Daves69Coupe 10 Report post Posted March 24, 2010 So i decided im driving over to harbor freight today and purchasing the door skin removal tool so I can take off the skins tonite. Any advice is appreciated. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jmlay 80 Report post Posted March 24, 2010 Why spend the money? All you need to do is sand/grind the edge of the door skin until you can see the edge of the door then separate the 2. Lastly rill the spot welds that hold the thin strip remaining on the inside, or use an air hammer to remove it. Mike Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daves69Coupe 10 Report post Posted March 24, 2010 well the tools only 8 bucks so isnt to big a deal, sanding and grindning would probaly take longer too. Thought there wasnt any welds? Theres spot welds? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
70Mach 10 Report post Posted March 24, 2010 Make sure when you put the new skin on you have the door frame absolutely square or you'll end up with a twisted door. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daves69Coupe 10 Report post Posted March 24, 2010 is there any spot welds ill have to remove? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flight96 14 Report post Posted March 24, 2010 Yes there are spot welds....All along inside the door edge. You will still need to grind those down. Running a grinder along the edge to take the skin off takes very little time. Save the 8 bucks and the time going out to get the tool. In the time it takes to go get the tool the skins could be off !! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daves69Coupe 10 Report post Posted March 24, 2010 got the tool at lunch, gona grind it down first later. Ill make sure to post detailed pics and instructions Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daves69Coupe 10 Report post Posted March 25, 2010 so I removed 1 door skin last night, the crimper tool i bought was a great investment. Went pretty quick, the only thing that was a pain was the spot welds on the top of the door. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daves69Coupe 10 Report post Posted March 25, 2010 How did u spot weld the top of the new door skin? Not much room to work with. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
unfrozen1969 11 Report post Posted March 25, 2010 Keep posting pixs, as I will being do the same thing this Spring... Bill from Canada Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daves69Coupe 10 Report post Posted March 25, 2010 you got it, ill be taking more step by step pix when i do the other door. Since ive done one already. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DRASTiK 22 Report post Posted March 25, 2010 You're one step ahead of me. I have my driver door skin off, but haven't put the new one back on yet. It's been sitting in the garage for two weeks waiting for me to get time to work on it... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BuckeyeDemon 211 Report post Posted March 26, 2010 how did you prepare your old door frame for the new skin? did you punch holes in the new skin so you can plug weld it back in? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daves69Coupe 10 Report post Posted March 26, 2010 havent dont that yet. Just removing the skins for now. Waiting for new ones to come in Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BuckeyeDemon 211 Report post Posted March 26, 2010 after removing my skins (i just used the grinder method), i then media blasted the door frames. they both turned to swiss cheese. :eek: thus i have two new door skins laying in the attack. that was just my experience, when i thought i had good frames... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
klevor 10 Report post Posted March 26, 2010 Dave how did you remove the spot wells on the top of the door frame again please. I have been sitting on this project for years due to lack of time. Thanks for the inspiration. The top of the door the way it looks looks kinda hairy to remove and attach. Are you gonna glue the skins back in or weld it? Thanks good show. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daves69Coupe 10 Report post Posted March 26, 2010 the only way we were able to remove the spot welds on the top of the door was to basically hammer and chisel the spot welds. No way ur getting a drill or anything else in there. As far as re-attaching the new skins, I havent done it yet but once i do it I will post pics and the steps i took. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BuckeyeDemon 211 Report post Posted March 26, 2010 if you slice the skin off near the top, you can easily access the four or so spot welds that connect the brackets to the frame. i think there were two per bracket. the skins come with the top channel that the felt connects too. either drill out the spot welds then or use a grinder to knock the metal down. a hammer and chisel doesn't sounds like a good way to tear up metal that you need. if you haven't got the skins yet, then when you do you will see that removing the skin should take about 10 minutes total. the "skin" contains more metal than just a single piece of steel. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Len69Coupe 33 Report post Posted March 28, 2010 (edited) So why did you decide against the corner patches? My door will look that the first pic once I cut out the rust and wondering why you went with a skin. Edited March 28, 2010 by LFugate More info! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1952 10 Report post Posted March 28, 2010 so I removed 1 door skin last night, the crimper tool i bought was a great investment. Went pretty quick, the only thing that was a pain was the spot welds on the top of the door. Now that your door skin is off would be a good time to Repair/replace the window regulator 1952 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
unfrozen1969 11 Report post Posted March 28, 2010 I was wondering about that too, I would imagine that it is much easier to work on the window regulators once the skin is off, or does it really matter. Bill Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1952 10 Report post Posted March 29, 2010 I was wondering about that too, I would imagine that it is much easier to work on the window regulators once the skin is off, or does it really matter. Bill It would be a HUGE help as you can touch feel and SEE everything 1952 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daves69Coupe 10 Report post Posted March 29, 2010 definently I have both skins off now and its so much easier to do work on the windows now. While taking off the second skin I was suprised to see the shape of the window, Im guessing it is an original. Ill post a pic of it to show everyone what i mean Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daves69Coupe 10 Report post Posted April 5, 2010 heres 2 pics Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daves69Coupe 10 Report post Posted June 1, 2010 Is there any tool out there I could use when Re-applying the new door skins? Im picking up my new skins this weekend at Carlsile and just wondering if theres a crimping tool I can get to make the install go smoothly Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
