When to replace door bottoms???
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Senior User
Joined: Jan 2003
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From: Rochester, NY, USA
When to replace door bottoms???
Do a few bubbles here and there warrant complete lower door sheet metal replacement? Once a door lip begins to rust is there anyway to stop it or will it just continue down the road to rot city?
Thanks for your help - Brad
Thanks for your help - Brad
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Joined: Jan 2001
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From: SE Wisc. (the Rust Belt)
If you can already see bubbles from the outside it means you have some serious rot in the inside. Most likely your door bottoms are shot, or at least the outer door skin. Sheetmetal usually rots from the inside out, unless it starts from a scratch in the paint, so there's more damage inside you can't see. If you can see bubbles figure you have at least twice the area of damage inside. I feel it would be a lot easier to replace the entire bottom edge of your door than to do a piece here and there. Again, if you have a little visible rust you probably have a lot of hidden rust. If you just grind out the rotted spot and fill with fiberglass or body filler it will not last long and you have to start all over again. An old trick to slow down, but not really stop, rust is to oil the inside of the door with motor oil. It's a mess while the oil drains out so park it on gravel or dirt for a week or so if you decide to try to slow the rot this way.
Oiling the doors also helps with new cars, the oil gets into the seams before the water and prevents the water from sitting in the seams. The old body guys did this years ago.
Oiling the doors also helps with new cars, the oil gets into the seams before the water and prevents the water from sitting in the seams. The old body guys did this years ago.
Last edited by bobj49f2; Mar 3, 2006 at 10:15 AM.
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From: Durham NC
Oiling the doors on new cars is really unnecessary and may even cause problems. Most new doorskins are attached with glue rather than welding, so the rust proofing applied to the inside of the sheet metal is not heat comprimised, the seams are sealed and the entire body is dip primed so even the smallest cracks are sealed. You just have to check that the weep holes are clear once a year or so.
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Joined: Oct 2004
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From: Durham NC
Brad, yes blistering is an indication of rust thru under the paint. The only sure way to prevent futher occurance is to cut away any of the deteriorated metal back to sound metal, remove and treat any surface or rust thru in the frame under the damaged areas, prime the inside with a weld thru primer and weld in fresh metal. After you have finished the outside, run some seam sealer inside the door into the space between the panel and frame. Be sure you don't fill or block the weep holes in the bottom of the door.
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From: Durham NC
Sure. It is a zinc rich primer (mostly powdered zinc the same metal used for galvanizing steel) that you paint on the areas where you will no longer be able to reach after welding that you want to protect. The welding heat melts the zinc powder and hot galvanizes the steel. It does not affect the actual weld. Anyone doing body repair should have some at hand.
Logistics Pro
Joined: Jan 2001
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From: Connecticut
Thanks!
Tis the season (almost) where I can start on the rot on my doors too.
Too bad no one makes bottom patches for 48-52.
I have made dies for the rear cab corners, Sample patches look great!
Hmm, door bottoms next?
Reamer
Tis the season (almost) where I can start on the rot on my doors too.
Too bad no one makes bottom patches for 48-52.
I have made dies for the rear cab corners, Sample patches look great!
Hmm, door bottoms next?
Reamer
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From: Durham NC
Let me rephrase: I was asking about the shape of the replacement panel you need, if it is a compound curve (crowned front to rear as well as top to bottom) or a simple curve or better still, flat? A compound curve (a bowl is an extreme compound curve) needs to be stretched like on an english wheel or a shrinker-stretcher (hand stretching with a hammer and dolly is possible to do but takes a lot of hammer control) to take on the correct shape. If the portion of the door skin that needs replacing is flat in at least one direction then it will be a simple matter to make a replacement panel, you could even get a sheet metal shop to break (bend) the edges to a 90 for you then you just need to continue the bend around the frame.
