On another project I've done, I used some flat hard aluminum and epoxied it to the inside of a panel. Gone now, but there was a Boeing Surplus store in Renton, WA that you could buy stuff like that by the pound. Lots of neat stuff like various grades of aluminum, titanium... You could use flat bar steel just as well. It worked well for me because it is in a place that doesn't show. Though I wouldn't call it a professional fix, it does work.
Dennis
