I am working on the door panels for my truck, and they are overall in great shape. The diver's side has two small holes drilled that were used to secure it, and both sides have small cracks I want to fix before they get worse. Does anyone have any recommendations on how to patch those holes in the best way? Also, what is the recommended epoxy for patching these cracks?


Small holes on drivers side

cracks under the arm rest

retainer clips damaged

Ford speakers

Not sure this side has ever been off

 

I would use a plastic welder and fix up the backside. It is going to depend on how much effort you want to put into it. versus buying a new set up panels and painting them a different color if desired. I don't think you can get that saddle tan color anymore. I have a polyvance model 7 welder and have repaired a lot of stuff with it. I don't know how you can fix the holes in the wood grain trim panel.

 

I've fixed cracks in mine. I used JB Weld on the backside. The PO used some type of black polyurethane caulking and honestly it held some of the cracks together pretty good.

1. Just clean the surfaces really well with soap and water.
2. Once you do that... sand the plastic on the backside of the panel with 60 or 80 grit sandpaper.
3. Wipe the area clean with rubbing alcohol and a clean towel.
4. Apply JB weld over the crack and let it dry over night. Don't be afraid to use quite a bit.

I had holes as well... I just put a little piece of tape over the holes and dabbed in JB Weld to fill it.

You might need to reinforce the front with masking tape or painters tape through this whole process to stop the crack from flexing too much. IF the cracks are really large.

I painted my panels after I was done with a very light coat of Rustoleum Canyon Black. My panels were already black plastic.... so a light light coating was all it needed to blend the whole panel together.


Here is a pretty severe broken piece I fixed with JB Weld, Rustolem ratle can, and some elbow grease. it's not perfect.... but save me $ I can spend some where else.

Before



JB Weld has dried and being sanded down.




Finished

 

I should add... for the points on the backside of the panel where the door clips should go... I fixed a few with JD Weld.... but it's tricky. In the end... I might have to run a few self taping screws through the front of the panel for my drivers-side. There are too many broken places where the clips go unfortunately. I purchased black painted stainless screws. So they blend in.

Basically... do the best you can.

 

Aluminum window screen cut to fit & melted over & into the cracked areas using a Harbor Freight "plastic welder" (nothing more than a soldering iron with a large flat head) works great. The screen really strengthens the panel, like rebar in concrete. This method can be used to reinforce the mounting clip bosses as well.

I'd use a spot of epoxy in the screw holes.

 

I fixed mine (cracks/holes) with JB weld for plastic. It works great! Align and clamp the front side and then epoxy the back. For the wholes just use a Q-Tip and the closest paint match you can find at Walmart lol.

A good trick is cutting and bending thin metal over the cracks for support, I use a small amount of epoxy on the cracks 1st then put the metal on and then use a lot of epoxy. Over the metal and plastic.