Door panel resto- backyard style

[scenic760]

SirRobyn0 inspired me to try my hand at restoring my door panels as I was stripping the interior to send it to the paint shop. As he said in his thread, are they concourse restoration- no. Do they look 1000% better than what I had-yes. I didn't pay the gouge fee for Chinese plastic parts and I feel I learned something so the $100 I spent in parts combined with the, uhhhh well lets just say a few hours, vs the $800 it was going to cost for new is a wash to me...as my kids said when I asked them if I should have bought new and they said "It suits it."

 

[scenic760]

My original post got corrupted so I'll try to narrate the big parts...

I took JB Weld and stainless steel screws to replace missing posts.
I tried to recolor the carpet with Krylon Fusion but it didn't work so I replaced the carpet wit new from fabric store
I used SEM medium neutral as the panel color
I think the finished product looks pretty good, it's a custom color combination so I couldn't really order it anyways.
Would I do it again? Yeah, I probably would because I learned a lot.
Here is the finished product off the car

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[mibars]

It looks great!
How did you replace the fabric, did you cut the stiches out and re-sewn the plastic trim around?
I'm always afraid of painting plastic, is this paint tried and tested to have good adhesion?

 

[GTX63]

For every squarebody on marketplace with prime top shelf parts and a 45k selling price, there are 100 poor slobs like me that repurpose, and scrounge and pick the bones off the parts truck behind my pole barn. My shop has a dirt floor with no lift. I paint under a carport draped with plastic and use a garden hose to keep the dust down. I put a truck bed from an 81, with a square gas filler door, on a 74, which is supposed to have a round cap, oh my God!
Somehow, the poor slobs in my town must all be dullerts and blind, because when I take one of my squarebodies to town, I often get compliments about them.
I think your panels look great. Keep up the good work and you please you.

 

[scenic760]

It looks great!
How did you replace the fabric, did you cut the stiches out and re-sewn the plastic trim around?
I'm always afraid of painting plastic, is this paint tried and tested to have good adhesion?

With the fabric, I carefully cut the existing from the front...pulling the stiches didn't look to hard but I was afraid the sewing machine I have would be able to put it back. I think the fact I went with black helped a little with any imperfections around the perimeter.

I used the SEM Color Coat on my 2003 Suburban center console and it lasted 11 years with minimal rub off and zero discoloration. It's a good product

 

[WesN]

My original panel and it had turned to a shade of purple. Duplex interior paint in a rattle can just happened to match the original color. Very happy with the way it turned out.

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[SirRobyn0]

@scenic760 Lookin' good. Glad you found my thread inspiring!

 

[mibars]

Duplex interior paint in a rattle can

Is it Dupli-Color? Do you know the exact type/code of that paint? My panels especially in cargo area could take some renovation too and yours look great! How durable is that paint?

 

[Grit dog]

For every squarebody on marketplace with prime top shelf parts and a 45k selling price, there are 100 poor slobs like me that repurpose, and scrounge and pick the bones off the parts truck behind my pole barn. My shop has a dirt floor with no lift. I paint under a carport draped with plastic and use a garden hose to keep the dust down. I put a truck bed from an 81, with a square gas filler door, on a 74, which is supposed to have a round cap, oh my God!
Somehow, the poor slobs in my town must all be dullerts and blind, because when I take one of my squarebodies to town, I often get compliments about them.
I think your panels look great. Keep up the good work and you please you.

This is what it’s all about IMO. Anyone can flex their Visa card to level 10 and buy ALL new everything.
But not everyone can pull a Diamond out of a goats ass!

Was my goal when we re-did the blue truck. Sure I spent more than some and less than others. But in the end, I feel it was a good mix of value for the effort. And I sorta like “original” looking.
I re-used or found used pieces for most all the cab and trim stuff. To be fair I paid what I thought was a bit of a premium for the truck, partly because there was a lot of little stuff in good condition and serviceable that would have been serious $ to buy new. Could have easily spent another $1000-2000 just on interior bits and other little stuff. Like mirrors. They are a little scratched and a ding in one of them. But no one has ever said or likely even thought, “nice truck but wtf, that ding in the mirror just kills it for me. Looks horrible”.

