jasoncrashtech

OK, first off i had two doors to skin and they needed to be in the paint shop shortly after lunch. 8am so i had to get started.



take door panel off, cut the water proof tape (it has many names) so you can use it again. cover the remaining tape on the shell with masking tape to keep from making a mess.



front door had a different design. weird but not a big deal. remove handles , glass , moldings , speakers and so on.





before you cut the original skin off try to push the dent out as much as possible. you want the shell to have its correct shape, then start with the edge of the door skin.



grind the edge with out grinding the shell. wear glasses or something getting metal in your eye sucks , causes scaring and removing the rust ring sucks too



the idea is not to bend the shell either so dont go crazy. a thin chisel is handy









sh@#y pic sorry, the moldings are getting replaced so i left them on. no need to remove them.

the shell must be clean of old paint and metal bond, grind it off til fresh clean metal with 40grit. im using 3m metal bond. (i use 3m or fusor both are good) metal bond has its own corrosion protection and its made for the use of direct metal contact and dry's in the absence of air. its a two part product with a short time table of one hour and with two door skins two finish... well .... you get the idea.





you also don't want the door to rattle so i use a sealant across the intrusion beam and all braces on the inside so you dont hear the metal tapping when you open and shut the door.

a generous bead along the shell flange, just enough for a small amount of bond to squeeze out when i fold the new skins over.





ain't that a bitch !! new panels poorly packed and damaged, no time, i need to fix them.

i scuff and clean the inside of the new skins, hook them over the shell flange and lower them to the correct belt line. i fasten a few clamps in covered areas to keep the skins in the fixed correct position and now im ready to start folding the skins over.

this is the part where you need to be careful. i have two different door skin tools that i use but they are very aggressive, so i will tell you the old school way first.

1. door skin hammer
2. door skin dolly or hockey puck or any kind of rubber dolly that somewhat firm

i couldn't get pictures of this important part of the repair because of the time frame. i will come back and edit in the future so im sorry. go around the whole door skin with a somewhat light strike with the hammer while the skin dolly is under where your hitting. go around the skin 2 to 3 times in this process don't do it all at once. it should look like this



i always test fit before i give to the paint shop













apply seam sealer before paint put the guts back in the door. check to make sure everything works correctly

Hidenplanvew

I dont know if you showed or need to cut the skin on those, but cutting at a spot that can be hidden easy. Other then that looks good, you paint too or just body work?

jasoncrashtech

The estimate was for door skin replacement the damage was all the way across the bottem, it was a faster repair to replace the skins. Sudaru is the only car company that doesnt sell door skins.

Hidenplanvew

Right on, its a good write up non the less.


You like the 3M stuff more? I usally use Fuser but I hate the smell so wouldnt mind trying something diffrent

Eg->sean

I am currently looking in to getting my car painted. The front door looks like it has been previously repaired with poor workmanship, a lot of body filler. I want to replace the door skin. About how much should bodyshop charge me to install one, if I provide the skin? Just install it, not to paint.