The door skins are on my list as well, in fact, right after I finish my floor, and my firewall. The plan is to use panel adhesive around the edges where they are crimped, then just plug weld in the place where the factory did a pinch weld. Seems to me that the door skins are the ideal place for the adhesive.

 

Once you glue the sking on and bend the skin over the door frame, you will not need to get too crazy with the welder, with the door skin adhesive those bad boys will not be moving.

 

Panel adhesive used on mine too. Makes it nice and clean, and also a barrier to keep moisture away from between the skin and the frame

 

Is this something that could/should be attempted by someone (me) who is not good at body work at all?
Maybe Greg will post his, or somewhat of a guide when he gets to doing his?

 

Yes! I too am no good at body work at all, yet for some reason I persist in doing it. Don't worry man, it will get the same treatment as all my other adventures. I'm told that the door skins are one of the easier things to do.

 

Can't wait to see the adventure.

 

One suggestion for you guys getting ready to re-skin your doors. Once the old skin is off, the remaining door sheet metal tends to flex a little bit. When I reskined my doors, I did the usual hammer and dolly work to fold over the edges, but before I welded them up, I mounted the doors back on the car and made sure that the top and bottom rear edges of the door where straight with the rest of the rear quarter panel. You might be surprized how the doors can get a little "twist" in them. It's an easy fix to pull them back into place before welding them up.........but not afterwards! I am not sure how you would accomplish this using an adheasive.......but I have never used it so I don't know the dry time etc. The re-skin job was not that hard, and I have No experaince in body work what so ever.

 

It's not a difficult process, most of the work is in the prep. Remove the old skin, and clean the door frame well, you don't want any nasties hanging out between the frame and new sheetmetal. Once it's lined up well, and the glue is on, just start hammering. Do not try to fold the lip over all at once, just a few taps all the way around the door, and do this over and over until you are tight. There are door skin hammers that are nice, they give you a curved head to work with, and the head is shaped to hit the lip better. Also, a rubber dolly is recommended as these will not mar the outer skin. Good luck,
Dan

 

I use 3M 8115 panel adhesive. It takes an hour or so to set up, so there is some working time. I wouldn't do this on a hot day, because the glue will set up faster. Wear latex gloves because the glue will be messy. Here are some basic steps to glue door skins on:
Remove the trim panel, moldings, mirror, trim, glass, handle, etc.

Remove the door and place on a stand door skin side up.

Grind the front,lower and rear edge just enough to remove the portion of the skin that is crimped over.

Drill out any spot welds with an 8mm spot weld drill bit.

By now, the outer skin should start to loosen up. A wide,flat chisel and hammer may be needed to loosen it from the door frame.

After skin is removed, grind the surface where the panel will be touching the door frame, especially on the back side where the crimped edge will be. Hammer and dolly any wavy or bent areas on the door frame.

Dry fit the new skin and vise grip in place. Now is a good time to fit the door to the car. Some Novas have welded hinges, so it is critical that the skin is positioned correctly. Sometimes, I drill 1/8" holes for screws through the skin and door frame so positioning after gluing will be easier.

Remove the door, place on stand, remove the skin, use an acid brush to apply a thin coat of adhesive to all bare metal on the door frame. Apply a 3/16" bead of adhesive on the underside outer edge of the door skin. It is not necessary to grind the black coating off of the skin.

Place the skin back on the frame and secure with vise grips and screws. Use a body hammer and flat dolly to crimp the edge over. It is important to always hit the hammer where the dolly is so the skin is not damaged. If possible, place door back on car after crimping to make sure the skin is positioned correctly. If the door has twisted slightly, now is the time to remove the twist by placing a rubber hammer between the door and jamb. The rubber hammer will go where the door is in too far, and you will push where the door is out too far. After the door fits, leave it until the next day. This will give the adhesive plenty of time to dry.

Good luck!