Like the door panels. Coulda shoulda maybe painted them, but they were decent enough and the oxidation on the tops cleaned up nice with a heat gun. I repainted the door cards and bottom carpet pieces.
Used SEM. It’s held up great on the velour and carpet pieces and as well on a few select plastic pieces.
I haven’t done any big panels of plastic but everyone I’ve seen done looks good and appears to be very durable.

It’s all about what you got, what you are willing to spend and how creative and what you can learn or be proud of doing. IMO.

 

[Catbox]

Looks good dude.

 

[AZ Highlander]

This is what it’s all about IMO. Anyone can flex their Visa card to level 10 and buy ALL new everything.
But not everyone can pull a Diamond out of a goats ass!

Was my goal when we re-did the blue truck. Sure I spent more than some and less than others. But in the end, I feel it was a good mix of value for the effort. And I sorta like “original” looking.
I re-used or found used pieces for most all the cab and trim stuff. To be fair I paid what I thought was a bit of a premium for the truck, partly because there was a lot of little stuff in good condition and serviceable that would have been serious $ to buy new. Could have easily spent another $1000-2000 just on interior bits and other little stuff. Like mirrors. They are a little scratched and a ding in one of them. But no one has ever said or likely even thought, “nice truck but wtf, that ding in the mirror just kills it for me. Looks horrible”.

Like the door panels. Coulda shoulda maybe painted them, but they were decent enough and the oxidation on the tops cleaned up nice with a heat gun. I repainted the door cards and bottom carpet pieces.
Used SEM. It’s held up great on the velour and carpet pieces and as well on a few select plastic pieces.
I haven’t done any big panels of plastic but everyone I’ve seen done looks good and appears to be very durable.

It’s all about what you got, what you are willing to spend and how creative and what you can learn or be proud of doing. IMO.

Hey @Grit dog , you've got me curious now. Whats the process like to clean up oxidation on the panels with a heat gun? Are other tools used like a brush/cloth/plastic knife?
I'm hoping to take off the black spray paint from my door panels some day (saddle tan is showing through in the spots where the spray paint is flaking).
This thread is inspiring me to restore the interior on a budget.

 

[mibars]

Whats the process like to clean up oxidation on the panels with a heat gun? Are other tools used like a brush/cloth/plastic knife?

I guess it's done like this:

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[WesN]

Is it Dupli-Color? Do you know the exact type/code of that paint? My panels especially in cargo area could take some renovation too and yours look great! How durable is that paint?

Oh yes! The can was out in the garage and I forgot the true name.

 

[Grit dog]

Hey @Grit dog , you've got me curious now. Whats the process like to clean up oxidation on the panels with a heat gun? Are other tools used like a brush/cloth/plastic knife?
I'm hoping to take off the black spray paint from my door panels some day (saddle tan is showing through in the spots where the spray paint is flaking).
This thread is inspiring me to restore the interior on a budget.

^what he posted. Judicious use of a heat gun or torch.
It’s not “100%” like new but it’s easy and free and instant gratification.
Know, you’re not melting the plastic per se, but it looks like it and the oxidation vanishes, maybe 80%?

Idk about removing previous spray bomb application.

 

[AZ Highlander]

^what he posted. Judicious use of a heat gun or torch.
It’s not “100%” like new but it’s easy and free and instant gratification.
Know, you’re not melting the plastic per se, but it looks like it and the oxidation vanishes, maybe 80%?

Idk about removing previous spray bomb application.

I wonder if I can use a nylon brush on a grinder (or something similar). If there are brush marks after brushing off the paint, maybe the heatgun could smooth them out?