1972 Door Panel fitment

[PbFut]

I received a set of OER 1972 Deluxe Door Panels from Classic Industries today. I was disappointed to see that the relief for the wood insert and trim was 1/4" to narrow setting the original stainless steel metal trim and metal with wood vinyl insert a bit off as it lays against the panel. The panel is also a black abs that has been painted. That seems like a less than desirable quality. My luck with OER parts has not been favorable. Do the Brother's or LMC panels fit the insert better? Brothers says injected abs and do not mention painted. I don't see any panels molded with the correct holes for the insert trim. I am guessing you must use a hot poker and make your own? Brothers and LMC are about 100 bucks more than Classic Industries.
Can I get some input as to who has correctly fitting panels for the original trim pieces.

[leddzepp]

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=774960

Have a look at this thread. My experience with reproduction 72 door panels

[PbFut]

Oh, not so promising. Does not look like Dashtop mentioned in the thread is supporting the 67 72 trucks. No panels and only a few dash cover colors available. I've had a request for email when they get black dash back in stock. Its been a while. This is not looking good. My panels are in less than fair shape. Nothing broke, but the texture is worn off in areas. Painting or dying will not yield acceptable results.
Classic Industries asked for measurements. They are going to see if the standard 72 has the correct relief. The deluxe is 29 5/8 and it should be 30". 3/16 on each end would put the center angled section of the insert correct and each end properly fitted flush.

[1972CheyenneSuper]

I ended up using one of my factory panels and bought another set on ebay to get one good drivers side. Before I decided to use my originals though, in all of my searching these were the only ones to claim to be able to fit the original trim and inserts. They look pretty grainy, but another option in the sea of aftermarket stuff.

https://www.cheyennepickup.com/colle...72-door-panels

[PbFut]

Ok those look promising. Decent price, but they are black and I do not see a color option. Looks like abs plastic. The Classic Industies OER panels that do not fit are black ABS. I wonder what paint or plastic dy was used. I need the panels to be parchment.

[1972CheyenneSuper]

I used the interior paint that LMC sells which is Colorbond brand. They have a proprietary mix for the blue that my interior is. Parchment may be a bit easier to find alternatives. I used the Colorbond cleaner and adhesion promoter before the color coats. It seems to be durable and they do have a clear that can be applied after, however I did not use it. One of these panels was the original blue and one was white. No primers were used so you can see that the coverage over two base colors was decent. I like the product, time will tell on durability.

[PbFut]

Super: your post prompted me to look at my panel closer. They are original. Have the GM part numbers on the back for each color, correct arch to match the door, and also the holes like yours. Looking at the finish closer I now realize that they have been coated with a finish, maybe similar to the material you mentioned. It is evident that whoever did so was very good at masking and/or the coating very thin as you cannot see a line were the insert is. Or the finish is not decaying under the insert. I cannot tell for sure which. Today is a good day to take more time to investigate the panels I have and see if I can salvage. There is no damage at all except this funcky finish. I'll try to document with photos, something I am less than good at, for future reference to others.
I will report back my findings later today.

[1972CheyenneSuper]

I wonder if some walnut blasting or dry ice blasting would be gentle enough to remove what you have on there?

[PbFut]

So I have to give 1972CheyenneSuper a huge thanks. After about 2 1/2 hours of scrubbing 1 panel the result is about a 9 out of ten. I am not 100% sure what actually happened to these panels. From one view it seems there was an aftermarket coating that was applied and subsequently failed. From a different view it seems like there is a factory coating or texture on the panel that failed in areas of high exposure to UV. light. It is all a guess and to some degree irrelevant to the goal of getting some decent looking panels on the truck. After one panel complete, (I hope the other one turns our as good) my observation is as follows.
The surface had a thin very dry deteriorating finish that would peel or crumble off. Once removed the surface looks factory, but in other area protected from light, the surface is courser. The difference is not noticeable as the courser appearance is on area covered by the insert or very low on the panel. Maybe a well trained judge's eye would pick up, but they would need to be really good, and this build is a driver level. Not show.
Getting the surface clean was not difficult once I figured out a good combo of cleaner and tools. I tried a vinyl trim tool to scrape. just ok. Simple Green and a fingernail brush was better but still not going to yield the desired result unless I brushed for a month. SOS was ok but the soap was not releasing the coating like Simple Green. I had some medium steel wool. I was concerned it would mark the surface, but the texture is such that if it's marked, it is not noticeable. I attached some photos of the process. The really close ups are such that you would be inches away to see. The texture difference almost appears intentional from factory. I can't decide for sure. Bottom line, I'm giving this a 9.5 out of 10. Super, I owe you a sixer or maybe even a case. Thank you.

[PbFut]

Next Set

[PbFut]

Showing the area factory changes texture. The camera actually picks it up better than the eye.
I have some wood grain vinyl coming from Ebay. Hopefully the insert will turn out as good.

[1972CheyenneSuper]

Wow, those look great! I wonder why anyone would've coated them when they looked that good underneath? I'm glad you are able to use your originals.

Good luck with the inserts! I'm curious how the refinishing might go on those. If you do end up picking up some aftermarket inserts, be aware that there are some that do not have the aluminum looking trim line inset in the panel. They are just a full woodgrain pattern. I don't mind it because I'm not all in 100% on originality but it might throw somebody off if they weren't expecting it like I was. I hadn't payed much attention to the possibility of two different styles being made. There are a lot of places that sell the factory style as well.

[PbFut]

That is good to know. I just made a post on the inserts. This truck is not 100% original. Far from it, but there are things I would like to attempt to keep, or correctly replicate. Sort of a challenge to myself and the fun of the chase without going overboard. Doing these inserts is going to be a little here and there as I get back to the body paint. This set of panels was a nice break from the paint today but I got to stay on task or it will drag out worse than it already has.