Walnut veneer, first attempt (ever)

[Gjk]

Well, here goes…

first attempt at re-veneering my dash masks.

Easy bit done for now.

Some engineering needed tor the sides.

 

[Bibs]

Looks great, nicely done

 

[Gjk]

Thanks @Bibs.

The sides are proving to be a real challenge to get the veneer around the switch cut outs. I wish @CHANGES was excepting p.m’s as I would pick his brains as he did such a first class job of re-veneering his dash.

never mind though, onwards and upwards…

[Elite 4.9]

Looks great Grahame with very nice figure. Should pop with you apply the finish!

  I redid my '74 Elite with burled Elm which was all flat surfaces. Easy.

I also, years ago, re-veneered my Jag 120 FHC dash. It had a 5/8th inch bevel contoured, from the front of the dash into the larger gages so I used steam heat to help bend the thin veneer without cracking it, and a wood plug to match the contour and pressed it with a clamp and glued it up. Worked well.

atb,

Richard

[Gjk]

I’m having no problems getting the veneer to go around curves. I have even managed to get the veneer to form round a 6mm diameter form without cracking. 

The problem is the double curve in the esprit l/h & r/h sides of the dash.

 

[paulbrown22]

Great work on the veneer, but I was admiring the vintage Clifford AutoImmobiliser - I have the same in my Esprit, and wish people still sold some extra keys for it!

[Chillidoggy]

Graham - I recall doing veneering years ago and pretty sure a steamer was involved to help form it round corners. But please check, as my memory might not be correct.

[Gjk]

Have to admit I’ve not tried steam yet but, saturating the veneer with hot water does allow me to curve the veneer to a far tighter radius than it was meant for. The problem is where the switch cut out “flares out”. It is just too much of an ask for the veneer I’m using.  Aside the cost, it could be the reason Lotus used the nasty brown plastic finish.

 

@paulbrown22, I wish they still made the immobiliser fobs as well. A spare would be very handy!

[CHANGES]

23 hours ago, Gjk said:

Thanks @Bibs.

The sides are proving to be a real challenge to get the veneer around the switch cut outs. I wish @CHANGES was excepting p.m’s as I would pick his brains as he did such a first class job of re-veneering his dash.

never mind though, onwards and upwards…

Hi Grahame @Gjk

I am sorry if i missed your pm.   I checked back and could not find it .. i do try to answer all pm's and help out where i can .. 

Anyway, I think the area you refer to is the inside of the switch recess.  You are correct the veneer wont take such a tight fold even with steam .. To the best of my memory when I glued the new veneer over the the switch hole i trimmed it out leaving it slightly proud. This was then sanded to a mitre .  Small pieces were then cut to go inside the return of the hole where the switches go with matching mitres .   These needed steaming to get a partial curve for those tight corners .. But four sections were needed .   To memory it was fiddle with all sorts of wedges and jigs to hold firmly in place while curing .   When all covered it was sanded as one before applying the gloss finish..   Make sure there is enough clearance for the veneer and clear coat gloss to allow the switches not to catch when re-fitted.   

I can not find the pic's of the process , probably stuck in old computer files.  but tried to blow up area from general internal pic.. not the greatest quality , but you can just make out how that method finishes up .. 

hope that helps .. 

         

[Gjk]

Many thanks Dave @CHANGES.

That is the same approach that I’m taking now so I can get the veneer round the double curve. I just wanted to know if you had found an easier way to do it.

on the p.m front when I tried to send it stated that you were unable to receive messages.

I had a good look at the pictures you posted on @Vanya’s post many moons ago which, pretty much made me bite the bullet and have a go at my dash.

I will keep an eye out for the clearance when refitting the switches and will test fit before top coat to ensure the switches won’t catch.

[Elite 4.9]

one thing on my Jag 120 FHC dash that I did was the cigar holder on top the dash. It was a metal tray inside a boot of walnut veneer. So I had to have a sharp corner all around the top edge. In this case no amount of steam was going to bend it 90 degrees so I cut and pasted another piece that was nearly identical matching the grain to the body so the top would match. Basically, I sanded by hand, the edge to a sharp 45 degrees on both the body and top so as to meet something like a speaker box does at each corner. If you are careful, you may be able to find some matching wood grain that is close and if done right, the eye won't be drawn to looks that closely but it takes extra time to match each edge perfectly so it really doesn't show that two separate pieces of wood made the corners.

cheers,

Richard

[Gjk]

Cheers Richard, yes, matching the veneer pieces is a challenge but also part of the fun. I have been using slight bevels/mitres on the edge joints between two pieces of veneer to ensure a seamless join. The walnut will require having a pore and grain filler applied before top coat and if there are any small discrepancies in any of my joints I will address them then.

regards

grahame

[Gjk]

A couple of progress pics…

The main dash mask is ready for top coat and the left hand side has just had a coat of sanding sealer before three coats of pore/grain filler.

 

[Gjk]

There is light at the end of the tunnel at last.

Wet sanded with 800 grit and a light coat of lacquer, wet sanded with 1200 grit followed by another light coat of lacquer. Once left to dry overnight I will wet sand with 2500 grit before another light lacquer coat. Then one final sand with 3000 grit before polishing.

 

[Gjk]

Sanded with 2500 grit a recoated. Lighting and camera doesn’t do the finish justice. A light sand with 3000 grit tomorrow and a polish will really bring the dash to life.

 

[Gjk]

All back together finally… apologies for picture quality, the sun was just starting to drop.

 

[Bibs]

Looks spot on, nicely done

 

[NG5]

Congratulations, looks excellent. I particularly like the work round the switches, well worth the effort 👍

[Gjk]

Thought I’d share a couple of pics of the binnacle back in the car.

 

 

I think the darker walnut suit’s the car better (that’s only a personal view) but, once the carpets are changed to scarlet and the interior leather recoloured back to original, I hope it will be a nice place to be!

[drdoom]

All very lovely! Anyone know where one of those Momo "horn" buttons might be had?

[Gjk]

EBay uk!

[Gjk]

Bit of a thread resurrection and a bit of a late post but I just want to warn anyone who decides to re-veneer their dash.

Under no circumstances whatsoever use an acrylic lacquer. Acrylic can not withstand the temperature’s a car interior can reach and will crack (as mine did). Polyurethane or 2k would have been a far better choice. 😔

[pete]

Dulux diamond glaze. Expensive but worth it 

[Gjk]

20 hours ago, pete said:

Dulux diamond glaze. Expensive but worth it 

I did even know it existed @pete. I wish I had done my homework a bit better rather than just trusting the wood veneer website.