Makes me wonder if the repop guys used some process of taking an actual door sample and tried to take an impression and used that to make a mask to etch a roller.
But somewhere along the process they made a negative and just went with it rather than trying again.
Try approaching a steel mill (not a fabricator, a mill that produces raw sheet steel). Tell them you want custom grained auto stamping quality sheet steel. Last I heard minimum order is like a box car load. Then you could get into working with them to get a custom roll that's used for rolling to size.
I looked at the grain on my fridge. It is not as tight as the original Ford, but is very close. Much closer than the re-pops. Someone is making this steel, and I would guess that others do as well. There is a supply of grained steel out there, it just has to be found. I was thinking of using old fridge panels as patches.
I looked at the grain on my fridge. It is not as tight as the original Ford, but is very close. Much closer than the re-pops. Someone is making this steel, and I would guess that others do as well. There is a supply of grained steel out there, it just has to be found. I was thinking of using old fridge panels as patches.
Steel mills have grained sheet steel, the trick is to have enough demand to get custom grain. Just a wild guess. Some very high users like Ford was and like GE appliance may have custom rolls that are only for them.
Yes, I agree our fridge grain is closer to the Ford grain than at least the posted pics of the repops.
Slim
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My '64 1/2 vert. Ordered May '64. D code 4 speed, handling package, caspian blue, accent group, Ford blue manual top. Regretfully sold in '66 for larger car.
'68 vert. driver. Owned since '77. C code AT, AC, PS, P disc B, PT lime gold, standard black interior and top. NOS RF fender and left quarter.New top and folding glass.
I put on an oem replacement drivers door on my car and I'm so paranoid about rubbing on the very nice grain that if I want to put my arm out the window on a drive, I make sure the window is not fully rolled down so my arm rests on the window, not the grain.
Yep, my '65 is pushing 300k, 200k of which was spent with my arm on the door, and the grain looks great. Sloppy sanding and paintwork are the culprits behind missing grain, not your arm.
Funny, the original doors on my 66 didn't even match each other. One was deeply grained, the other very smooth. I have seen repro doors that looked very close to original, so I guess they are not all the same.
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Amateur restorer. (Well, once in a while I have been paid for it)
Funny, the original doors on my 66 didn't even match each other. One was deeply grained, the other very smooth. I have seen repro doors that looked very close to original, ...
When the car was NEW? If someone ever got hold of your "very smooth" door with a D/A sander, that explains that!
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