Let's here some tips on removal . I look at my 86 and think . Hours and hours and hours . Some of you have "stripped" a dash out ..."how long did it take and what are the pitfalls? Gotta say Marvin is correct... Strip the finish and treat veneer like tissue paper . PLASTIC scraper . Very fine sandpaper I did a MK 10 many years ago

 

My Jag's dash (VDP model) had a lot of cracks n the clear coat. So I got a 2nd dash from EBAY - from another VDP model with the recessed gauges.

I took everything out of the EBAY dash. Then took a regular clothes iron with the heat at about 75% I laid the iron on the face of the dash until I could smell heated up plastic.

Then when I removed the iron and let the dash cool it was easy to pick off the clear coat with my finger - came right off.

Here's what happens : when the plastic heats up it expands and releases its grip on the wood . When it cools it contracts - again releasing its grip on the wood.

The plastic gets cloudy as it heats up. Not much heat is needed. Not necessary to scorch anything just "make the plastic expand / contract / release its grip on the wood.

Care should be taken around the labels under the end vents.

After the plastic had been removed from the wood (which is very thin) the dash wood was rubbed with a fine grade of steel wool.

Then I stained the wood to a darker original shade,.. looks great with the heavily burled dash found on VDP models. Brought it right out - you can see the fine detail in the burl.

As for the replacement clear -coat. I did not want the clear to "yellow" over time, so I used the same clear coat as was used on the exterior when I painted the car and used a base coat / clear coat system. Has ultraviolet resistance so it will not yellow. The clear was PPG 2000 Premium Clear meant to be used over base coat paint.

I buffed it out just like you would buff a final coat of clear poly on the car body

No sanding was done

This method works the best for me - I tried several methods on other regular dash boards.

 

That sounds like a great idea, far safer than the heat gun.

 

Hi there...
I need 3 parts for my 1996 xis and can't find them unless I replace it all...
HELP!!

It is three little wood things for my dash!!
Anybody have extras they can sell me?

 

try British Auto Wood, he might have them.

British Autowood | Dashboard and Woodwork Restoration

 

Never sand the "clear " on a Jaguar wood veneer dash. You WILL sand through it and cause yourself a serious problem - buying a new dash.

Never use common minwax polyurethane - it will yellow over time and look real crappy.

To remove the "cracked clear" ..get the dash out of the car. Remove all gauges etc. Get brave !! Take a regular clothes iron and set the temp midway between cold and hot. Lay the iron on the clear (on the dash) hold it there for 30 - 45 seconds (until you smell that warm plastic smell....remove the iron and you should see the plastic has clouded and lifted away from the veneer. It does this because the semi hot iron has caused the clear plastic to expand (with the heat) and then rapidly shrink (when the hot iron has been removed). Gently pick the now loose pieces off of the dash - do not force the still stuck pieces - just reapply more heat and repeat until all the clear has been removed.

Use fine steel wool to do final gentle cleaning in prep for new "clear".
Now is a good time to lightly restain the dash veneer. Be careful around the end vents where the labels are.

I use the same high performance clear - that is used on the clear coat portion of a base coat / clear coat auto exterior finishes. it will not yellow as it has UV inhibitors in it.

So no sanding - no minwax Mine came out like factory new when I did my restoration. I had purchased a spare dash off of Ebay to practice on.

Again if you do this, be careful around the vent labels at the ends of the dash board. small pieces of veneer tend to come off with the clear if not gentle.

 

I planed the original veneer off and and epoxied a veneer sheet of African Rosewood. It looks very similar to Walnut but more interesting looking.

 

Hmm, I had a board of black walnut around here somewhere. I planned to make a dash for my A,T,V8 Ford roadster. No veneer, the real thing. I even got to the point of laying out the vintage instruments that I had collected. Marked on the back side. I had nt resolved the issue of cutting the circles out cleanly sans tear outs. Drill, jig saw, hole cutter, files in mind.


I planned a gun stock finish. Oiled, easily refreshed. Not sure if it went to the new own or what. Did I mistake it for a chunk of more common redwood and build it into something???


The wood in my car is not perfect. but, I made it look tons better with a coat of high carnauba content wax, hand buffed. Same stuff I used on the paint. Meguir's I think.


Carl

 

Ours is cracked a bit, but we're just gonna live with it. It gives the old girl "character".

 

Okay ... yea or nay on this idea ...

The wood on my 1983 Jaguar XJS is cracked, yes, the veneer itself is cracked and lifting.

My thinking is that I can moisten the veneer (not sure the best thing to use for that step) by injecting the moistener into the cracks in the veneer, then when the moistener has dried from the wood backing but the veneer is still moist (i.e., is still flexible) I will inject glue between the veneer and the wood backing, pressing and holding the veneer in place ... with the intended result being that the veneer will be glued back in place to the wood backing.

I realize that the clear coat (lacquer?) will still be "cracked", and that the veneer will still be "cracked", but I am thinking that the re-glued veneer will basically meet and match, leaving a look which would have the clear coat cracked and the cracks showing.

I have no problem with the clear coat being cracked as my car is not a "show car", it is a "daily driver", and the cracked clear coat would, as previously stated by others ... "add character" to the car.

I recently had to do work on the front seat leathers, the thread rotted and split. They were not too bad for the pasts 8 years I've owned the car, then about a month ago the seams simply seemed to "unzip" all the way. I removed the leathers, took them to a local upholstery shop where I had them switch the leathers from the driver's seat to the passenger's seat, then I reinstalled the front seat leathers.

Now, the leathers with very little visible wear is on the driver's seat and the passenger's seat has the worn looking leathers. I replaced the cushions and rubber support diaphragms while I had the seats apart and in pieces.

The passenger's leathers also adds "character".

I don't mind putting in a fair amount of work on things I can do (I retired last year, so I now have the time to do things I did not have time for before).

Questions:

1) Does the re-gluing of the wood trim seem feasible?

2) What would be a good liquid to use for the moisturizer? I have time to experiment with various products if needed.

3) After the veneer is reglued (if possible), should I respray the veneer with lacquer to try to meld the lacquer together where it is cracked?

4) Is my thinking a completely silly idea and someone knows that because they've already tried it?

Jerry

 

In deciding to look into how bad the worst piece of wood veneer was, I removed the piece of wood trim on the dash which contains the switches and clock.

I found that the bezel around the switches and clock were holding back cracked and loose pieces of the wood veneer and that it was worse than it looked to be.

I also found that the wood veneer was adhered to a metal backing plate (I presumed it had a wood backing plate, possibly because my other, but older, Jaguar cars had the wood veneer on wood backing.

I suspect that the wood veneer will come off the metal backing in pieces, not in one piece - so I am going to attempt ... key word "attempt" ... to glue cloth to the back of the veneer pieces to hold the pieces together and in alignment with each other.