Sun Rotted Interior Plastic Panels

[olds70supreme]

Several of the interior panels on my '75 Starfire have a significant amount of plastic "rot" that scrapes off into a powdery mess. I'm looking to restore my panels similar to zeke (viewtopic.php?f=20&t=20344&hilit=quart&start=495) , but now that I've prepped them by scraping off the rot I'm wondering if I would be better off sourcing panels in better shape first. The scraping removes a noticeable layer that will need to be filled in with flexible plastic putty, then block sanded, then have a texture coating sprayed on before finally priming and applying a color coat.

Are most/all '75 Monza/Starfire panels in similar shape, or is this an extreme version due to the car being a Florida car for much of its life? In other words, is it worth my time searching out rot-free panels or do they simply not exist at this point?

Thanks.

(pictures of some of this rot shown here - note it doesn't look this way until scraped off)...
https://photos.app.goo.gl/nDn2qhTS83YgonGFA

[classic_cruiser]

Most southern cars that spend more time in the sun have panels that are more deteriorated than northern cars that don’t get as much sun, what you have there appears pretty typical. You can still find some good used ones out there… I saw one on eBay (if that’s your thing, look for item 153578034394), and they come up every now and then. There are a couple yards up north that still list some h-body stuff every now and then, or you could try car-part.com and see if it gives you any leads for cars with interior parts.

That being said, I think what you have can be readily restored. When the rot makes cracks appear that’s when it gets more challenging. Yours actually don’t look all that bad to me. My approach has been to restore what I have, but I always keep an eye out for better parts should they come along!

[cammerjeff]

It also depends on the Color of the plastic, Black panels hold up the best, Red panels seem to be the worst for sun damage, followed by tan panels. I ended up buying very nice black panels, and plastic painting them the desired saddle color on my Astre. I have a few of the rear panels left over from a 79 Starfire if you are interested, but no A or B pillar moldings if I remember correctly.