hi there,

The "wood" on the dash looks too fake to be classed as wood, so I want to wrap it...

Ist it simply clipped in place or is it glued or so? Simply pry it off or do I need to take the dash to pieces?

Cheers

Damien

 

It really is wood. Veneer, of course. Nice finish, isn't it?

 

Hi,

Very easy to pry off. Start with removing minus pole from your battery, explanation will come. A plastic tool will help, start with the middle panel (clock surround) and pry gently at the bottom and it will come off. Panels are fastened with metal clips. Then move to the instrument panel, you will have a lot of place to pry off from the side you just took off. Then you should be careful. Before moving to the passenger side you must have remembered to disconnect battery. There is an airbag behind this panel and you do not want this to go off in your face.

What do you plan to use instead of the wooden panels? The wood IS the interior in my opinion...

Here is a video showing you how easy it is:

 

My suggestion, if you don't like the look of the trim, is to look for a nice Vanden Plas set on Ebay. There are several on US Ebay for about $150, right now. Not sure about EBay.de.

The Vanden Plas used the nicest veneer.

My XJ8 had badly faded veneer so I replaced it with this set from Ebay. Note the nice book-ended veneer on the glove box.



I also re-varnished the centre console trim, with varnish with wood stain added, to darken it up to match the dash.

All the trim in your car IS real veneer. The usual problem is that the acrylic varnish goes opaque or cracks. The were a lot of cars built around 2000-2001 with a bad batch of varnish that oqaqued badly.

 

I do agree with previous posters that the wood is what this car is all about, especially as I also possess a VDP with the wood in perfect condition, matching the cream interior, simply gorgeous.
However, I have seen some other cars, where the wood color should make me take some action too.

2 Remarks on this:
1. There is a thread in this x308 forum where the owner wrapped all wood in 3D-carbon.
You might try to find it as a reference.
He had a black interior, and I kind of liked it in its own way.

2. If you buy a wood set from Ebay, take care it is a matching set.
I am not sure for the other XJ8 models, but the VDP sets were made using the subsequent layers of veneer, so each panel has the "same" look and intensity.

 

VDP was never offered here. Only Daimler specs.

I am a wood fan but I just think it doesn't match my plans for the car and looks too bold and tacky. My X300 and XJ-S have a better wood which really is wood and looks like wood. So I'm wrapping it. Either in leather or vinyl

Cheers for the video

 

So, I've wrapped it all... Looks nice how it turned out. No, no tacky fake carbon fibre. Nor any fake brushed aluminium or so. I went simple but elegant... Matte Coffee Brown.

So, before:


And after:


For those who worry about the airbag on the passenger side: why disconnect the battery? You don't even touch the airbag. If you worry about it exploding in your face, then you shouldn't sit behind the driver's wheel either. And you shouldn't press the horn or hit the steering wheel out of frustration... I've worked on enough airbag cars. The only reason to cut power is if you need to remove plugs from the airbag system. That is the only time you'll want to do that

 

It may not appeal to everybody but I like it very much!

 

Cheers Nick. I'm sure the purists won't be happy. Luckily: pull it off and it is new wood again

 

Looks good. I think it would probably look better with the lighter colored dash. It gives it a more sporty look.

 

Well, I must admit to a certain amount of scepticism, but now I've seen the result I think it looks great.

 

Yes, I agree that it takes quite much to accidentally release the airbag, but airbag is fastened to passenger panel and if you should have any wiring issues, why risk it? Remove minus pole is a simple security measure.

Leather panels surprisingly look quite good, but originals are the ones for me.

 

The wood panel sets referenced on Ebay; are these panels universal? I mean, if I order a set online from a Vanden Plas car, will it fit my standard XJ8 of the same year?

 

Yes, they will fit, the only exception being that rear door trims won't fit because Vanden Plas rear doors are longer.

 

Quite tasteful transformation. I agree that the veneer trim is what makes these cars iconic, but, you know, reasonable mods like this detract nothing and personalize the ride in subtle ways.

(now, off to find that VDP burl walnut trim set...I like the subtle gold pinstripe in the varnish coat...may go well if I can score a set of seat back/tables)

 

Actually, those "pinstripes" are Peruvian boxwood inlaid in the burl walnut.

 

Question. I just realized the difference between both pictures. Did you add the rear lighter yourself, orrr.... I was looking at the top picture going "wow, it didn't have a rear lighter?" and then scrolled to the After, and then was like, wait, what? So what gives!

 

Nice. Marquetry applied to car trim. Now, THAT'S neat.

 

I was about to mention the same, an other of the little stories of a VDP interior.

 

Wasn't there before, so I retrofitted it from my X300...