First off - please don't post any "just buy new door panel" hijacks. I have a set of them, no matter what I do (and that includes high heat and a pile of cinder blocks on the ABS backing) they don't fit right. I know my OK condition August 1976 panels fit, but they need new vinyl to look their best.

I have the Corvette America skins in hand, and it looks like they will fit well. I'm pretty good at working with interior trim, but I'm not sure which spray adhesive will work best to join the two layers of vinyl without the possibility of failure down the road. As the interior is black, heat from sunlight can become an issue if I have the car outside.

Also, I've read plenty of posts that say to leave an unglued "lip" at the top and tuck the skin under the stainless trim at the top edge. My trim appears to be stapled on from the inside, but it also looks like it would be possible to carefully remove it and then pop-rivet the trim back in place with a thin washer to spread the load across the fiberboard panel. Any thoughts on this?

 

For interior spray adhesives I have always liked 3M brand. Their 77 and 90 are the two highest level adhesives. I'll note that the 90 tends to be thicker and come out in more of a globby spray. The 77 is much more refined and coats evenly. I think as long as the skins are stretched right without pulling to hard either of those will work fine even in sunlight.

 

I was thinking about using 3M 77. Mid-America sells a Permatex-branded heavy-duty spray adhesive for carpets and headliners, I might see if the local paint shop has it.

 

Hi Bat,
Do you plan on removing the old skin or applying the new skin over it?
Regards,
Alan

 

You do not want to remove any of the 'old' vinyl skin on the door panel...other than any small pieces that are cracked and stick outward. The 'old' skin provides the stability and "roadmap" for how to align the new skin.

Critical issues are:

The old skin must be very clean and free of any oil/dirt/grease before re-skinning. I highly recommend that a final wipe of lacquer thinner with a clean cloth will assure that the surface will be clean for the application of the contact glue.

Any irregular surfaces on the old skin (pits, cracks, dents) will also be reflected in the new skin. So, it is also important to fill/smooth/repair such damage with something like a polyester spot putty or some kind of stable filler material and a final skim of spot putty.

The most difficult part of the re-skinning process is developing a 'game plan' for where to begin and how to proceed with the gluing process. You cannot put glue on the entire piece, as there is too much risk of making "early" contact with the wrong area. It is nearly impossible to reverse such an error. So, detailed planning of where to start and how to proceed to full competion is a must. My choice was to start with the deep recess just above the armrest area and then work outward in small stages until the panel was completely glued. That worked relatively well for my first (and hopefully LAST) attempt at door panel reskinning. My preference would be to NEVER do that again. It is extremely intensive work, very stressful, and the results will not be as visually pleasing as would be with a newly manufactured panel...but the panel itself will fit as well before the reskinning effort.

Leave an excess of loose material at the upper trim seam. Test that trim for how much material can be pushed up into it without buckling. In some areas, you may not be able to have more than 1/4" or so of excess material. But, leave more than that in case your "plan" doesn't have perfect results. You can always cut a bit more off once you get the that final stage. I recommend leaving the last inch below that trim piece free of glue on either panel. Once you begin that final process, you can determine your final edge cutting strategy; then do a 'test stuffing' effort to assure that there will be no buckling of material; then pull that material back out from under the trim. Now, you can put glue on only the old vinyl surface up to within about 1/4 of the metal trim. Now, curl the new skin so that the entire leading edge is in position to insert it under the trim and then push that edge under but only for about 1/8-1/4". With this done, you can now work from the bottom part of the unseated skin and slowly upward so that you glue the two surfaces together while eliminating air pockets. Once you complete that 'marriage', the loose end will be trapped under that trim peice.

Finally, you can focus on rolling the edges around to the back and retaining the new skin with staples. For this to work well, you must work slowly and do the following things in each area: trim off any protrusions of old skin that will inhibit a smooth laying of the new skin; slit the new skin at key locations (similar to how the old one was done) to lay material around irregular shapes, notches, etc.; remove necessary staples from the old skin so that those bulges won't cause problems under the new one; then put the new skin taut and staple as necessary. Work on a small area at a time, so you are doing this in stages.

For determining where to place the "spikes" on the surface trim when reinstalling it, use a large needle and from the backside of the door panel locate the original spike marks and poke the needle through. This will provide an accurate mark on the front surface that you can use to position those trim pieces.

It CAN be done. And, it can be done reasonably well. You must work slowly, carefully and patiently. If you lose temper...STOP, take a break and regain your composure. Messing up is NOT an option with this reskinning process. And, if you have other questions, don't hesitate to PM me for input, if you wish to do so.

Good luck...you'll need that along with skill and patience to obtain good results.

 

Found the Permatex Heavy-Duty spray adhesive at AutoZone.

7T1, thanks for the advice. I'd read several of your posts before starting on this. I wish the modern ABS panels had fit better on my doors, but they were determined to not work. I can stand a minor defect or two more than the whole thing feeling like it wants to spring free and fly away at any time.

What do you think of removing the upper stainless trim and pop-riveting it back in? It would seem like the best way to make sure the skin is perfectly attached, but I fear that there is some good reason to avoid doing it that I'm not thinking of.

 

Back in 96 my Dad took my Moms 73 Vette to work to adjust the lifters and He ended up messing up his leg really bad. Anyways; to make a long story short. its been sitting outside ever since that happened (for over 16 years). the weather stripping was shot so to say the least the interior was trashed. REALLY REALLY BAD!!! They gave me the car and Ive been doing my best with what little money I have. So I repaired the interior for less than $200. what do you think?



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Nice work, deserving it's own thread.

 

I am also preparing to reskin the door panels,
you do mean the ss window felt that is stapled on the top correct ?
I had planned to straighten those staples remove and reinsert after the new skin.

 

You have to be the judge of how much trouble you wish to experience to get that upper area just right. I used the method described in my last post and have not had any trouble with it getting loose, etc.

If you think you can remove that trim and reinstall it without difficulty or damage to the trim....go for it.

 

I think I can get it out without damage. Reattaching it might be a different story.