hello all, I have a 75 vette and the passenger door skin toward the bottom has separated off the frame.. what is used to glue this skin back on? Someone tried using bondo before I bought the car, so I will be grinding that down first... anyone have any ideas?

 

SEM makes a special adhesive for door skins, go to your favorite auto paint store, Some kind of 2 part epoxy stuff. Mix well, spread it on evenly and you've got 30 minutes to get the panel on and be straight and square.

 

well i only have the bottom of the skin so i am not removing the whole skin, just trying to re-attach what i have..

 

Tim has the right idea! You’ll have to pry open the lower portion of the skin and get some 80 grit between the skin and the main frame. Once this is done force the glue in place and mildly clamp the lower portion down. If you clamp to hard you’ll push the glue out and the bond won’t hold.

If rust is present in the lower metal frame, you’ll need to remove this. Bonding over rust will only cause pre-mature failure in the bond.

Willcox.

 

But also be aware that when you are doing this and because teh panel is not entirely removed. It may be hard to clean the areas of old "bondo" and adhesive. Also It is IMPORTANT that you READ the instructions on whatever type of adhesive you use ( there are many out on the market) and see if in the instructions that it requires a primer on the metal BEFORE you bond it. Be careful when you are prepping the inside of the SMC door skin. Gm has raised pads on the inside of the skin so when you clamp it, it will stop but also allow the area between these pads to get enough adhesive to bond.
Also a tip for good measure. When you are applying the adhesive and clamping it into position. TRY to make sure that enough adhesive squeezes out on the inside so that when water flows on the inside of the door, it will not get trapped in the seam that you are bonding. A small round bead is what I usually try to achieve and this means that the flat / horizontal area at the bottom of the door shell on the inside ( where water, dirt, leaves, etc. will sit) is prepped correctly so the adhesive will stick to it also. Try not to crack your skin. This is a touchy repair to make sure that you have all of the rust out and have the ENTIRE separated panel bonded. If you can not get adhesive in teh entire separated seam area. It will more than likely bond where you can get to it with ease. But rust can form and eat your door frame out without you knowing it until it is to late.
"DUB"

 

I just had to rebond the bottom of both doors of my '76 while prepping it for paint. It's a pretty straight up proceedure. I used Vette Panel Bond by Evercoat, available from Eastwood online and many body shop suppliers. I had to scrape away the old bond with a sawzall hacksaw blade, mixed my product and pushed it into the seam with a small bondo squeegee, and clamped the lower panel with three vice grip pliers (one for body work). Make sure you protect the outer door panel with cardboard. Let it dry overnight and it's just like new. Use a bondo cheese grater to clean up the excees Panel Bond inside and under the door. Good luck.

 

If this Evercoat product is the one that uses a blue cream hardener to actiivate it, IT IS THE WRONG ADHESIVE. It is not designed to bond to steel. Will it bond...yes. But it may not last. Call their tech dept and they will confirm this. Specific procedures may need to take place in order for it to work...if at all.

The product required MUST be able to bond fiberglass/SMC to either bare steel or primed steel depending on manufacturers recommendations. This product it usually and epoxy /urethane based product which is two component and uses an intermix tube to mix the product during application.
"DUB"

 

Thank you all for your input. I would have had a hard time figuring this out, and my local paint suppliers like to push whatever they need to move so not really that good for advice. Also the few around me have younger guys behind the counter that really have little or no experience and will just read the outside of the can like I can do myself. Thanks for all the help..