I noticed that the top of my door panels look a little chalky, is there a way to restore them to a nicer finish? Other than the chalky finish they're in fantastic shape!

It appears that there isn't much dry rot, and they're not cracked. I was considering getting some SEM paints and trying to repaint/resurface them.

SEM is the way to go!

Looks like I'll be going to the Autobody store and trying to find a color match in SEM. Does it actually penetrate the plastic a bit, or will I have to deal with scrapes and scuffing?

Perhaps I could get the panels upholstered??

The Sem color coat line is the way to go, i have used it a lot on different customers rides and never had a issue with it, the biggest thing is precleaning your panels. use a waterborne degreeser and clean them, then a good scrubbing with hot water and comet, then use the sem sanding paste then rinse with warm water, heres the key dude do not wipe them dry, let them dry on there own. after that i like the HOK part #AP01 as a plastic adhision promoter and then followed with the color coat, coats will usually do it and you be good to go. as far as color match go to a auto paint store and just have them use the formula and have it custom mixed, most auto paint stores have the color coat rack in them so finding it shouldnt be a issue if it is e mail me and i can mixe for ya, i dont care much for the factory packs (pre matched colors in a factory can) they always seam a little dark to me (especially the tans and yellows).

shpaint1, thanks for the information. And it just so happens that I have a tan interior. I think my local supply store can mix me something up, I'm just going to pull a plastic from a lower part of the interior and have them match to that. I just hope I can get all the interior trim pieces off without breaking them.

Is it possible you can post up a list of materials you'd reccomend, and their part numbers?

sure man no problem, keep in mind tho that there may be other stuff out there in your area that may work just as good, a lot of the materials i use are based in the auto paint industry and there for may not be available to the laymen out there but here ya go. now if you cant find any of this stuff let me know and i will see if theres somethin near you that can help ya out, i know lots of folks in this industry

waterborne cleaner-
sem #38381 - WORLD CLASS SURFACE CLEANER
Gray scotch pad
3M #MMM 7448 - Ultra Fine Scotch-Brite™ Gray
Comet
just the regular green comet ya get at the wood store in the cleaning department
sem sanding paste
39362 - SEM SOAP (theres lots of these products out there man, PPG has one called scuff and sand, 3m has one called scuff-it and so on, i like the sem cause it rinses easier i think)
plastic adhesion promoter hands down the best one out there is
HOK (house of color) #AP-01, nothen even comes close
now as far as the color goes, you didnt say what year yer truck is or what model ya got, i am guessing that is camel or palomino cause there about the most popular tans out there camel is dark and palomino is lighter and more yellow but ya sould go to the paint store and look at the chips to be sure

i shoulda just posted this up too, heres the sem link that kinda tells ya what they recommend,, but i got to tell ya the hok ap-01 kicks the sem products ass
http://semproducts.com/Catalog.asp?prod=190

one last thing, if the paint store you go to dont have the color coat mixing rack, the PPG's One Choice line is the same as the sem i think, it smells the same, sprays the same and all of the formulas are the same, no one will say that ppg gets there stuff from sem, but i sure think they do.
any more questions dont hesitate to ask man, been custom painting stuff for the last 40 years

Sorry for not including the vehicle information.

Truck is a 1979 GMC C30 CCD Camper Special. I think the tan color may be the palomino, but I'll be sure to check off one of the less sun bleached pieces.

Thanks for the listing of materials, hopefully I can take this task on when I get home and get some decent results.

BTW, how does the paint hold up to scratching etc? I'm just concerned that the plastic will eventually disintegrate and the paint above the substrate will crack.

well i have seen it last for 10 to 12 years on show/weekend cars and trucks, i have seen it last for a few years on commercial airlines seats and panels (most all airline seats are painted a few times during there life span to keep the looking fresh and clean) and then i have seen it last only for a couple of years on day to day cars that see a lot of sunlight and rolled up windows. (heat and sun are the true destroyers of interior surfaces) if you look in my album you can see my trucks interior, all of it was painted, 100% and it has lasted for a couple years now and doesnt have one scratch in it, even the door sill plates, maybe i tend to take care of it differently then others but rest assured it is used a lot, my wife or one of the boys drives it every day, it now has over 150,000 miles on it and none of them have been baby miles