Anybody replaced a door skin?

[62 Barnfind]

I bought a new door skin and for my dented door. What is the best way to replace the skin? Any advice, how to and pics would be great. I know you have to peel the sides up and cut and weld the seam.

[Old_1965_Gmc]

Before u cut the old door skin test fit the new with the old and make sure the new one is a perfect fit then mark the top where the top end meets the old and mark it whit a marker just make sure when u cuz the old not to cut to much for ur welds remove the spot weld and u should be able to remove the old one easly and just do th oppitset when the new just make sure everything lines up with the cab and the gaps
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[MOTOIMPAIRED]

I cut mine off the pound it out and fix the rust. I cut mine on the upper body line and the welded it back on using a series of tack welds. Keep the heat down so it dont warp!

[k1rodeoboater]

I haven't done mine yet, or replaced a skin, but here's what I've learned.

1.) Test fit your skin first.

2.) Mark where your skin ends on the door.

3.) Put skin aside where you won't accidentally dent or mess it up (crucial step here)

4.) Take grinder with a flap disc to the edge of the skin. grind away till you see 3 layers (skin, inner door, skin) AND STOP IMMEDIATELY. Do this all around the parts of the door you need to reskin.

5.) CAREFULLY cut the top of the original skin free CLOSE to the line and not right on it. You need a good even nice gap here for this to look good.

6.) Once original skin is free, test fit new skin. Trim as needed CAREFULLY.

7.) Once it is set, drill holes on the part to be folded for your plug welds.

8.) With the skin on the inner door, flip the door over and start slapping down the edges a little at a time. It should take you 4-6 trips around the door to get the skin fully folded, you just want to get it close for now. You want to use a slapper if you have one, if not take a hammer and toe dolly, drop the dolly inside a leather work glove, and use that.

9. Flip the door back over and adjust as needed for gap/fit.

10.) tack weld the skin to the original skin skipping around and giving it plenty of time to cool. Don't rush this part, anticipate taking a long time to do it.

11.) flip door back over, finish slapping/hammering down the skin all the way.

12.) Plug weld the holes you predrilled back on step 7 (you did follow step 7 right???)

13.) dress your welds. If done carefully you won't need any bondo....but if you're a noob like me a little filler will likely be needed

14.) Paint prep as usual

[hugger6933]

good info there on the help .If you could find a friend in the body "bidness" that might have a shark or similar toolthat would be great. I have one it is the most awesome thing to aid in door skin installations. They are pricey so it would not be prudent for a average guy that is only gonna do a few buy . When I bought mine I had like 7 door skins to put on at the shop at that time, and have only done a couple since. It has a rubber pad and a air hammer thingy that folds the skin quite nicely. It is important to take small amount folding in each pass go don't hurry you will need to stop and rest any wat and you mat still end up with popeye arms form all of the hammering

[RestoreAmerica]

I was asking the same question a while ago and some one responded with Great info and Pictures. Check out this thread and scroll toward the bottom.http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=483174

[ebfabman]

Here you go...

door repair.wmv - YouTube

[62 mark]

I am doing some door repair myself...not the whole skin but corners and bottoms. Going very slow!

[62 Barnfind]

62 Mark,
Looks good! I want to start mine today if my wife lets me!

[62 mark]

@ Barnfind- Tell her working on the truck helps you keep your sanity

[Nova_Cobra64]

I finally skinned the passenger door for my 69 today. I did quite a bit of hacking to the door itself (usual torn top hinge area), procrastinated and got frustrated a bit too often through the project. Came time to skin I stressed about it and procrastinated some more.....took 2.5 hours of hacking and welding to get the skin to sit properly at the front pillar. Finally just got down to business, turned out very nice, hopefully the drivers side goes as smoothly tomorrow. 220 grit on the DA sander cleaned all the highs up except one spot in the bottom corner, might need a skim of filler. I used panel adhesive rather than spot welding, the stuff is expensive though. There are a couple older step by step guides I read on here that were very helpful, no pictures though. They should be easy to fid using the search.

My 2 regrets:
- Over thinking the job and stressing about it too much, it wasn't half as bad as I expected.
- Going to the gym and doing a shoulder workout 2 hours before doing the job. 45 minutes of hammer and dolly was like torture, lol.
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[chipflyer]

Nice work and great video Earl, where do you get your door skins?
Thanks,

Jeff

[ebfabman]

Thanks Jeff. The door skins I used on that video are tri-plus. Shop around to see who can give you the best deal. They seem to be fairly thick and fit pretty good.