The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Door skin install

About to attempt a door full skin surgery replacement on a 70 C10. I am looking to ask:
What is the best way to roll over the edges to perform the spot/plug welds?
Tips? Tricks? Tools? Videos?

Thanks Bolters.

Eastwood sells a plier type tool for the flange, although most just use a hammer and dolly to fold the flange over.
Here's a video I just found.
I have not replaced a door skin, but had to grind and weld the edges on one of my doors.
Good luck.
Maybe Robert (MPandC) will weigh in. He's probably done a few.

Like Kevin said, hammer on the inside, dolly on the outside so you don’t add hammer marks to the skin. Slowly fold it over a little at a time, so you don’t stretch the metal more than needed and end up with a puckered inside flange.

As mentioned, there are plier type of tools to do the job. Astro also makes an air tool that makes the job a little faster.

That would be a cool tool, but what Stovebolter is working flat rate? Most of us already have a hammer and dolly, and don't need to spend $120 plus on a single use tool.
But then again, a guy can never have too many tools.

Believe it or not, I have found myself having to do more than one door skin in my life. Latest will be the skin for the deck lid on the Model A, when I get around to it. Doesn't mean I have bought the tool. But, it is nice to know that there are options out there, even if you don't exercise those options.

Most manufacturers of body hammers will have a door skin variety hammer, the one side is angled to fit around inner door obstacles. The opposite side is straight for when you don't have the obstructions. Either face has the "leading edges" in a radius so that you don't have to worry about the hammer face having sharp edges that would leave creases on the flange as it's folded.


[img]https://hosting.photobucket.com/alb...ration%20Album%202/.highres/HPIM6129.jpg[/img]


Note the dolly used is all but flat, here you need to keep the dolly tight to the skin at the point of the crease, to keep the fold a tight and crisp as possible. Even though the door skin may appear straight at the bottom there is indeed a crown and the dolly should stay tight to the part we're folding. Note in the following picture the flat dolly does not conform perfectly to the crown of the door. Here we want to ensure the dolly is touching at the point adjacent to your hammer strike on the flange.

[img]https://hosting.photobucket.com/alb...on%20Album%203/.highres/Picture004-1.jpg[/img]


You can finds all sorts of tools and gadgets to help out with the installation, here is the "Door Skinner".


[img]https://hosting.photobucket.com/alb...ration%20Album%202/.highres/HPIM6119.jpg[/img]


[img]https://hosting.photobucket.com/alb...ration%20Album%202/.highres/HPIM6120.jpg[/img]


There are attachments for air chisels, and the list goes on for the next thing since sliced bread for installing door skins. At the end of the day, I feel someone who does not do this every day should choose a slow and methodical method, ie: the door skin hammer and dolly, so you can closely watch and monitor the progress. Powered tools make short work of something, but if an alignment is off, they're also quicker to make a blunder. Lastly, I would suggest epoxy priming the inside of the door skin and entire inner door separately.


[img]https://hosting.photobucket.com/alb...tion%20Album%202/.highres/Picture331.jpg[/img]


Once paint is cured, assemble, fit to vehicle, and some slight twisting may be needed to get optimal matching of body profile. After tweaking to provide best fit, then do your plug welds. Now mix up some more epoxy primer and use a turkey baster or other similar device inside the door to seal the seam, both ends and bottom.

Body hammer and dolly it is. Thanks all. I appreciate it. Wish me luck!

That’s how I would do it! Really like the hammer in MP&C link.

I like it too, but the price at my tool store is $89! Yikes!

Here you go. Link
Probably good enough quality to take care of a door or two.
You Canuks have a Harbor Freight look-alike, right? Isn't that Canadian Tire?
[on edit] Yep. Here you go. Link

Thanks Kevin. That’s much better, but I just received news that I will be compensated for a criminal breaking into my diesel 18 months ago, so I am putting the cash toward the pneumatic one!! I will keep everyone posted on how that baby works. I may use it again, but I may not. There are a couple guys I know locally who wrench quite a bit and they might find it useful too.