I have a 2005 S-Type. I have the semi-standard burl walnut wwod trim on the interior. I was curious as to where I could find replacement pieces other than the overly expensive dealer and perhaps other wood trim pieces for those things not wood from the factory.

I developed, for reasons unknown, a hairline fracture on my center console wood trim and why it may not bother anyone but me, that is enough. Is there something that causes such a thing, as I am a city driver and am very careful and clean with the interior.

Thanks

Tom in Dallas

 

Find a local woodworking club. The guys who have been hobby woodworkers for decades can do amazing repairs for a fraction of what you'll pay a dealer or wood trim retailer for a new, nonmatching trim panel. You'll never see that crack again and they will back the trim piece with epoxy or something similar so it will be stronger than new and never crack again. Since you apparently live in Dallas, google "Dallas woodworking clubs" and call around. You'll find an expert with minimal effort, and they'll fix you up better than new....

 

Jon has great advise. If there is nothing locally for you Tom, try http://www.maderaconcepts.com/ several members have used this company with excellent reviews!

 

Is this a common problem? Why would it crack.? There is a shiny surface on top, so it is not like I can moisturize the wood and I have not hit it with anything or done anything except to keep it clean and shiny.

 

Its my understanding that its the urethane clear-coat that cracks, not the veneer wood underneath it.

Why?, I'm not sure ... Temperature expansion and contraction? ... don't know.

I had Madera restore a 2000 S-Type dash wood (larger than yours) for ~$300 + SH

I bought one off e-bay for ~$100, had that restored, then swapped it out with the one in the car.

You can see pic's of mine in one of my subscriptions.

 

Does your car sit unprotected in the sun at anytime? My S-Type developed a crack in the console this past summer. I bet the heat from sitting on an asphalt parking lot during the day helped cause it.

BTW: The crack on mine seems to be in the laminate surface and not the actual wood.

 

It has occurred in the last week and our temps here have been in the 45-75 range. You are correct, it is on the surface, not the wood itself.

Has anyone sent their wood to the http://www.maderaconcepts.com/ and does anyo0ne know the process and what were the results.

Also, where is the best place to get additional trim for the around the radio, heat /ac areas, upper console, ect.

Thanks

Tom

 

See my post above, and thread:
"2000 S-Type Dash Wood restoration info"

 

This is a really great idea... I dunno if they would just "accept" a project from a Stranger though.

As far as the S-Types wood, it seems to be a similar situation as with Mercedes wood. It's wood veneer bonded onto aluminum. In the Mercedes the wood is between 1/32 and 1/16" in thickness. Due to this aluminum backer, there is need for epoxy backing, but the Aluminum backer is a mixed blessing...

What seems to be happening is that the wood / aluminum combo expands and contracts with heat cycles, and eventually fractures the very thick epoxy based clearcoat. Especially as it cures and dries over the course of time. Our cars are getting to that age where this is just starting. My 500sl's wood looks like Freddy Kreuger was trying to shift it after 21 years. That's going to be an over the winter project. I'm a little scared to re veneer it due to the compound curves involved, and apparently there is NO room for sanding errors. But even exotic wood veneers are available for relatively cheap prices on ebay. Everyone says start with new veneer rather than try to salvage the old one.

The color of the wood / grain is determined by the stain. The gloss is determined by the clear coat. People have had luck going to body shops (or spraying on their own), and getting the pieces clearcoated with several (and I mean several) coats of automotive clearcoat (which has better durability). And then cutting it with compound (by hand in this case), and polishing it, just like a freshly painted car piece.

Take care,

George

 

Do NOT have anybody local mess with the wood!! Use Madera as posted below, they are the experts and factory authorized. I have a 2005 STR and had the passenger airbag cover crack all the way across. Had both dash pieces redone and they are better than the factory. My mistake was going thru the dealer. Contact Madera direct and you will save money. I got the wood replaced and refinished.

Take it off yourself, just know that the clips are very strong and you might crack the wood removing it. So DO NOT remove the wood panels unless absolutely necessary!!! I cracked the passenger side when I removed it but they were being refinished anyway so no big deal.
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That sounds super. How long did they take and what was the general costs. Did it match well when you got it back? I agree. I would rather go with the experience factor.

Tom

 

Since I went thru the dealer it was more expensive and took longer. I was quoted about a week but it took 3 weeks. Total cost was about $300 or so. The wood was a perfect match as far as I can tell.

The work was better in that the wood wrapped around the tight inside and outside corners completely. Especially noticeable on the drivers side opening for the gauges. The factory work on close inspection had some small splits or sipes cut in the wood at the corners to help it bend and conform to the metal backing. I hope but an not sure that the clear finish was applied a bit more thoroughly and thicker than the factory did.

I still have no explanation of why it cracked? But it's been almost 8 months with no additional problems so I hope it's a rare thing that won't happen again??
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Some of you have apparently had bad experiences with local wood trim repairs....

Not me - the woodworker hobbyists who refinished the wood trim in a vehicle I had nearly 20 years ago did a fantastic job. It looked better-than-factory new and held up very well. The key is to find the right group of woodworkers with extensive knowledge and the proper tools....

 

20 years ago the process was completely different!! That's the problem. I don't want someone to experiment on my $60K+ STR interior wood trim.

What you really need to think about is this. If it does not come out OK what is the solution or the next step? If Madera does it wrong guess what? It goes back to them to redo it again. Local guy??

One of the real keys to this repair is getting the correct wood grain. If you are redoing all the pieces that's not a problem but I only wanted to repair the parts I had problems with. Even then it required the drivers side dash piece to be redone to match the wood grain properly.

Now if you have no other way then yes I would seek out local people but this is not a DIY project.
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Anything can be DIY if you have enough patience and skill.

Personally though, I think the only way to get the wood looking good in a DIY scenario is to redo ALL of it, to a consistent finish. The one piece at a time method isn't really going to work.

I actually found an STR on ebay I posted here a while back that had all the wood refinished to piano black and it looked absolutely phenomenal.

George

 

What about getting additional wood trim other than factory standard- such as around climate controls and radio?

T

 

I have not tried any of them, but google "jaguar s-type dash wood kit"

example: http://www.autocarimage.com

 

Is there a DIY example of how to get that panel off? My STR has the same crack running across the passenger side airbag panel.

 

Yes, There are several posts. Search for wood removal or cracked wood.
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Hey Jazz, I bought a center stack off e-bay for my Stereo mod, and it happened to have one of those kits.
Since my dash wood was cracked, I had it restored with a custom stain job by Madera to match the stack wood kit.

Here's how the stack looks now.