aluminium door panel W/N

[Rouge]

Hello everyone.
I would like to know if anyone has any experience of changing the aluminium exterior of E9 door.
I would like to order them from W and S and have the work done in a body shop but I would prefer to have some advice to avoid mistakes.
Thank you.

 

[Markos]

I believe that @Gransin reskinned his doors himself. Not sure if aluminum though.

Before you go through the effort, keep in mind that the door support and hinges are big contributors to the CS vs CSL door weight.

 

[Gransin]

I believe that @Gransin reskinned his doors himself. Not sure if aluminum though.

Yes I did, but I used steel skins, not aluminium.
More factors at play when using aluminium skins, corrosion risks are high if not done properly so I went the safer route.
As you say, not a big difference in weight between steel and aluminium skins, but the CSL-factor is a thing, of course.

 

[Rouge]

I want to install aluminium skins mainly to avoid corrosion but also for the weight.
I am especially worried about the corrosion that will occur under the returns between the steel and the aluminium and also worried about the difficulty of forming the returns without deforming the panels.
Do you have any experience?

 

[Gransin]

I want to install aluminium skins mainly to avoid corrosion but also for the weight.
I am especially worried about the corrosion that will occur under the returns between the steel and the aluminium and also worried about the difficulty of forming the returns without deforming the panels.
Do you have any experience?

I have a hard time seeing how the steel skin would be more prone to corrosion, keeping in mind how a restored coupe usually is driven nowadays.
The steel skins were of high quality (at least back in 2014-2015) and fit over the door frame like a glove, probably one of the best W&N panels that I bought.
We didn't have any problems with the returns, no deforming of the skins but can't speak for the aluminium ones.
As you know, you need to isolate the aluminium skin from the steel door frame and any other steel parts, there's products available for this, but I have no experience.

 

[nosmonkey]

I fitted a new skin (steel) purchased early last year.

No issues at all with the quality and fitment other than a slightly larger gap at the top of the front wing/door gap.
I used a high zinc content paint on both frame and door skin alongside a high strength bonding automotive adhesive before warming up the edges of the door skin and slowly folding them over. The folded seams were again painted over before being seam sealed, the top lip on the window frame was spot welded as per factory.
The seam seal/adhesive, if applied properly, doesn't allow for rust to rear it's ugly head again as it is air tight, as well as the points above that coupes these days just aren't used as they were when new.

Personally, I'd be more worried about denting delicate aluminium doors and galvanic corrosion, as well as the potential issues of having to repair or adjust aluminum compared to steel which, if treated and prepped properly, should last the lifetime of the car.

 

[Klassic]

I used aluminium on a CSL rep racer. The one I'm building now has fibreglass skins.
I went for the plastic option this time mainly because I found people lean against the car, leaving dents in the aluminium skins. Thin fibreglass skins are lightweight, practical and look ok. However they are not quite as good a result aesthetically as Ali as you still get a mild wave across the panel (unless you use lots of filler). Next build will be Ali skins as I'm leaning toward authenticity for that one. My expectation is to get the skins from WN, and expect to adjust to fit, and do as nosmonkey has advised ..... no problem.

 

[burky]

I bought and fitted W+N Alloy Skins and they are an excellent product, when fitting the skins you try and avoid ,where possible , contact between bare steel and the alloy , when the old skin is removed prep and paint the door shell, then prep and paint the inside of the skin. I then fitted the skin to the door shell / door opening, then I used a Wurth panel adhesive to fill the cavity between the inside of the door shell and the skin , it is difficult to apply the adhesive on the upper insides of the door, the lower part of the door is the most important. Once done moisture cannot lie in the bottom of the door, and the door assembly is much more ridged, It is important to fit the door to opening before the glue sets to get the door flush to the body.

 

[gazzol]

Hello everyone.
I would like to know if anyone has any experience of changing the aluminium exterior of E9 door.
I would like to order them from W and S and have the work done in a body shop but I would prefer to have some advice to avoid mistakes.
Thank you.

I skinned my doors with aluminium skins. Are you going to do it yourself or are you going to pay someone to do it?

When I did mine I primed the frame and the skin first with acid etch primer then ordinary 2K primer and then with 2K gloss black paint. The ordinary primer and the black had plasticiser mixed in which makes the paint flexible. Once the paint had set I sprayed Waxoyl ( other brands available) I onto the skin where it would touch the frame before I folded the skins onto the frame. Once the skin was on I sprayed more Waxoyl into/ onto all the seams on the inside of the door in an attempt to keep water from getting in. That was quite a long time ago and up to now everything is still fine.

Be warned skinning doors isn't easy and aluminium skins aren't cheap enough to practice with. Also you will need to bond the strengthener to the door skin along the top edge cos you won't be able to weld them

 

[Rouge]

I skinned my doors with aluminium skins. Are you going to do it yourself or are you going to pay someone to do it?

When I did mine I primed the frame and the skin first with acid etch primer then ordinary 2K primer and then with 2K gloss black paint. The ordinary primer and the black had plasticiser mixed in which makes the paint flexible. Once the paint had set I sprayed Waxoyl ( other brands available) I onto the skin where it would touch the frame before I folded the skins onto the frame. Once the skin was on I sprayed more Waxoyl into/ onto all the seams on the inside of the door in an attempt to keep water from getting in. That was quite a long time ago and up to now everything is still fine.

Be warned skinning doors isn't easy and aluminium skins aren't cheap enough to practice with. Also you will need to bond the strengthener to the door skin along the top edge cos you won't be able to weld them

Thank you very much

 

[Marc-M]

i did mine - but there is one extra bit you need to add to the door skin just over the handle , its bonded in to position .... also when i did mine not only did i paint the edges i used aircraft paint primer on the inner skin, and i used thick ptfe tape over the lip ( about 0.3mm) as a barrier to stop the galvanic corrosion...

and as my car was a UK CSL city pack it had sound insulation......if you wonder why i have done it

regards

marc