1968 Rust on driver side door, underneath the CS stripes

[Tequila]

Hello,
I was just wondering if anyone experienced rust underneath where the California special stripes are on the door? My driver side door is fairly decent shape except for where the tape was applied. I can see a lot of bubbles underneath the tape, and when I peeled off a section I could see several spots where rust has eaten thru. My car has had a repaint over the existing paint probably about 20 years ago. Perhaps they could have applied the tape with the bubbles in it. Not 100% sure.

Any way to prevent it in the future? I am planning to have the paint shop strip the entire car by hand and repaint it. Does the glue on the tape contribute to the rust formation, similar to the risk factors associated with a vinyl top car?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Don]

Only the door? If the paint job is done right then water should not be able to penetrate even if trapped between tape and paint. The problem with vinyl roofs was usually three fold in that the thin paint/primer (sometimes just porous primer) allowed water to seep through to the metal, the glue was often hydroscopic (water attracting), and water would stay trapped between vinyl and metal roof.

Same thing can happen with stripes, overlays, decals, etc. Best prevention is high quality paint.

 

[Tequila]

Yes, for some strange reason only the driver side door paint has bubbled underneath the tape. The passenger side door is fine and so are fenders.

Helpful info on the cause of the vinyl top rust. Thanks.

 

[Don]

That is strange. Another thing that leads to failure is cleaning or prepping the area with a solvent, that compromises the paint, before the overlay is applied.

You will also find a lot of rust out issues around windshield and rear glass. That is because it took the industry years to figure out that the old glues had solvents that compromised the paint and they were also hydroscopic. Even today, if you get a windshield replaced, make sure they use the right materials (the old stuff is still available and used : (

 

[CougarCJ]

Look inside the door and see if you can see a line of worm holes, or other damage in that location. Holes would be from a dent puller.

 

[Tequila]

Thanks Scott. I checked the inside and didn't see any damage specific to that area. There is some rust on the bottom of the door and would likely need to be replaced. I am guessing poor prep work when the previous owner / body shop applied the stripes.

Are the repro doors any good? Do they have the correct texture on the inside? Or am I better off trying to locate original door in good shape? I posted a wanted ad on craigslist and so far no luck finding an original door (standard interior).

 

[franklinair]

IMHO, a good USED door is best.
Door skins are a poor fit.

Neil