what was the factory original degree of finish coat on the veneer. the restoration shops seem to go all the way to mirror finish. yet, the finish on the interior of my glove box is glossy, but in no way akin to the finish of say my modern Jag, which could be mistaken for photo plastic. the glove box door on the '66 shows grain and texture.

 

The original finish was a high gloss, but not to the same degree as modern Jaguar wood - which, as you say, is so smooth and perfect that it almost looks like plastic (but it isn't). The original finish was equivalent to a high gloss on a piece of domestic wood furniture - think of a dining room table. The inside bits, like the inner side of the glove box door were not finished to the same level of gloss as the parts that show.

 

SOV is exactly right---like fine furniture!

 

My wife restored my 58 MK1's dash with polyurethane and sanded and polished to shine. I have seen the wood glass, but it will show bad if not done right or dustless. Then I learned the factory clear lacquered, sanding between coats until smooth and glossy like a mirror. I then stripped all the wood and redid it all.

 

I like old patina in wood dashes. If I want it like a mirror I buy a new car.

 

This is what the wood looked like originally. When these photos were taken this 1966 3.8 had only 17,000 original miles on the odometer.

 

looks fine to me.

 

I know I'm sticking my neck out here but what the heck!? I contacted the manufacturer of the VHT paints and found it's compatible with wood so . . .
it makes for a nice finish and it's flexibility and heat resistance were a plus for me. and now to really irritate someone: the dreaded PO had pretty much ruined the dash cap. The putz hamfistedly sanded clear through the veneer for about 6" of the center of the cap. Using my art skills I drew in the veneer grain. Don't shoot me. Reveneering the cap wasn't really in my budget. Maybe the next guy will curse me. It's not perfect but it'll do for now.




faux veneer. very faux.

 

You have appeared to have done a good job of faking in the veneer _ nothing wrong with doing that.
In the Victorian era, it was a great skill and an art form.

Cars in the US like Packard's out of the 20's and 30's, had faux grain painted on metal in many cases.

As far as finish, you can use pretty much anything, it's all about build quality and drying times.
The faster the build quality and the faster the drying time, the more of deeper finish you will get.
This is so because it allows more wet sanding and polishing in the end.

I found marine varnish to be the poorest in that respect.
It took days and then weeks of building and drying.

Sanding through the veneer is a typical DYI blunder.
Unskilled people think that in order to get that perfect finish, they have to do a really good job of sanding the actual wood.

And of course, using sandpaper to remove the finish.

 

"And of course, using sandpaper to remove the finish."

and that's probably exactly what the guy did (with 150!). after stripper and a soapy rag rub down i used a terry cloth towel to rub it down hard and smooth the grain, then 400/600. the walnut is hard and already pretty smooth from the factory.

 

Even with 150, it was clogging the paper pretty bad.

 

You did a pretty good job with the artwork, it was not uncommon for Jaguar to patch in veneer issues (generally on a smaller scale) and you sometimes uncover such work when stripping the interior trim.

Will be nice to see it when you have finished it. Nice job

 

you actually painted that?

like the taliban would say: "I kill you I kill you" haha!

 

I can't actually see where you've added the artwork!

 

I'm guessing that it's in the middle somewhere.
The veneer doesn't match itself there as it usually does.

Very hard to tell though.

 

Pat yourself on the back, you've taken a complete disaster and turned it around with your own skills, if that was me I'd be using a 4 inch emulsion brush...............

 

Thanks for the kudos guys. Moral support can be just as important as the other kind freely given here. Happy Mom's day to all the lady Jagers out there.

 

I never had children, but thanks anyway.

 

made me laugh

 

my children are the Jags, got to take care of them!