| abstract |
A method of making an interior panel of a vehicle door having an exterior surface which is to face toward the interior of the vehicle when installed therein. The method includes the steps of heating a laminate sheet comprising (1) an outer layer of vinyl sheet and (2) a layer of relatively soft foamed material bonded thereto and vacuum forming the heated laminate sheet in a vacuum mold component oriented so that an arm rest portion of the laminate sheet is the vinyl sheet surface thereof engaged with the mold surface arm rest portion. Next, a preformed pad of foamed elastomeric material having a density in the range of 30 to 45 pounds per cubic foot is mounted on the opposite surface of the arm rest portion of the heated laminate sheet. Thereafter a foamable polyurethane material embedded within a reinforcing mat is heated and cured while all of the mold components to form a panel which includes (1) a substrate defining the opposite surface thereof, (2) an upwardly facing arm rest portion defined on its exterior surface by the vinyl sheet and backed up therebelow by the layer of relatively soft foamed material and the pad of foamed elastomeric material. |