The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Rusted door bottom

This photo is the drivers door from my 68 C-20. The inner door bottom is rusted away.The door was replaced at one time as the rest of the truck is really rust free.Since this is a work truck,I was going to weld in some metal to make it solid. The rest of the door and outer skin is nice ,no dents and it fits well on the truck.Have any of you used the door bottom patch panels? Do they fit well for the $30?Or should I just go ahead slap in some sheet metal?Notice, I was smart enough to weld in a brace to hold the outer skin in position before the rusted metal was cut away.I actually learned from my past screw ups. [img]http://pstr-m01.ygpweb.aol.com/data/00B/0F/03/64/A9/JwCfJ2t83I2CXWUVQ+PYiSulUWf-76ze0180.jpg[/img]

Tony,
This area on the doors of my 59 were in no way as bad as what you have here. After chemical dip I ended up with lots of pin holes and a few thin areas in the metal. I had a body shop do my work and they suggested using the repair panels instead of repairing what we had. They used the panels on both doors and had no trouble with them that I know of. The finished job looks as good as new.
Bruce

Tony,
I put inner and outer repair panels on both doors of my '66. The whole bottoms of my doors were rotted out.

I got my panels from LMC Truck. They were good quality heavy guage metal but did not have as good a fit as I would have liked. I decided to rivet my panels in since I do not have a MIG. Most of the bends where not as sharp as they needed to be and the inner panel fit best by laying on top of the existing metal. I now have a "lip" on the lower part of my door but I intend to put carpeted door panels on that will hide them. The outer panel fit better and I crimped the lower edge and sides over the top of the inner panel like the doors were originally made. You can tell the outer panel has been put on but on this truck it doesn't matter. The arc or curve of the panel was not the same as the door.

I sanded, triple etched and painted the insides of my doors since I had all the guts out. I also sprayed undercoating in them. I was only able to do this since i was riveting my patches on. If you do buy the inner patch panel be sure to do the following:

1. Clean all the oil off of the panels. Cut them down to only what you need. They come with twice as much as most repairs require.
2. Etch, paint and "undercoat" it before assembly if you don't weld it on.
3. The panels do not come with drain holes cut in them. Be sure to cut two in at the bottom.
4. You will need to pry open the bottom and side seams of your outer panels. Clean all the rust out and prep the metal. Put a sealer(caulk) in the edge joints before you hammer them shut.
5. I did not spot weld the edge joints in case I need to replace either panel again.

That's my experience. Use what you can and ignore the rest.

BigMac

Regardless of how you resurrect your door panel, here's a suggestion for helping save all that blood, sweat & investment:
Take some bulk Zero Rust, thin to suit yourself and pour it into the door cavity, rolling the door around to put the ZR in contact with every nook & cranny, pinch welds, new welding beads and patched metal material possible, and then pour off the balance into a catch basin for reuse.
Read John Milliman's ZR review right here on your stovebolt website for his comments on its ease of use.
If you will review our website, we point many advantages our coatings bring to the table, including NO ISOCYANATES, which many DIYer's are becoming aware are nothing to risk your life/health on.
HTH
WK Irish

Irish, I have a quart of Zero Rust here. I preppred a spot on the frame on newer daily driver truck. One side is zero Rust, the other side is Miracle paint from Bill Hirsch, which I believe is similar to Por 15.Give it a look in the spring after a winter of road salt.I used the Zero rust on the frame of one of my old trucks and it looks nice. might be no cyanide but it still stinks like you should be using a respirator.In the past I have used the Hirsch product with excellent results.

Tony:
You bring up a vital point regarding the VOC's that you smell, whether its from Zero Rust or any other paint product. When using any of them, you are well advised to use adequate protective devices.
This is particularly true of the moisture cured urethanes, which contain Isocyanate derivatives.
Please read the article by Rebecca Vaughn found at the bottom of our contribution to your Stovebolt Techtips and found here: http://www.stovebolt.com/truck/techtips/rust/zerorust.htm as it helps makes light of the dangers that many DIYer's need to become much more aware of.
HTH
WK Irish