Skinning a door?

[LynnBob 65 Mustang]

How hard is it to skin a door with repop skin? '65 exactly.
Most of you guys know what I've already done in my '65 coupe build thread, so this is just a new venture.
Any tips, tools, and pics of it done would be great.
Thanks,
Lynn

[Caper50]

Lynn, to remove the old skin use disk sander or mini grinder and carefully run the disk back and forth along the edge of the door. You are only going to grind thru the sheet metal that wraps around your door frame. Check the window opening area for a couple of spot welds, cut thru them with your grinder. The skin is also usually bonded to a reinforcement that is inside your door, you can pry the skin from that.

Once you get the main hunk of metal off your door you are going to remove the little strip of metal that is spot welded all around the inside edge of the frame. Use a small sharp chisel and take your time or just grind thru the spot welds and pull the strip off with a pair of pliers.

Clean up the inside edge of the door frame, remove only enough paint to tack weld your new skin and shoot some weld thru primer on that edge.

Take the door and turn it skin side up, I usually put some adhesive caulk on the door reinforcement this will work to bond the skin. Lay your new skin on, have a look at the fit. I usually clamp on a couple of small pairs of clamps to hold the skin while I start the hammer and dolly work to begin to fold the edge around the door frame. Use softeners on the outside of the skin to prevent damage. No need for excessive force while clamping. Start at the bottom of the panel with your dolly on the skin side of the door and begin to gently start to hammer the flange over the door frame...go slow...don't try to flatten it all at once...work your way back and forth along the door edge gradually rolling the flange in place. Don't hit the flange too hard or you'll end up with dents from the dolly block(I use a toe dolly). Once this edge is done start the other 2 edges, same technique...back and forth until the edge is complete. If you want you can "set" each door edge flange just in the middle of each side to hold the skin in place as well. After you have the hammer and dolly work done put the door back on the car and align it with the fender and quarter. If you need to you can move the skin with a flat bar. When you are sure it's where you want it you can begin to put some tack welds in place. You generally only need a few on each side.

Sand the inside edge of the flange and door frame and prime and put a thin bead of seam sealer (optional) around the edge of the skin.

That's the old way of doing it, Eastwood now has this tool.

http://www.eastwood.com/skin-zipper-...ning-tool.html

Here's a youtube video as a guide as well.

You Tube

You Tube

[mike65]

+1 what Caper50 said It took me a couple days working 1-3 hours a day to do it. Not that hard it just takes some patience.
Mike.

[actionjackson]

the skin zipper is AWESOME! I used MMM panel adhesive and then folded the lip over. It took like 15 minutes. put the shell on the car and tweaked it before the bond set up.

[sixtysevenGTconv]

When I needed my orig lh door re-skinned, my body shop guy told me they now use adhesive (as mentioned above) to put skins on. He said that's how most new cars are built today. Also gives you a complete bond and seals the seams and gives no place for water to sit unlike a factory welded door. That in part is what caused the rusting.

[Caper50]

I agree with the use of panel adhesive, I figure for a first timer doing it by themselves they'd have less pressure to get the door back on and aligned before the adhesive begins to set up.

[LynnBob 65 Mustang]

Thanks for the info!!
It doesn't seem to hard to do.
So your saying to put the panel adhesive inside the joint before it is folded over?
Lynn

[Caper50]

So your saying to put the panel adhesive inside the joint before it is folded over?

Yes, if that's what you are going with. Looks like $75 for the adhesive and the applicator gun. Also don't forget to put some urethane adhesive on that inner beam (intrusion beam) that runs across the middle of your door frame. Also the literature says the cure or dry time is 90 to 120 min.

[xcelr8]

I'll need to do this as well. Do I need to take my entire door glass and all that jazz out, or can the door be re-skinned with all the guts intact?

[actionjackson]

well, it is better to remove all the guts, as normally you would clean-sandblast-prime the inner structure before installing the new skin.

[JohnnyK]

I have never used it for this particular purpose, but Maxim/evercoat should sell one that fits into a standard caulking gun. Not sure if they do, but they should. I can't remember which one I used from them for some various parts.

But yes, panel adhesive would be the way to go. Just remember there is no redrilling it to realign!

[Caper50]

You will need to remove the vent window for sure because you'll have to get access to these spot welds.



You have to get some urethane between this brace/re-inforcement and the skin as well.

[mjb1032]

Keep in mind that new skins may not come with the vent-window bolt hole.
Here are the two halves of a 68 door.
The tab with a threaded hole (on the skin) needs to be transfered.

I'm not sure on 65's...but you may want to check.

[BIGRED]

I did one in about 3-4 hours. I am a body man but it was also one of the first mustang ones ive done.

[66Restomod]

Here are pictures and info from when we skinned the 66 door:
New Door Skin

Pretty easy to do. We did not take the window out.