Xantia door mirror and seat covers

[Xantia97]

Hi All,
Just two quick questions please.

How do I remove the painted back of the door mirror to re-spray it?

Has anyone actually removed the seat covers to repair/wash? I have the ones with the alacantra which has not survived 17 years, if I can get the covers off I can insert new material but I'm concerned as to how the cover is fixed around the pocket at the rear of the seat?

Thanks,
Juliet

[citroenxm]

The cover on the mirror is clipped into place, BUT uses the sort that WILL break off when you come to remove it!!

Just try prizing it away gently, but its rare they come off without breakage... You be far better prehaps completely masking the mirror and covering the surrounding area...

As for seats. Cant help you their. Not been in that area.

[addo]

It takes patience, slim tools and a nice warm day to flex the mirror clips enough for removal. Most body shops will rip off the cover, and when refitting, use light dabs of polyurethane sealant to reattach. The key is to not overglue it, in case removal is again required!

Seats... I've skinned and reassembled a number of seats, but not recently any Xantia ones. First remove the seat. You need strong side cutters and safety glasses to snip all the hog rings (bits will fly unpredictably), next to remove the headrest bezels you grasp firmly and rotate a quarter turn - this forces the retainer tangs in and makes it possible to withdraw them upwards. From memory the seat back has stiff strips of plastic beading sewn into the edges of the recessed panel where the pocket is. With the seat removed and upside down, you should be able to see, but from memory you unhook the recessed panel first, then the main area sides come free.

[Xantia97]

Hi,
Thanks for the replies.
Had a go at the door mirror cover this afternoon without much success. Managed to unclip two clips, another was already broken but couldn't get the others to move, in the process one of the ones I had succeeded with broke So had a look on the internet to see how much a new one would cost, just out of interest, and found one on Amazon UK of all places, £11.99, OEM style, primed and only £4.72 postage to France so I grabbed it - life is too short and I suspect the other clips will fail if not when removing the cover then when replacing it. If a new one had cost a fortune, in relative terms, I would have gone down the glue route.

The seats will be my last job but I think I have found the correct colour of alacantra to match so will hopefully only have to do the two front seats. I can feel the plastic pieces in the recessed pocket in the back of the seats, wouldn't have guessed if you hadn't told me Addo.

Juliet