Door panel plastic restoration

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Galane

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Yup. Baking soda blasting followed by a water rinse. I cleaned a pair of decent tan panels with acetone then sprayed on maroon stuff that was supposed to dye the plastic. It peeled right off. then I used soda blasting and sprayed on some normal paint. They don't look as nice as a good original or reproduction but are better than the crumbling originals.

You could make your own custom panels. Some of the companies that make parts for these trucks have one or two door panel designs that are nothing like the originals but use the original mountings, window switches, handles etc.

The only replacement panel that will look anywhere close to original is one that's injection molded. I don't know of any that are. They're vacuum formed from ABS or some other plastic.
 
mtnbiker727

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Does it look like this? My cousin does body work. He sanded it and sprayed on the tan colorbond from LMC. Looks great now.... sorry, I couldn't find an after picture. I thought I had one. Just know that the tan from LMC is not the same dark-ish brown as what I assume the original "saddle" color was.

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mtnbiker727

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I dug through my pictures and found this one. Obviously it's not a closeup, but you can tell the color is now solid tan instead of dark brown with white milky stains on it.

My cousin finished the truck and I picked it up the morning of our wedding, which was in 2013. I haven't noticed any pealing or anything since then. Granted it's been stored inside, and only driven a few thousand miles since then, but it still looks as good as it did then.

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thecantaloupeman

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Galane said:
Yup. Baking soda blasting followed by a water rinse. I cleaned a pair of decent tan panels with acetone then sprayed on maroon stuff that was supposed to dye the plastic. It peeled right off. then I used soda blasting and sprayed on some normal paint. They don't look as nice as a good original or reproduction but are better than the crumbling originals.

You could make your own custom panels. Some of the companies that make parts for these trucks have one or two door panel designs that are nothing like the originals but use the original mountings, window switches, handles etc.

The only replacement panel that will look anywhere close to original is one that's injection molded. I don't know of any that are. They're vacuum formed from ABS or some other plastic.
Click to expand...
What is soda blasting and what does it do?

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shiftpro

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bucket said:
That's a good idea. How well has it held up? The plastic must be thin now? Sometimes they deteriorate so bad that there's actually holes in the plastic.
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If you didn't know any better, you probably wouldn't notice they are in fact thinner. But not light shining through thin..
 
thecantaloupeman

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CSFJ said:
You're really not going to google "soda blasting" on your own?
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LOL! tuché

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DBeck350

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Check out USA1industries.com. I’ve purchased a few interior pieces from them and they also have a large selection of original color stains. Welcome from NC!!
 
texasmike

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Try USA1 Industries, they have a large selection of types and colors and their products are very nice.
 
thecantaloupeman

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shiftpro said:
My buddy cleaned off the oxidized material with soda blast. Everything was left a consistent texture and then he painted it. Considering what he started with the job turned out pretty good.
Click to expand...
I just repainted the panels. It looks pretty good but the texture of the top still looks quite weird. I painted it bucksin because thats what the door pocket said on the back, but I don't know these door panels and door pockets match. The doors match the pocket now, but the armrests and interior are slightly darker tan. Maybe they are a different color than I thought. Minus the weird texture on top though, It looks miles better than before. I just used VHT Vinyl Paint "Buckskin tan"
 
shiftpro

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thecantaloupeman said:
I just repainted the panels. It looks pretty good but the texture of the top still looks quite weird. I painted it bucksin because thats what the door pocket said on the back, but I don't know these door panels and door pockets match. The doors match the pocket now, but the armrests and interior are slightly darker tan. Maybe they are a different color than I thought. Minus the weird texture on top though, It looks miles better than before. I just used VHT Vinyl Paint "Buckskin tan"
Click to expand...
Good to hear, sometimes even a slight improvement is enough!
 
thecantaloupeman

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shiftpro said:
Good to hear, sometimes even a slight improvement is enough!
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Oh definitely. Here's a before and after:
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Previous owner of my truck used an SEM product and SEM adhesive promotor in another can. Its graphite gray though but close enough. The reason I know is he left the cans in the truck.

The dash only. Looks ok unless you look closely as its far enough away from the door panels, looks like a good match.

Its peeling in a few spots. Think I’ll replace the dash as it needs new vents anyway.
 
thecantaloupeman

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Joe T said:
Previous owner of my truck used an SEM product and SEM adhesive promotor in another can. Its graphite gray though but close enough. The reason I know is he left the cans in the truck.

The dash only. Looks ok unless you look closely as its far enough away from the door panels, looks like a good match.

Its peeling in a few spots. Think I’ll replace the dash as it needs new vents anyway.
Click to expand...
Yeah that's what I'm probably going to do with mine. Can't even tell what color it was. Looks like almost a reddish/pinkish brown. But maybe I can just fix the cracks and spray some colorbond. I was going to try that stuff out and see if it works. Have you thought about that?

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shiftpro

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For dashes there is a cheaper alternative however there is some risk of poor fitment. Available are 'skins' that cover the dash. Much cheaper than a new dash pad, and some fit just fine never revealing what they are... and others, not so good.
 
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