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- XJ XJ8 / XJR ( X308 ) (https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/xj-xj8-xjr-x308-27/)

- - Refinishing the wood. (https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/xj-xj8-xjr-x308-27/refinishing-wood-68340/)

Refinishing the wood.

Has anyone here ever tried to refinish the wood in a XJ8? Mine seems to have hairline cracks in the clear.

Attachment 166346

pete - moved to the relevant secion for better results mate :icon_banana:

I wish someone would chime in. I am afraid that they are going to say. "just buy new pieces!"

I've tried stripping them. I got a spare off fleabay. It's finished with polyester. I don't know how the pros do it. I finally got the finish off with a heat gun, but the piece I worked on was no longer fit to re-finish. I sent a couple pieces off to Saul at BritishAutoWood in Fla and he did a beautiful job, only trouble is it ain't cheap. I happened to get a 2001 with "milky wood" and the PO never got it replaced when he had the chance. Most of mine has been either replaced or refinished, but DIY ? I dunno.

This post has my take on how to do it https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/i...001-xjr-44331/ I hope this helps.

Thanks for the info Guys. I dont know if I would try it without some spares. Its only two of the doors so I may just let the pros do it.

Hi

I used to do this on old cars but its problematic if you need to match a colour. Used to do door caps on Rolls Royce.

Basically you strip it off with paint stripper and gently sand with fine paper.

Then you use a polyester gel coat. Mix up some gel coast and leave it a few minutes for the bubbles to clear then paint it on thick but not running. Alternatively thin carefully with a small amount of petrol.

Leave overnight and flat until flat with 120 freecut paper then rub with buffing compound and finish with t-cut. You will be surprised how easily it polishes by hand.

Takes a bit of practice better to buy some new wood off eBay.

Peter

there is a guy on ebay who makes them and can also sort yours out if you send him the pieces i found hm while looking for a wooden gear knob... i'll try find him if it helps... (uk ebay)

It seems like the first time somebody tries to remove the door trim to get the door panel off the clear coat cracks. I think all of mine were. I found a guy on a forum, maybe this one, that sold the door wood replacements and I replaced all of mine. They look beautiful and don't have the "hook" on the rear part that makes them so hard to remove and so easy to crack. The new ones just press straight in instead of the pull and slide. I love 'em.

I am all for finding out what they use to refinish the wood. I have seen the 2 part product that is sold on the internet and from what I can see it is a clear coat and catalyst like the clear coat they use on car paint. I on the other had have used lacquer (self leveling) and it works well BUT it does not have the UV protection like clear coat. When I get my shop up and running I hope to redo my wood in my XK8 and my process will be to replace the wood as well. Any and all information is welcome…

reading this thread, i feel a bit foolish. i recently bought a low-mileage
03 XJ8, non-smoker, garage kept by retiree (not parked outside at work,
since she didn't have to work!)

the wood looks SO perfect, that i had /have been wondering if by 03
Jaguar had been so Ford-ized that they were using plastic!!!

please don't judge me harshly. it's just a bit hard to accept that
any manufacturer still clings to the finer things, such as wood trimmed
interiors. we all get a bit jaded over time.

i'm 56 years old, always wanted a Jag... stumbled into the opportunity
of a lifetime. (full service records, all scheduled maintainence completed
by previous owner, a pristeen example of fine British craftsmanship.)

I'm taking some spare wood trims and redoing the finish (98 Vanden Plas). I'm pretty sure they are coated with polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Regular Strippers won't do anything to this substance. It's the same stuff they use to make plastic soda bottles.

I set up a little heat gun station in my basement. I hung the heat gun, in order to make it easier. Otherwise I'd need three hands. It took me 15 minutes to remove the Polyester off one wood trim piece. I didn't burn any spots, which was my only worry. Once I had all the PET off, I noticed the cracks were still in the wood. I don't think the wood is cracked, but the shade around the cracks lightened with age and sun light.

I would've tried to sand the cracks away, but the veneer is super thin. I'm going to put a stain on it since the natural wood color is too light for my XJ8 interior anyway. I'm then going to coat it with MINIWAX Helmsman 350 Gloss. That Urethane should be good with sun and temperature changes. I figured I'd try it since the original stuff cracks anyway. I'll let you know how it turns out if anyone is interested.

The only other finishes I would consider using are Nitro or the original PET formula. Nitro is very tough to deal with and I already know what PET does. Guitars use both of these finishes. If you didn't wan't to try and do it yourself and want to avoid high costs, I would check guitar shops and see where they send their guitars to get refinished. May get a good deal. I like to DIY as much as I can, so I'm going to keep on it. If these turn out well, then I'll use them as temporary replacements while i work on the wood trims currently in my XJ8. I don't plan on staining those.

Here are a couple pics I took so far. If I can get a spare hand, I'll record some of the removal:

Attachment 71046

Attachment 71047

If anyone has found some better techniques, please let me know.

Also, When I'm done with the miniwax poly I'm going to buff/rub it out. I plan to wet sand the finish followed by applying car compound and polish.

Look at this earlier thread on TSB for getting the wood refinished by Modern Concepts:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...epts-ca-88169/

Also - here is the weblink to Madera Concepts Jaguar webpage:

Madera Concepts - Jaguars

Jim Lombardi

When I worked at the Jag dealer that is where we sent the veneer panels for repair.
The ENTIRE set was sent so it all matched.

We even had a 'LOANER' veneer set for X300 long and short wheel base so customers could drive the car while the veneers were out for repair. The 'LOANER' steering wheel was leather if the wood one was being repaired.

bob gauff

If anyone wants to practice, I will send them a piece for the cost of shipping- I have less than perfect cluster, airbag and door woods that I would not sell but gladly will give away.

PM me if interested.

so far so good. I have them stripped and stained (I did a Dark Walnut). Helmsman poly next. I'll post pics of process when I get a chance.

That bulletin says 15 years. Is that based of the 2000 date or the 1997 date?
I'm messing with my spares, but still want to address the one's in my car. Madera does great work, but it isn't cheap. That's why I'm asking.

Thanks.

What did you use to remove the old finish and what did you use as the new finish?

Seriously, spill the beans- what did you use/process to get that result? I would LOVE to change my wood veneer to a darker stain and get rid of the cracks...