Karl H. Krause Guide to Wood Refinishing and Veneer Repair

This gent posted one of the best articles I've seen on restoring and refinishing our wood dashboard.

He pretty much states that they are finished in Polyurethane, not Lacquer as I suspected. Truth is, that makes sense. Lacquer is more beautiful, but a much longer and harder job to get perfect. It actually continues to dry for months. That plus ease of application and outdoor exposure requirements support polyurethane.

We've had several questions about the dashboard wood lately so when I saw this article I figured many of you will find it interesting.

John

 

The article talks about replacing the finish and how the polyurethane will look different than the original finish but I don't think he ever addresses what the original finish is.

My understanding from my digging around online is that the original finish on Jaguars post 1974 is polyester not polyurethane. Apparently this is an epoxy-like common finish on guitars and pianos.

I found this post on another board that seems relatively authoritative on the subject:

"Good post Don,

I'd like to add my 2 cents worth;

The finish used by Jaguar is Polyester - and I'm quite certain its
manufactured by BASF in Germany. It is UV cured, and runs through an 'oven'
of UV lights which provides a very fast set time. They have used Polyesters
since the introduction of the S2 XJ back in 1974 - before that it was
Nitrocellulose Lacquer done the old fashioned way.
There are many outlets for Polyesters (also used on Pianos, certain Guitars
etc), but they do vary greatly in quality and are an absolute nightmare to
use/polish for the novice do-it-yourselfer.
Anyone who has basic auto spray equipment can successfully relacquer their
woodwork by using a high solids, two-part Polyurethane - not the hardware
store stuff that you'll spend a week putting coats on, but something like
what is listed at Valspar Wood | Home (click on ICA). I've heard nothing but
good things about these finishes - but the Italians do manufacture top line
wood coatings.
I use Hickson Coatings products, which are also Italian owned, and also top
line - see: http://www.hickson-coatings.co.uk/hpc01-1.html

The pour-on epoxy, bar-top stuff (like envirotex) is quite durable and idiot
proof, but useless on anything but a flat piece of wood (as it will run all
over the place) - which there isn't much of in the XJ40. This stuff also
takes a while to set up - I'd love to see someone attempt a ski-slope with it
:wink: BTW, This is also the kind of stuff they use on those awful, stick-on
overlay kits for the XJ's - I have yet to see one of these where the wood
really is Walnut Burl anyhow!

Also, as I have been through the mill with dash wood finishes, I must add
that using automotive clearcoat is not a very good choice either - it will
have a short life in your car, unless you live on the dark side of the moon.

Try some high solids, 2k Polyurethane from a good coatings supplier, and you
won't be sorry.

Regards,

Saul Chaplin
www.britishautowood.com"

https://forums.jag-lovers.com/t/mode...so-easy/149787

 

Whew, just when in think we've answered the age old question. I was inches away from pulling the burl wood in the old XJ6 in my driveway to test refinishing. But if your time line is correct, it's got different finish than the Xk8 does.

Thanks for keeping us on track Red.