Inner Door Panels

[IdahoMan]

Hi.

Putting in my OEM inner door panels soon.

I think they are in decent condition (what do you think?), but one thing is the tops are having some disintegration issues... like the top layer of whatever the panels are made of is rubbing off.

The pics below show the panel (not the best pic quality). The white in the pictures is where I rubbed my fingernail against the panel. In pic3 there is a shallow "hole" from scraping it with my fingernail.

Is there anything I can do to furbish these up a bit?

Also the window seals are in dire need of replacement. Bought some LMC brand, but the uncurved end is cut at the wrong angle or something; I'm afraid it won't fit.

Thanks.


IM

[old Rusty C10]

a buddy of mine once wet sanded those kind of panels and used a little body putty on the thin areas then re dyed them they turned out ok

[andrewmp6]

With age and sun light the plastic on top the door panels gets like that.Not sure if you can do anything for it or have to replace it.

[IdahoMan]

Sanded the tops of one because I needed to.

Now it has a white, powder look to it. I don't know how to get rid of it. Maybe a solvent or something that is really "melty" on material like this?

[andrewmp6]

Maybe use sem brand dye on them.

[IdahoMan]

I read somewhere that they use brake-fluid(?) to take Line-X bedliner off if it sets on it for a while. I don't know if it would have the same effect here.

I'm just playing with solvents and whatever I can find in the garage.

BTW, I don't supposed anybody has some OEM, blue all-vinyl Inner Door Panels for sale at a reasonable price?

[thepenguin99]

I am going to 2nd the SEM dye comment. Your panels look like they would be fine if you sprayed them. Assuming your prep work is solid they should come out ok. You will lose the factory texture on the top from sanding but that isn't a big deal for a driver. Will be hard to find a used set that look better than your panels were to start with. These panels don't hold up well.

[Jake Wade]

The SEM dye does a wonderful job of coloring BUT, it does not have filling properties, any sand scratches or other imperfections will show through.

[andrewmp6]

Any way he could use a primer and paint over it?

[LuckyLightning]

Not sure how "stock" you want to keep the panel, but Plasti-Dip could be another option for you.

[BigMike608]

this is what I did when I freshened up my interior of my old 87 that I sold recently. I bought the SEM Shadow Blue Color Coat at my local paint supplier (English Color) for $12 per can. Cleaning and prep is the most important step. First I mixed in Clorox with a large busket of very soapy water and used a scuff pad to clean every inch of each piece and then rinsed thoroughly. I repeated this process 4 times for each piece. Next I dried off each piece with a lint free microfiber towel. Then I thoroughly cleaned all pieces once again using automotive grade lacquer thinner making sure to only wipe in one direction to keep from spreading the leftover residue. After all this was complete, I let everything sit and dry for 24 hours. Once it was ready for paint I did 2 light coats of Bulldog adhesion promoter with 5 mins between coats. Finally I used the SEM color coats and sprayed 6 lights coats on each piece with 5 mins flash/dry time between coats. I let everything set for a few days to make sure it was completely dry before I begin re-installing.

[jb3t]

Can you get reproductions anywhere. Mine are in bad shape and I would not be opposed to swapping for a repro. I'll keep the originals just in case I want to go retro.