72 gmc door panel color question
 

I recently bought a new to me passed down barn find, well an out in the woods find. 72 GMC C25 350 3 on the tree long bed all original only missing the a/c compressor. Im going through it and will be trying to get everything cleaned and unfroze to get it drive-able.

I have been reading about 80 some pages back on this forum learning about this body style as im a squarebody guy.

The door panel i removed from the drivers side to do other work matches the color of the body which lists on the SPID as Option No. 518 medium green. The part number on the back of the panel lists as PT#3998019-LH-CAV#4. The back of this panel lists part #'s for each color available which this shows parchment which is defiantly not this color i dont think. These panels are 70s OG style dried out plastic and i was browsing replacements and the medium green which somewhat matches the glove box and the instrument cluster the olive green color. I want to keep it all original style when I do get to the point i restore it.

Only thing i know at the moment is spraying 303 protectant on the old panel to maybe stabilize it and put it back on. The back of the panel is solid probly never been off and retains the same color as the body.

Just curious and thanks for the Help ill try to post pics when i can get them downloaded and posted soon.

Re: 72 gmc door panel color question
 

I have 72 parchment panels. They had this dried crusty appearance. I thought maybe old dy or other coating a po might have used. My panels also have the metal faux painted insets. The aftermarket panels do not have the inset correct making for ill fitting panels. A member suggested I spend some time and attempt a deep clean. I found simple green, blue scotchbrte pads and a lot of scrubbing resulted in a near perfect panel. It took about 2 hours on each. The faux wood inserts were also cooked in the so cal sun. I failed at the artistic end of repainting the wood grain. New inset can be purchased but pricey. I decided to dy the scrolled section of the panel normally hidden from view by faux wood inset and keep the trim ring. Net result was way better than expected. Cost was about 30 bucks all in with dy and cleaning products
Edit:to be clear, only the brown section was dyed. The light colored area is the result of cleaning. This is a original factory panel.

Re: 72 gmc door panel color question
 

those look good

Re: 72 gmc door panel color question
 

Ill give the simple green and a scotch brite a try. Does it knock the crustiness down and bring back the smooth texture? We use white ones at work which are noninvasive to finish, is the blue similar to that? My parchment listed door panel has to be gm dyed to the medium green. The back of the panel and behind the arm rest/ door pull on this truck are the same so its possible the original owner painted it and i doubt back then could dye a whole door panel what color he wanted it. But no evidence of paint flake or peeling.

Did gmc dye their interior panels to what spec they wanted? Using parchment as a base would make since to dye to what they wanted being almost white. I havnt run across that info yet in the forum. I dont have external photo hosts to post pics and dont see my self creating one sorry for that.

Thanks again guys!

Re: 72 gmc door panel color question
 

All the OEM ones I've seen are original color plastic. Not dyed. Cast in colored plastic.

Re: 72 gmc door panel color question
 

That's sharp.

Re: 72 gmc door panel color question
 

Now that you ask...My memory is really getting bad. 99% sure it was the blue that worked best but it could have been those Mr Clean sponges. I started with the least abrasive things I could find. That crusty feeling stuff on the panel is not dy. I am not sure if it is oxidation, or possibly a release coating that was sprayed on the mold. I was sure that crusty mess was old dy flaking off. After cleaning the panels it is clear it was not dy. It will take some effort. But the result will blow you away how nice they clean up.

Re: 72 gmc door panel color question
 

Cool im giving it a try this weekend and see how it goes Thank you much!

Re: 72 gmc door panel color question
 

So i tried cleaning the drivers panel up. These interior panels are roached. It came out cleaner from residue spots but i ended up taking heat to the panel to bring the oil back out and it somewhat is back to the original medium green that mirrors the back of the panel and matches closely to the og paint in the cab and body.

I did pull the steering wheel today to fix the slop in the column shift and after cleaning (its trashed too) it seems to be in the blue color while the horn button is more of a forest green color. This is going to be real fun trying to replace these items.

I guess ill have to go with the olive green repo parts to look decent or i can follow the coat of many colors in this cab.

Steering wheel may have been replaced but nothing looks tampered with in this truck.

Any odd color combos you guys know of in the interiors?

Re: 72 gmc door panel color question
 

Please post some pics! I hear adding heat, like from a heatgun is a way to bring back color to these color-baked in plastics.

Re: 72 gmc door panel color question
 

Pics

Re: 72 gmc door panel color question
 

more.

Re: 72 gmc door panel color question
 

Wow that's going to be a nice truck. She's been left out in the elements, but looks good overall. Don't recall seeing such a low option truck with AC before.

Those steering wheels change colors in the sun, that might be the original, discolored wheel. You might be able to find used replacements for sale on the board, fingers crossed.

Re: 72 gmc door panel color question
 

The RPO U63 AM mono radio was not listed on the SPID, so it was added at the dealer or by a future owner.

Re: 72 gmc door panel color question
 

Good Possiblity it does have an antenna base on the passenger cowl? The bottom of the radio has 68 chevy van written in yellow junk yard paint pen. the 4x10 speaker and wiring harness were "put in" loosely.

Re: 72 gmc door panel color question
 

I took a gamble searching for some way to mimick my og interior. I started with the interior door handles by ordering parchment Lh and Rh's from classic parts. I also bought a can of SEM marine vinyl coat ultra turquoise paint. I Think its a winner and matched pretty damn close. In the future will try the parchment repro door panels and paint them down the road but for now suits my needs for cleaning up inside the cab.