New door, slight color difference

[81dmc]

Hi, I've installed a new driver's door on 0831. I noticed there is a slight color difference. Did the factory change the grain mid production? If not, what can I do to give the new door the same effect?

[davidc89]

I am not sure, but you may have to go over your car with a blending pad and cleaner as your original stainless has been in the elements causing it to dull.

[MNT250]

When I replaced my passenger fender I noticed the same thing. It just didn't match the rest of the car, had different tones kind of like what I see in your photo. I went over the whole thing with the liquid bar keepers friend and washed it. After that the whole car looks uniform again.

[DMCMW Dave]

NOS off-the-shelf doors definitely have a different grain that what's on the car. You'll have to BKF, blend, and maybe even flap the whole side of the car to get it to match correctly. When we do door change it's part of the cost. How much you have to do depends on the rest of the car.

On the assembly line, I believe the stainless was all grained before stamping, but once assembled onto the car they ran over the entire car at one time to ensure a better match.

PS on your (very early VIN) car, the door could be a year newer than the car so there are other process changes that show up, i.e. the grain was different over time anyway, and the DMCH NOS doors are all later-production doors (predrilled for plastic guides).

[81dmc]

I will first try to clean and blend with Bar Keeper's Friend, but if worse comes to worst, I will have to learn how to regrain. :facepalm:


Thanks for the very quick replies!

[mluder]

I've rarely seen two DeLoreans that are the same color. Different exposures to elements, cleaning products, washing/cleaning process, how often they are regrained, etc all can lead to the stainless variations. Sounds like Dave says it is correctible so that's good news as one day I hope to replace my driver's side door too.

Was it a considerable amount of work to get the hinges lined up, etc?

Cheers
Steven

[81dmc]

Was it a considerable amount of work to get the hinges lined up, etc?

Cheers
Steven

The hinges on the body weren't hard to line up. To line those up, mount the door, get in the car, and try equalize the gaps between the roof and the door. However, to align the hinges on the door, you have to do a trial and error process. I was lucky as it only took me a couple hours to finish. Then again, I also replaced my roof box, so it may take you less time. To me, the installation of the fixed glass was the messiest and most time consuming job. To install it, mount the channel on the fixed glass, rivet the fixed glass and channel into the door, roll up the drop glass, apply urethane (a lot), and insert the finisher.

In all, I can say that the replacement was well worth it. (No more embarrassing moments)

[David T]

I have also noticed when you go over a panel with Scotch-Brite or when you regrain a panel it is "brighter" and shinier than the adjacent panels. You remove all of the oxidation. So if you do one panel you find yourself going all around the car doing ALL of the panels so they match. The WORST is leaf stains. If you let wet leaves dry on the S/S it takes a lot till you can get all the traces of it off. Another thing to notice, if you regrain a panel you can never exactly duplicate the technique of another person. To get it all looking exactly the same you wind up doing the whole car. What Rob said. BTW, the S/S sheets were ordered with a grain pattern. Very standard in the industry. After stamping, welding, machining, assembly, storage, transport, etc, there are the inevitable scratches that need to be removed. The graining is there to hide minor imperfections in the surface. If it is polished you see very speck of dust, dirt, scratch, etc.

[81dmc]

I'm too lazy to post another thread, but what would cause the pin for Front LH door hinge to constantly pop out towards the front of the car? For now I hammered it in, but I would not like it to come out again as that can cause catastrophic damage to the hinge, torsion bar, etc.