i have cracks in the wood on the dash, How do you repair them?

 

There is an ebay seller that sells a wood dash kit to cover the existing dash and for the centre console. user id : coolnad17 ( 159) 100% and his eBay Store: N3F Racing. 88 DOLLARS PLUS SHIPPING.

 

Those are stick on , if you want yourr wood redone like new send to medina in california. They do ajgaur factory warranty repairs in the us and customer pay work as well. And they take trashed wood and redo like brand new

 

very expensuve to redo. British Autowood does it too in Orlando Florida.

 

I think the refinished dashes are around $300. I also think Gary at CGWoodcraft on Ebay is a little bit cheaper.

I have some decent ones that are in good shape as is...
Also have one dash that already has the stick on kit applied that I'd love to get rid of... Looks nice, but not authentic...

But the question about yours is are the cracks in the veneer or just the clear coat? As long as the veneer is in good condition it's simple enough to remove the old clear coat, and then reapply it. Just lots of heat, scrapping, sanding, then many coats of clear coat, with light sanding in between.

David
EverydayXJ.com

 

its just crack in clear coat. Could you tell me the process to remove the clear coat?

 

I know Jose is a pro at this, and will hopefully give you some pointers...

Here is a link to a post that may answer some of your questions:
http://forums.jag-lovers.org/av.php?1027077i68

Luckily my father is retired, and has a wood working shop, so he takes care of any issues on my cars....

David
EverydayXJ.com

 

who me? refinishing dash wood? never done it.

I'm a pro at calculating the cost to have it done by a real pro, and the trouble of doing it myself, and the result is always, send it to a pro or buy a replacement already done.

 

Refinishing the wood panels is somewhat tedious and meticulous work, however, with the right tools it can be done inexpensively.

What you'll need:
Belt or Disc sander (preferably variable speed)
120 to 600 grit sand paper
Water and an eye dropper
Tack cloth
Epoxy Resin Finish (Used to finish tabletops, you can get it at Lowe's)

Starting with the 120 grit sandpaper, carefully and evenly sand away the finish of the wood. When there is no longer any cracked finish, move to 350 grit and continue sanding evenly. The wood will begin to get lighter in color.
Use a drop of water on the wood - This will test for porosity in the wood - If it beads, there's still some finish, if it soaks in, you can move on to 600 grit sandpaper.

Using your 600 grit sandpaper (hand sanding works best here) smooth the surface of the wood to touch. You shouldn't have any raised grain at this point. Blow or wipe off any sanding dust, and use your tack cloth to remove any remaining fine particles of dust from the wood.

Finally, follow the directions on your Epoxy Resin finish and coat the surface of the wood piece. You have now just refinished your dash.

 

I have a similar problem - I am thinking the stick on kit is fine however as the veneir has come off in many places leaving the dash in a very patchy condition. Question - should I pick all the remaining veneir off to apply the stick on type or stick on top of the venier???

 

if you want the stick-on linoleum to stay put, sand away all the lacquer.

 

How much for the dash with the sticker (fake wood grain) on it? Would you like my old one back as a core?

 

$25 for just the dash, $40 for the dash and matching computer surround.
Email off list for details and photos....
david@everydayxj.com

David

 

For the curious, here is what the stick on vinyl kits look like.
Not authentic, but not too bad on the car....

David
EverydayXJ

 

That stick on stuff looks like stick on stuff. Do yourself a favor and refinish the wood. You'll not only be more satisfied with the finished product, but you'll also know that you did it yourself.

 

I have found the best way to repair faded and cracked wood is to sand it using 240 grit wet and dry. When you rub through to the veneer, it will darken. So you need to stay away from these areas and concentrate on the remaining light areas. Then lightly sand with 400 and finally 800. Yes this is painstaking work but worth it when you have finished. I finish with 2k clearcoat, sanding and recoating as required.

 

If I can give 2 cents: Epefanes (sp?) is good stuff: it'll handle the massive temperature swings in the summers and winters. It does need to dry 2 days before you sand, though. And you will have to sand...

I would thin with naptha (or whatever they sell to thin it with, which is probably naptha + magic).

It works on your boat/outdoor furniture wood too, should you need it. It doesn't peel away like poly or even some epoxy's will.

 

In my experience I would never recommend sanding the veneer on a series III Jaguar it is way too thin and therefore very unforgiving. I have found that varnish remover such as that sold in places such as Home Depot is very easy to use. You will have to apply it a few times to remove all the old lacquer and in the process will not harm the veneer itself.



I also don't hold with using clear cote or any other similar finish as these cannot be touched up if damaged later on. I have had the best results using a spray polyurethane as that available from Minwax. It simulates the original finish extremely well, is durable and can be repaired if scratched or damaged at a later date. Apply many coats lightly sanding between each coat. Keep this process up until you get the finish you want.



(I used to use heat to remove the old finish but when the varnish remover formula was change by the manufactures to become more environmentally friendly, it also became better and less harmful to use on these dashboards)

 

FISRT...I mean NO insults

I refinished furniture for years as a profession, and still do occasionaly for a hobby.

That being said....NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER power sand near the edge of veneers...PERIOD.
And all this hoo-haa about wet sanding, thinning to remove the laquer...BOOOOOOO! What a phenominal waste of time.

Assuming you have removed your dash...

Go to home depot (or what ever home mprovement store is near you) and buy some outdoor desk finish remover. It's made to take hard laquers, paint and every kind of hard clear coat off of wood. Brush it on, let it sit, brush on some more, let it sit. When the finish is soft, take a PLASTIC scraper and start removing the finish. Apply some more, let it sit, apply some more, let it sit. Do this until the finish is gone. Take a handful of Trisodium Phosphate (TSP) and toss it in a five gallon bucket of water, mix until disolved. Take a plastic scrub brush (the kind for scrubbing a bathtub) and scrub the dash with the water/TSP until the wood is squeeky to the finger tip rub. THAT'S when the finish is gone. Wipe it dry with some old towels. Let it sit and dry. HAND sand the veneer, using care on the edges not to sand through...very easy to ruin the veneer. Wipe the dash with a rag soaked with water and saturate the wood. Wipe dry, this will raise the grain again. Sand again and repeat a third time. Wipe well with a tack clothe.

Put a staple in one end of the dash EDGE leaving it raise about 1/4 inch (.25) put two staples in the other end EDGE the same as the first, but about 1 inch up the edge, this is for triangelation /stability. Tie heavy string to the staples and hang the dash up somewhere that over spray wont matter. Take some spray eurothane and give several light coats until the desired thickness/finish is acheived, sanding between each coat with 400+ sand paper.

Reinstall your dash..........

 

I hesitated to post this idea as it may be far from a good idea. So, Caveat!! is that a proper disclaimer?

My former employer hired a designer to do our office in a modern functional and pleasing way. Lots of glass, black metal and birch. The desk and table tops were birch veneer on plywood, finished in what I believe was a poly urethane. I still have a couple od the shelves done in that way.

Well, after some wear and tear, the office manager commissioned a cabinet maker to refinish the wear surfaces. I noted the craftsman, properly attired in white overalls and white shirt work, he used a sharp blade to scrape away the clear poly. Then brushed on a new coat or more. Wonderful result. Actually, a bit too shiny, the reflections were a tad much when the sun shone in. A matte might have been a better choice.

So, scrape the clear off the veneer on our Jaguars and spray on some poly?

Mine is imperfect, but not so much so as to cause me to take it apart. so, I waxed it with a high carnauba content material. It came out looking great. Time to do it and the dorsal surfaces of my car again in that wax.

A bit of elbow grease needed, but the results are something else.

Carl