Series doors that are made properly?

About 7 years ago I bought some series doors, I painted them up properly. A few years ago , on the outside bottom edge of the door some aluminium corrosion started to bubble through the paint. I can only guess this is due to the steel frame in behind the skin coming into contact with the skin.
They cost around 40 quid each and were **** poor quality.

Does anyone know of anyone making series doors properly? Or , is it a case of buying them , removing the skin , painting then reassembling them?

I think you might find that happening on new Defenders too. Why not buy some galvanised doors? I believe Ashtree Land Rover sell them and possibly SP Land Rover too. More money but fit and forget.

SP definitely ...

I'm not long off ordering some fronts for my 109SW ....had door tops and door pillars ...


All top drawer quality

Wasn't Land Rover aluminium coated in something?

Does galvanising prevent aluminium corrosion then? I mean galvanised metal wont cause it if it comes into contact with aluminium?

mistericeman said:

SP definitely ...

I'm not long off ordering some fronts for my 109SW ....had door tops and door pillars ...


All top drawer quality

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were the frames bonded to the skin?
The ones I bought you could drive a bus through the gaps between the frame and the skin in places, the welding came apart, they were just shoddy as hell.

nobber said:

Wasn't Land Rover aluminium coated in something?

Does galvanising prevent aluminium corrosion then? I mean galvanised metal wont cause it if it comes into contact with aluminium?

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The alloy originally should have been painted, it isn't pure aluminium, but an alloy called Birmabright.

I doubt if galv will prevent the alloy corroding, because the corrosion is cause by electrical action caused by dissimilar metals. The only way to prevent it is to isolate the two metal surfaces using something non conductive like rubber sheet, gasket paper, or thick mastic!

nobber said:

were the frames bonded to the skin?
The ones I bought you could drive a bus through the gaps between the frame and the skin in places, the welding came apart, they were just shoddy as hell.

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No complaints ...the 3 sets of door tops I've had for some of our "fleet" all fitted well and were well put together .

Bear in mind they were less than £40 a PAIR unglazed so don't expect Wolf quality at that price .

So how come there are old series vehicles plodding around and their doors don't have alloy corrosion around where the door frame is, how do they get away with it?

nobber said:

So how come there are old series vehicles plodding around and their doors don't have alloy corrosion around where the door frame is, how do they get away with it?

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Maybe some frames got painted better than others, or maybe some owners removed skins and masticed between them and the frames?

As I said, I think the problem is electro-galvanic, so moisture will accelerate it. Always keeping the vehicle in a garage when not in use would probably help a lot.

I was really hopeful about my doors being ok after painting, but i've had the same issue with paint bubbling around the bottom edge.
these guys sell fibre glass ones
Welcome - A. M. A. Services

maybe that would solve the problem. not cheap though

No, those really arnt cheap. I think next time I put doors on it I will separate the skin from the frame and try and put a barrier in there, it really does make a mess of the paint and it looks well scabby.

galved frame and alum skin.

it will work for a while as the zinc will get sacrificed first, then it'll do the usual.

as above you need to either keep them nice and dry (hahahhahahhahahahaha) or separate them with something. paint/tigerseal (pu) seam sealer/rubber.. whatever.

Shame they don't make steel door skins.

nobber said:

No, those really arnt cheap. I think next time I put doors on it I will separate the skin from the frame and try and put a barrier in there, it really does make a mess of the paint and it looks well scabby.

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i often imagine having the cash to do my rebuild with parts like that, galvanised and fibreglass etc, once you add the whole lot together its a fortune

Fibreglass doors £325
rocky mountain ali door tops £295.00
ashtree galv bulkhead £900
ashtree galv rad panel £150

you're nearly at £2000 before you've done any work!
would be cheaper to let it rot and buy a new one every 10 years

onecelledcreature said:

i often imagine having the cash to do my rebuild with parts like that, galvanised and fibreglass etc, once you add the whole lot together its a fortune

Fibreglass doors £325
rocky mountain ali door tops £295.00
ashtree galv bulkhead £900
ashtree galv rad panel £150

you're nearly at £2000 before you've done any work!
would be cheaper to let it rot and buy a new one every 10 years

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Why pay ashtree for galve parts that you already have? What is it nowadays , 100 quid a ton or 100 quid minimum or something like that?

nobber said:

No, those really arnt cheap. I think next time I put doors on it I will separate the skin from the frame and try and put a barrier in there, it really does make a mess of the paint and it looks well scabby.

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I think that is a good plan. I know a couple of people who have done it, and it does seem to have greatly reduced the problem.

there must be someone on this planet that makes and sells metal Series doors. I have seen load of faults with alloy doors and realy want to buy metal doors for my 5 door project if possible. If anyone does hear of any company selling metal series doors could you please let me know cheers in advance, my email address is [email protected]
ALAN
Sheffield S25

nobber said:

So how come there are old series vehicles plodding around and their doors don't have alloy corrosion around where the door frame is, how do they get away with it?

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thicker and better alloy birmabright, seems better than the ali used later

Birmabright wasn't a kind of alloy James, its the name of a foundry that made alloys.
As far as I know they still use the same kind of alloy today.

nobber said:

Birmabright wasn't a kind of alloy James, its the name of a foundry that made alloys.
As far as I know they still use the same kind of alloy today.

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It was both the name of the alloy and the works that produced it. It's aluminium with a small amont of magnesium.