swapping door skins??? [Archive] - Chevelle Tech

: swapping door skins???


red2rider
Oct 25th, 01, 6:46 PM
Can i swap a door skin from one door to another door without too much difficulty?
I mean grinding out the welds and opening the skin up and closing it up on the new frame without distorting it to where it's not worth using.
I know how to take the old skin off by grinding it loose at the crease. But the other skin needs to have the welds cut and then opened and closed again.
Should I by the Eastwood tool to dothis? or can it be done with home tools?
I've replaced quarters and paint all the time, but this is the first door skin swap I've done.

micky69396
Oct 26th, 01, 10:10 AM
Why not use the whole door instead of taking a skin off of it?

red2rider
Oct 26th, 01, 5:24 PM
Because the donor doors were gutted for a drag car.!

70isfine
Oct 27th, 01, 7:10 AM
I'd but the repro skin for $125 or so and put that on.I think it would be nearly impossible to remove without damaging.They rust from the inside out so unless its perfect i would put a new skin on.

sevt_chevelle
Oct 27th, 01, 1:19 PM
Red, I've tried to swap door skins before and is nearly impossible to do. When bending the skin over to remove it it tends to buckle the skin around the door frame. Why not just buy a repro skin, I put two on my 70 and they fit and look great. One trick I learned about putting on door skins is, go buy some 3M door skin bonding glue and glue the skin to the frame and clamp it down all the way around it. Let the glue sit over night then come back and use a rubber dolly and hammer to bend over the edge of the skin. If you just bend over the edge without any glue, the skin around the frame tends to get ripples in it due to the skin bouncing up and down on the frame. The glue forms a tight bond and prevents that.

Good luck with your project...Eric