Upon detailing last time, I noticed the wood veneer on the rear doors & center console have what appears to be upholstery dye overspray. Firm buffing(by hand) hasn't worked so I was wondering if a solvent like maybe acetone/fingernail polish remover would be too harsh to the OEM finish.

Thanks in advance.

 

i would not try a solvent, especially something as strong than acetone because you can't control the result.
i would try a paint scratch remover or even some of the paste used to renew plastic headlight on a power tool

 

I have paint on the steering wheel when the Jag got painted, I wonder if a clay bar ( for paint ) could remove the dye you're talking about. Have not tried it on my steering wheel yet, but it might be less harsh than a solvent.

 

First I'd take it back to whomever did that and have them clean it if you trust they can? Or I would check with a high end car wash or a body shop if all you need is it cleaned off. Yours may be free or if you want to flip them a $10 or so for the effort. I know the lacquer finish is somewhat thick. I'm going to get mine redone because they are cracked (previous owners attempt to do whatever). I'm out of town or I'd get you my wood guy who does Jags, he made my shift knob and its gorgeous. He's going to have to strip mine all the way down and rebuild the finish. I'm going to have him custom letter it also. The cost is like $150 a panel to completely redo.

 

This was done by the PO so I have no recourse on returning it. I may try the clay bar route & see what happens.

 

I would try a medium cutting coumpound like 3m scratch remover or rubbing compound, followed by a finishing polish.

 

Having just refinished my cracked and discolored shift knob, I can vouch for the toughness of whatever kind of clearcoat Jaguar applied to the wood veneer pieces. A 30 minute application of a methylene chloride paint stripper appeared to have no effect (an overnight soak was required). This is the same heavy-duty paint stripper that bubbled up the original exterior paint in 15 minutes. A very quick swipe of acetone should have no effect on the wood veneer pieces.

 

Being my issue is in a fine mist pattern I will try a small area with the fingernail polish remover & a cotton swab to test.

 

King Charles,

Personally, I would not recommend touching the finish with fingernail polish remover (which is usually acetone or a similarly-strong solvent). It may not remove the finish, but it may create an etched surface that is more difficult to remove than the overspray, and leave you with less finish thickness to work with to achieve a good result.

I like Mark SF's suggestion of trying a medium cutting compound on a soft cloth like a microfiber towel to see if it will remove the overspray. If it does, follow it with a polishing compound and rub to a mirror gloss. You could use a foam pad on a drill or orbital polisher, but doing the work by hand will give you the most control and reduce the risk of burning through the finish in spots you weren't even trying to clean.

If the cutting compound won't remove the overspray, I would recommend wet sanding the finish with 1000 or 1500 grit wet and dry sand paper that has been soaked in water for an hour to make it soft with no hard wrinkles or creases. Wrap the sand paper around a small flat-surfaced sanding block of wood or rubber to avoid creating any low spots, which may happen if you use your fingers to press the sandpaper to the finish. This can be scary if you've never done it, but keep reading!

Just as soon as the overspray is removed, quit sanding, rinse away all traces of sanding residue, then move up to 2000 grit wet and dry paper that has been soaked in water for an hour. Sand until the 1000 or 1500 grit marks are gone and the surface is an even matte.

Now try the polishing compound on a soft cloth. If you can get a mirror gloss with little effort, you're set. If not, clean the surface and sand with 3000 grit wet and dry paper that has been soaked for an hour just until the entire surface is uniform. Now use the polishing compound and you should be able to see yourself in the finish.

This is the process I use for polishing new and deteriorated finishes on musical instruments, and it worked well on the wood in our '93 XJ40. It works on nitrocellulose lacquer as well as modern hard polyurethane or UV-cured urethane (which is probably what Jaguar's wood trim supplier used because it dramatically speeds up production).

Cheers,

Don

 

Clay was used initially to remove overspray from car finishes, I bet it would work on your wood. Just make sure you use plenty of lube (detail spray) and don't rub the clay "dry" on the surface.

If you need a solvent the best advice is to use the least powerful stuff first and work your way up, but be careful and patient.
Vector

 

Going to clay this weekend & go from there, appreciate all the tips.