Pickup door panel Ratchet nail/ grommet removal

[SAXBY2]

How are the upholstery door panel ratchet nails removed for the pickups ? Should the grommet and nail be removed as a unit ? The vendors sell these to replace the originals that were mounted in metal retainers no longer available.

[1955cj5]

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Some time ago I made door panels for my ccpu. My wife sewed binding on the edges and we installed using those ratchet nails. Reproduction nail sets with the nylon cup instead of the original brass.

Shortly thereafter I managed to crack the drivers door window....

Could not get those ratchet nails out, no matter what.....

So I cut a length of brass tubing, and made sort of a hole saw that would fit over the head of the nails.

Then I was able to cut around the nail to remove the panel without further damage, and then I cut each nail head off and pushed it through the retainer to remove the nail.

When the time came to reinstall the door panel, I bought small black phillips screws and upholstery cup washers and used the screw/washer set to reinstall the panel, running the screws into the nylon nail retainers. The washer was large enough to completely cover the hole.

Not original, but it looks OK.

It would seem that once those nails are in, they are in to stay.....