Door Skin Replacement

[69Sport]

Hey Guys, Do to a few good size dents and some body chrome holes on the doors of my 69, I was looking into the James Duff"s replacement door skins. Has any body used them? And can any body comment on the quailty and the level of difficuilty of this task. From Duffs discription it's just a matter of gringing off the old spot welds, replacing the skin, bending the tabs and rewelding. It does'nt sound to bad. But I would like to here it from some real body guys. Thanks. 69sport

 

[broncolove]

If your door is still solid, I would hammer and dolly out the dents and weld the trim holes up before I would replace the skin. I have gotten pretty good with the old hammer and dolly removing dents. A little practice and it not too bad. Just my 2 cents.

 

[74bronc]

I have replaced quite a few door skins and they aren't that hard to do, but I had an expert body man hands-on teach me how to do it. It is hard to explain how to do it. It is very doable if you go slow and look at it logically. I can't comment on the fit of the Duff door skins. All the door skins I have replaced were factory replacements on GM products (gasp) and a few Ford F-150's.

 

[69Sport]

Thanks for the input. Hey broncolove, the dents are up by where the mirror mounts. The PO hit a tree or somthing. Do think it is possible to get a dolly up into this area to beat it out. As far as the molding holes, is it possible to weld them closed and finish them as if they were never there. Thanks 69sport

 

[2badrotties]

Door skins are a piece of cake. Lay your new door skin down on a stand or garbage can if you don't have a stand with the inside facing up. Put your doorshell on the skin and hammer the edge down to the doorshell. Hold a flat dolly on the outer side of the doorskin nice and firm and it will keep the edge nice and straight. Move the dolly as you hammer the edge down. Remember to hold it firmly against the outside of the skin as you go along. Tap the edge over a little at a time and move around the door. Most guys don't hammer it completly flat untill they try the door and make sure the skin is in the right place. The skin will move around on the shell maybe as much as 1/8th inch on older cars / trucks. If you check out this page on my web pages , it will give you a little idea of what a folded edge looks like when done. It was just the bottom of the door that I made but same principal. Do put some epoxy primer or weld through primer on the edge of door shell before you put the skin on ( see picture ). OH, and fold up a old blanket and lay your door skin on that not a bare garbage can , the can will dent your new skin. I hope that wasn't too long for you. check here http://www.2badrotties.classicbroncos.com/custom.html

 

[2badrotties]

Me again ;D . To weld up your holes try this. Buy a few inches of copper water pipe. Hammer the end flat about two inches. Put a smal bend on the flat end at a angle. If you hold the copper pipe against the inside of the door, fender , whatever, it makes it very easy to weld the hole shut. Weld won't stick to the pipe and keeps the wire form sticking all over inside the door. My pipe has a handle bar grip off of a bike because the pipe gets real hot real fast ;D

 

[broncolove]

Thanks for the input. Hey broncolove, the dents are up by where the mirror mounts. The PO hit a tree or somthing. Do think it is possible to get a dolly up into this area to beat it out. As far as the molding holes, is it possible to weld them closed and finish them as if they were never there. Thanks 69sport

Yea those dents by the mirror are a little difficult, but will come out. I have hammer and dollyed many of them out. 2bad method is the same way I do it, Same with the welding the holes up. Your best bet is to take the guts out of your door before you do this. I have been amazed how well you can return most body damage to its original condition with a simple hammer and dolly. I bought a cheap set from harbor Freight for $29.00. Probably not the best, but has worked well for me.

 

[69Sport]

door skin

2BAD and BLove I can't thank you guys enough for taking time to answer my post, thanks for the info on the door skins. I was'nt sure if I wanted to tackle this project but with a little pep talk from the pros, I think I'm going to give it a shot. One more thing, what is the best tool to use to remove the old skin. And what about the top part along the window, does it just lift off or do you have to get in there somehow? Thanks 69sport

 

[2badrotties]

Use a grinder on the edge and then just peel the old skin off. There might be a couple welds on top that you will have to cut with a cut off wheel. I have seen some skins welded to the window frames and some not.

 

[69Sport]

Thanks, I will post pic's when I get around to this part of project 69. Thanks 69sport