929nitro

How do you replace the outer door skin on a 90 Vette. I picked up a used door to replace my door with, poor body repair from PO. As I started to strip the replacement door I discovered that the steel frame that the outer window seal attaches to as well as the mirror bolts to is rotted. The original door has a gap about 2 inches wide by almost the length of the door starting about an 2 inches up from bottom of door. I am thinking it might be easier to swap door skins rather than trying to repair this hole on the curved lower portion of the door? Please help.

Thanks Dick

DUB

Dick,

It is really hard to 'see' and comprehend what you are describing with this 2 inch wide gap.

AS for the hole....that you have in the one door...sometimes repairing a hole is easier than swapping a door skin.

So...depending on how set you are in what you want o do...post photos of the 2 inch gap and the hole also.

If the door with the hole is a good solid door...then depending on how it looks and where the hole is located...I feel that would be your best bet.....but it is your car.....and YES...I knwo how to remove the door skin. BUT it is a tedious job getting it off without damaging it.

I use a heat gun or a kerosene torpedo heater to heat up the SMC and get the adhesive soft so it can be separated. If you choose to do use a heat gun and jump right into it and get the skin off....fine by me.....and thus I will not look for photos.

TIP: This usually works for me. IF I am changing a door skin. I heat the outside surface of the BAD door skin that I am removing. Sometimes I have to use heat on the inner areas...but a vast majority of it is done on the outside surface. This protects and keeps the inner structure strong on the GOOD DOOR. THEN...on the door that I want to REMOVE and SAVE the outer door skin. I heat the INSIDE AREAS...so the door skin stays solid and cooler. You will possibly have to be innovative in what tools you use to get between the panels and get them to start to separate. AND what you can use a s a wedge to apply slight pressure in those areas that you need to so the panel will slowly let go. There is SWEET ZONE of temperature that you will find that makes things come off easily WITHOUT getting the SMC too HOT. SO having an infrared thermometer is GREAT.

AS I wrote...this can be VERY TEDIOUS and you can snap or crack the panel very easily if you get to aggressive with it. You will not want to just put the end of your heat gun in one spot and hold it there....you will want to slowly move it and get the heat to transfer....and give it time to penetrate through the panel thickness and get to the surface where the adhesive is contacting that panel. The adhesive will begin to get soft when heated (obviously) and you can poke it and see that is it spongy....TEST IT and see what I mean.

DUB

929nitro

Thanks for the info. I will try and get pictures posted this weekend. The hole and 2 inch gap is one in the same. Someone in the past ended up with a hole in the door skin about 2 inches by about 12 to 18 inches long, I haven't cleared it all out yet. When they fixed it they fiberglassed it but apparently only a couple layers thick. I repainted the door and instead of listening to myself I listened to my instructor and did not strip the door to the fiberglass. The paint blistered in a few spots so I started to strip the area and before I got thru the original primer I noticed the area flexing and then cracking. Pieces started breaking out and they were not much thicker than 3 sheets of paper.

DUB

YEP.....A very, very, very LONG time ago I had the SAME thing happened. I listened to someone who I THOUGHT knew what he was doing and got burnt. Then i got laughed at when I would take repairs to a high level and 'they' all said I was wasting my time. WELL....Now those same people who laughed at me now ask me for advice and want to know my 'tricks' that I paid dearly for and I laugh back at them.....like I am going to tell them jack-squat!

So......ALWAYS 'listen' to your gut when doing bodywork and paint work and NOT someone who may or may not have more experience than you. Just because a person may have more experience than you and are instructing...it ALL depends on WHAT LEVEL they are actually at in the industry...in regards to the LEVEL of quality they produce. BECAUSE...you have to consider....you can have plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills and another south of the border doing it out of a motel room...and both are 'doctors'

DUB

929nitro

Good advice. Bottom line the instructor gave his opinion final call was mine so I take it as my mistake and just learn from it.
I am looking for the best way to fix the problem, not the easiest but the best. The pictures below show some of the problem but there is still some thin material. I have another door that has some bad steel structure that I could replace all or part of the skin or just fix what I have, I will probably try removing the skin from the door with bad steel just to see how bad it is. I know with the correct advice I can accomplish whatever is needed Thanks in advance for your help.

DUB

Dick,

I did not mean to make it sound like your instructor is a doofus....that is not what I intended. My apologies
.
Do I need to type this all out or are you willing to talk to me on the phone???

If this door where in my shop and I was concerned that the integrity of the door structure AFTER it was repaired would be like it was BEFORE it was damaged. I seriously doubt that I would replace the door skin. The ONLY reason would be if the owner would be worried about being able to see part of the repair when they looked down inside the door.

I would laminate this and not think twice about it. AND it would be a solid repair.

PM me if you want to have me talk you through this repair on the phone. The phone call will not take that long but the information given may make it where you either record the conversation or write it all down...as many have in the past who call me.

DUB

929nitro

Dub no apology needed, I didn't take it as you thinking the instructor was a doofus. I typed what I did because I didn't want anyone to think I was blaming someone else.

I would be glad to talk to you on the phone. PM sent.

DUB

PM returned.

DUB

929nitro

PM Returned. Merry Christmas

929nitro

Dub thank you very much for your time. After talking with you I feel very confident about approaching the repair. It is great that professionals like yourself are willing to share your knowledge with DIYers like myself. I will post pictures as I progress after the holidays.

Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Dick