Cab door reskin -tips and advice please

Well , having had Florence a few years now, as i promised when i bought her, leave her a few years let the rust show through then i know where to start to learn body work skills, in the mean time i have fettled the mechanical side of things to a stage i am happy with her.

So by chance a couple of cab doors came up on ebay very close to where i live described as "2 cab doors , both need work" 30 quid and a quick drive to collect meant i ended up with 2 cab door that the seller was so honest with me he said"i had them given ,the chap said i either took them or there of for scrap". One of them really is only fit for scrap and perhaps i can use to salvage a few bits of original metal from to make any patches i may need
I intended to use them to simply put on my van for overnight security whilst i repaired my original doors but i think the nearside door might be just good enough for me to try to repair it or at least have a practice on , to that extent i have just ordered a new full door skin and a bottom repair panel from Schofields.
I have a basic Clarks gas mig welder and practiced on a few patches in the van here and there so i at least know hoe to turn the welder on ,I have bought a cheap import set of hammers with some sort of forming tools, i have a joggler (oooh look at me ) quite a decent array of tools and a garage freshly cleaned out ready for the assault upon the door
So whats the procedure, how do i remove the old skin , how do i attached a new skin, i am aware there will be a bit of welding to do , but is it all welding or some gluing and hammering .

Is there a thread with such a procedure on (i cant find one unless there a section hidden in a long thread)

i look forwards to any help and advice, i will post pics a little later when i get chance

 

page 3 of restorations Womballs Daisey around page 11 ish

 

As above I ordered a door skin from schofields and it arrived Tuesday fantastically packaged and well protected , unfortunately upon opening the parcel I found it to be damaged .
A quick call to them revealed a very opologetic customer service who promised to send out another as soon as possible.
I received the new skin today as promised in equally good packaging and fortunately in good order with no damage

Can I publicly thank A H Schofields for such excellent customer service with a smile, it certainly inspires a return visit to order goods in the future . Thank you

Now the difficult bit starts for me to start the process of fitting it

 

Carefully grind along the bottom and the front back edges, the skin should then be loose on the door. Mark where the top of the new skin will join the door and cut just below this line, the old skin should now fall off. Dress the edges and carry out any repairs to the door frame. Line up the new skin onto the door and dress it along the top where the old one was cut off. Tack both sides at the top and then carefully fold it around the edges with a skinning tool. Finish welding the top and hey presto job done.

 

You also need to remove and refit the strengthening bars..

 

Above all noted . Not sure what it means though . It will probably mean more once I start.... but it's got damned cold in the garage

 

Once you've got the old skin off, the fun will begin! Will you be plug welding or spot welding the edges?

 

http://www.thelatebay.com/index.php?threads/womballs-74-project-daisy.19502/
As said page 11

 

[QUOTI'Flakey, post: 1230366, member: 2456"]http://www.thelatebay.com/index.php?threads/womballs-74-project-daisy.19502/
As said page 11[/QUOTE]
Hi . Ive read the post and a separate one specifically created by him on repairing doors. Very informative . I hope to start mine over the next week or so .

 

well i had a spare hour yesterday so i thought i would attack the door, i had quite an enjoyable hour, this is what i started with , remember i bought these doors just cause they were for sale nearby and i need practice before i perhaps i work on my real door




I drilled a few small holes from he inside of the door in order that i could draw a grid on the outside in order that i could cut the skin into sections without cutting the supporting H frame inside

 

After carefully cutting the skin into the main sections most of it just dropped off either due to rust of that the adhesive had aged and lost its bond , i managed to avoidd any important bits on the inside , more by good luck than management for example in the above picture, i just nicked the lock mechanism housing with my grinder, i didn't realise it was there

Unfortunately i did nick the inner frame close to the front near he bulge line , but nothing too desperate, i see it as a chance to have a go at patching it up see below picture


Another place to be wary of is the area where the mirror fits , below pic is the best i got but it can be seen in the top leaft of the pic, yu may just work out that i also cut the supporting bar just below it also


With most of the skin removed i was left with the edges to be removed and carefull grinding and pulling removed that without causing much damage at all
One area that confused me and i still don't know if i have cut too much or too little out , is the area where the window scraper fits. The skin there is attached to the H frame and getting my head around what to cut was a little beyond me as it was getting late and my ears were ringing with the noise and i didn't want to annoy the neighbours sp i left it for the night , i think it will pay dividends in day to come

Having stripped it first impressions were that i was wasting my time s it appeared so bad but afer having cleared most of the loose rusrt from he bad areas i got a view of where the rot starts nd ends, likewise the inner bits look rusty but thats just surface rust and solid as a rock which will fettle up realy well ( i hope)

 

devil hates a coward good job

 

If it's the same panel I got from Schofields it doesn't cover that corner, had to make that bit myself. Would have been easier to get accurate with the skin still on!

 

This picture shows a replacement panel from schofields that fits the area jst below where it sits but i am not sure if i will use it and perhaps have a go at patching a piece in , again just tp practice my welding skills


This is a picture of the area that goes into the step , a bit of a mess ,Does anyone have a picture of one in a good state for reference for me to work to , i am not sure if the piece to the top right is a part of the skin as i suspect , or part of the door body?


this boring shot is of the metal i cut out , saved, its solid rust free 40 year old "german quality" steel i intend to use it perhaps for patches , or is that being a little too tight , i dont think so


This picture shows the stripped door, looking towards the top right side of tyhe door , the curves are very complex , not only do they ..... curve but the metal is also twisted and slopes at various angles, by design. i am scared of cutting into it and loosing the slopes and curves etc
I have considered a solution , i am thinking of making a removable paper mache mould of the inside of the door in that area so that when i cut the metal i will have the template of the paper mould to work to
does that make sence , does it seem like a good idea?

 

i agree , but i am too late with that , too hasty i feel , but its a learning curve for me

 

this link SHOULD link to a photo album of pictures i took
http://s838.photobucket.com/user/brianasmith/slideshow/CAMPERVAN/VW T2 DOOR REPAIR

 

use new metal

 

here s mine


#
slider too

here fitted