I'm trying to decide if I want to skin the drivers door to my '67. When I stripped it, I found some old damage, the worst down low to the back and some below the door handle. Not real ugly but it will need a good coat again to get it flat. Plus I need to do a little rust repair at the lower rear corner, which is in some of the damage anyhow.

I've read Martinsr's basics of door skin installation and found it very informative, and I am pretty sure I am up to the task (I haven't skinned a door yet).

My question is in general how bad is bad enough to justify putting a skin on? The conclusion I am drawing based on what I have heard about repo fenders and some of the other reproduction panels out there that you are better off putting the time into fixing what you have, but I am not sure in the case of door skins.

What is everyones opinion on this?

Thanks a bunch,
Steve

Without seeing the damage its hard to say skin the door or not. If you dont have the right tools or knowledge to skin a door you can end up with the same amont of mud in the door as you would if you repaired it. the way I see it you got three problem areas. One even needs a patch. Since you need to weld in a patch how good is your welding skills? How about metal finsihing can you get those dents out?

Not trying to say skinning a door is cake walk but if your body skills are less then par then you might want to consider the skin. Eventho it takes some welding to install a skin it doesnt tke the skill of doing a patch

I replaced both door skins on my 70 and they look great, both were goodmark panels. My 70 velle has more goodmark parts on it then the goodmark giveaway car and Ive yet to have any problems with their sheetmetal.

If you follow Martin's guide lines on the skin install you will do fine. That door has 2 major body lines that will help you position the door skin so you wont get it out of place...Eric

Well, I have done a fair amount of patch work in other areas of the car allready, made the same rust repair on the other door. My metal bumping skills are far from perfect however but I am learning. I believe I could repair this door but it's starting to seem like the logical path is going to be skin it. One of my major worries would be about alignment but if you think that won't be a big deal that makes me feel better about it.

Anybody have any experiences with the Goodmark skins for a '67?

One thing Ive ive done in past to make sure that the skin is right, after removing the skin from the shell, reinstall the door to the car body. You should be able to get the door in its proper position going off the paint marks on the hinges. Once installed hang the skin on the shell, but dont glue it or weld in place yet, all you want to do is check that the skin will fit right. Once you know it will fit right go ahead and remove skin and prep it for glue or welding. Once prepped glue the skin in place and clamp it down with several clamps. Once you have enough clamps to hold the skin in place, remove the door from body. Now you can continue to clamp skin, bend over lip and weld skin to door.

Skin it is, I ordered a Goodmark skin today, and the door skin hammer and rubber dolly. I'm going to pick up 3M #8115 glue that I read you use from an old post. Now my problem is that there is no trace of paint to guide me with re-aligning the door if need be, the rest of the car is in primer and the door shell is stripped and the hinges are off. Any suggestions? I also read that you like to glue and clamp the skin let it cure and then fold the edge, do you still use that method? It sounds like a good idea.

Thanks for all the help,
Steve

Steve, the only time I hang the door and then install skin is when I had some light door shell damage or I have no body lines to go by. Its easier to check and readjust the frame without the skin on, if I just glued the skin on then worried about aglinment I might get F***ed. I did a new caddy skin once, learned the hard way pretty fast :mad:

BUt as long as you dont have frame damage you shouldnt need to install door then skin.

Those body lines will aid in getting the skin on the frame. Since you have 2 lines it will be darm impossible to misalgin them. All you need to do is fit the lines on the skin to the lines on the door frame. If you have the skin too high or too low you WILL be able to see it by looking at the lines from the skin to the shell as they wont match up.

I do like 3M 8115 for skins, 3M makes a door skin glue but I believe its cure time or work time is like 10-15 mins, were the 8115 is around 45 if memory serves me right. I do like to allow the glue to cure before I bend over the lip, is it needed not really, just I feel I get a better and easier job of going that way. The cured glue holds the skin tightly to the frame, even without cured glue Ive found that glueing skins produces a better finsih then when not glued.

Now keep in mind working at a production shop allowing the glue to cure first sometimes isnt an option. When I did my 70 skins last winter or so, one skin i allowed it to cure the other I bent right over. The skin I bent right over needed some very slight metal work and just a hair thickness of filler to smooth out. The cured glue skin still needed some metal work but not as much and needed no filler to smooth out.

Does it really make a difference I dont know, who knows I could have gotten abit rammier on the one skin and not the other skin. :confused: But what really makes the diff is using a set of hammers and dollies that match the shape of the door frame as closely as you can get. Using something that doesnt match will bend the skin and frame into a unwanted shape