Sometimes you just have to know when to call it a day. Wanting to hang onto every OEM nut and bolt in your restoration project is a noble idea. There are times, however, when you just need to cut the retread on that deal. Restoring the 60+ year old body panels on your truck is a case in point. If you opt to massage that battered sheet metal, you often trap yourself into an endless cycle of cutting, welding, hammering, layering on bondo, and meticulously sanding it all down again.
Time and Trouble Still Cost Money
Whether you achieve brilliance or just good enough, you still spend vast amounts of time and effort. You still ring up large purchases of supplies such as sandpaper and masks. You still find an inch of bondo dust on every surface of your garage, no matter how many times you sweep it off. Worst of all, it never seems to get done.
New Panels Are the Way to Go
There is an easier way to tackle this burdensome task. Instead of driving yourself crazy chasing down endless dents and high spots in that wavy antique metal, why not avail yourself of some brand new door skins to create a sleek new surface? Not only do you save a ton of time and money, you also gain the advantage of owning new, non-cancered-out body panels that are treated with modern anti-rust techniques.
Rust Never Sleeps
Even if you craft the exterior of your old doors to perfection, that old devil, corrosion, is still eating away at everything. Logic tells you that it takes longer for rust to ruin a modern OEM-grade panel than one that has already endured six decades of weather, even if it is fully reconditioned. In this regard, it is not about how nice it looks when you are done, but instead about how nice it will look ten years after you finish.
Spend Less, Get More Done
Of course, rehabilitating old panels would be a more understandable option if each 56 Chevy truck door skin costs a million dollars, but they don’t. They are ridiculously cheap when compared against the agony of maybe not getting your old panels to work. The ultimate objective is to get your project finished, not to give yourself a lingering case of white lung disease. Set yourself a goal. Promise yourself to be on the road next summer. You can do it with new body panels.