get any response,
I'll list the steps and put some pics in my gallery to help you out. There are a couple of sneaky things
to do, so this would help anybody getting ready to pull the panel off for whatever reason.

PS> Mercedes and BMW have very tight inner "beltline" weatherstrips that push up against the inside
of the glass. When you put window tint on the glass, these strips scratch the tint and leave deep vertical
scratches in the tint over a period of time. The tint shops want a lot of money to do this job and most
won't even tell you about what will happen if you don't. You can do it yourself with a little effort BEFORE
you get the windows tinted and save a HUGE amount of money paying somebody to pull off the panels
and stick a piece of sticky-back felt on the existing piece. You want to use the THINNEST black felt with a
strong sticky back that you can find. This is available at some hardware/hobby stores, but it's a bit of a
search depending on your patience. MOST of the stuff is WAY TOO THICK! DON'T USE IT! This will cause
a big problem and put too much pressure on the glass, and that's what you're trying to avoid.

I'll wait for feedback, and if there's no interest, I won't post.

 

I would be interested in seeing that. I need to remove a back door panel. I always print the pics and save them when someone goes to the trouble to post them.
Thanks

 

I would like to put courtesy/puddle lights in the door panels in my W203 C200.
Would the procedure be the same for removing the panel?
Thanks.
shan.

 

OK>the problem here is this: Almost EVERY car made has a slightly different door panel, as you know.
And, with all the models, this means each panel is a little different in terms of where the screws and fasteners are.
So, it becomes a matter of playing around with the panel looking for how they hid the screws and such.
My instructions would probably only apply to my make, model and year car.....an '05 C230K sedan.
As a former glass installer (among other things), I know Mercedes makes it a bit hard to figure out where they all are,
but does a nice job of concealing them. Most of the time, it's TORX HEAD screws holding the panel on, with small plastic
door panel fasteners that push into a hole around the lower sides and bottom of the door. This is standard with most cars
these days. But finding the hiding place for the TORX HEADS can be tricky. One of the TORX screws on my particular
car is behind the little plastic piece that says, "SRS AIRBAG" on it. Pops off and it's in there. Sneaky. Also, the door pull
itself splits in half where the seam is. So, you need to be a bit of a detective.

 

Did you post it or not yet? I am interested in knowing everything. I need to take off the rear driver side door panel. My door lock is out of track right now. I also want to tint.

 

Where can I find the door panel removal instructions?

 

Pls post with pictures i'm interested in working with my benz c180 door panels