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Repairing GM factory door panels

brans87

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image.jpg How would I go about fixing my original door panels?

Also going to see if interior guy at work can recover armrest, recover cloth insert and maybe fix stretched pockets for door panels. I just would hate to get aftermarket parts that fit like crap. Also going to repaint them as I have done most parts in the cab area.

Any tips before begin this adventure of refrubing door panels?

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OK so I thought about what I had in the garage I could fix this with, So I scuffed it up with 80 grit sand paper wiped down with some prep cleaner and taped top side off. Next I grabbed what I had laying around some DuraGlas body filler so mixed it up spread it out waited 20 mins and started to sand. Sweet actually worked for me!!!! So when either I get arm rest recovered or new ones (hoping can save factory ones) I will put some white out/paint on tip of bolt and lay down to see where I should drill my new hole.

Just wanted to share my fix with you guys!
 
That is good information!
But would you have been able to use a piece of tin or steel to make a backing plate?
Granted, I would probably use something to glue it to the backside as well.
 
DuraGlass gets hard super quick so no need for backing plate in my opinion.
 
Oh, I know about dura-glass, used it before.
I was just thinking of other ways. Not that you did it wrong.
 
Hit up you local junk yard. These doors are all over the place. Shouldn't be hard to find a panel in decent shape.
 
Around here they are hard to find. Either torn up,busted or damaged some of some sort.
 
If your lucky enough to spot one square body in a local boneyard here--your lucky if it has any doors on it period,and if there is,its because that bottom 6" is missing,salted right off,or its stoved in...and the interior is usually either trashed form years of neglect,or "work truck" abuse,,mildewed,etc,or some gorilla has ripped the door panels right off and ruined them,just to gain access to a window regulator..

Unfortunately most of what I've seen for aftermarket replacement dashes,arm rests,etc,are pretty cheesy and nowhere near the OEM quality GM ones were...not cheap either..

Interior repairs are getting insane--you used to be able to get a seat re-covered locally for under 100 bucks,unless you wanted some fancy tuck & roll job...now they want 300-500 bucks to do a bench seat..when I asked how much for a new headliner for an El-Camino I owned many years ago,I was quoted 400 bucks...or if I wanted the original one glued back in place (it was still in decent shape,no rot or rips),the price was 125 bucks...

I decided to buy some 3M spray adhesive,some thumb tacks,and used a few slats from old window blinds painted silver,across the headliner,stuffed into the plastic trim panels,to keep it from drooping down onto my head when I'd go down the highway with the windows open..for under 15 bucks it looked good enough for me..another truck I had,I used that aluminum bubble wrap insulation for a headliner,I spray glued it right to the roof,and it actually looked pretty good..

I'd like to find a decent seat for my truck--the few I've found in junkyards that would fit always have a ripped drivers side just like mine is,some foam missing,and most look like 500 lb sumo wrestler sat on it for 300,000 miles..even just a "restorable" seat with just springs left are in demand ,you just dont see many around..

--I can live with mine as is,the "saddle blanket" seat cover is starting to deteriorate though,and even one of those things now cost 35-50 bucks..only one place locally stocks one,a Pep Boys,and it seems pretty thin and fragile compared to the one in the truck,which feels more like a burlap sack as far as the fabric durability..

Every time I hit up a salvage yard I hope to see a seat cover like mine in decent shape I could snag cheap,but more than once a otherwise nice one I found was used to wipe off greasy hands,or had an engine block lying on the seat,or someone used it to lie under a vehicle ..:mad:.
 
So you guys are leading me to believe that I could sell some of my stash? ???

Maybe I should get busy. ...
 
So you guys are leading me to believe that I could sell some of my stash? ???

Maybe I should get busy. ...

Seriously. I couldn't find any OEM door panels on ebay when I looked. I think you can get good money for lots of this type of stuff. I agree with diesel4me. Even here in the desert, these trucks just aren't there in the yards anymore and the aftermarket stuff is not good and too $$ anyway. I ended up just repainting my panels and leaving holes where some old cosmetic nonsense used to mount. It looks clean enough for my purposes. That SEM stuff is awesome BTW.
 
I used to mix that SEM dye daily at one parts store I worked at..it does work better than most others,like Mar-Hyde (second place winner)--I grew to hate the smell of SEM though--at first I liked it,and it'd give you one hell of a buzz after you inhaled the fumes just having an open can of it on the scale !--but afterwards you'd get a migraine,or a stomach ache...after awhile just the smell of it nauseated me..

I used that SEM to dye some "buckskin" panels for my '72 K5 black,those were all that were available from a dealer after my doors were stolen off it in 1984...they got one from OK,and one in GA,the last two remaining supposedly...could only get one "Cheyenne" patterned one,the other was the basic style...the SEM worked great on the door panels,but the seats and arm rests eventually wore off ,letting the tan show through,and had to be done over again about a year later...

I have not tried any of the new "Fusion" or Rustoleum spray bombs intended for plastics,not sure how well they work or hold up...so much of what I knew about auto paints and body supplies has changed since the 90's,most of it is "obsolete" and kind of useless advice now..:doah:..
 
I used the SEM rattle can stuff on my '72.
I liked how it turned out, butit has only been on a year, so no durability test here.

Now if I only had some mint condition door panels. .... $$$$
 
Carb/Throttle body cleaner will clean up the cloth in a jiffy! Worked at a Chevy dealer and they always used it when a mechanic got any grease inside a customer's vehicle interior. Works great!
 

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