Dash wood: new or refinish?

[mdsalemi]

Well, I'm having some work done, including replacing my pitted windscreen. Thought I'd do the dash wood too.

The refinish price is extremely high; has anyone seen or had experience with any suppliers of new? Authentic Classics seems to have a nice set. Anyone bought one? Any other comments?

When restored 20 years ago, the restorer just had the wood refinished with no repair...

[RAY]

Hi Michael,

I have recently bought a complete original MB wood set from Authentic Classics and very pleased with the original satin finish ' look ' also the ends of the hockey stick's on top of the dash in the middle are book matched with the wood grain.

My original ones were actually cracked so no refinishing for me, not cheap but they are perfect. Having my whole interior re-done at the moment so worth having it correct.

Best

Ray

[John Betsch - "SADIE"]

If you buy a new set, you probably will have to buy the radio speaker grill to match the coloring.  And, the "newer" grills  seem to come with a screw connection from the top rather than the hidden  "speed-nut" underneath

I mentioned before of refinishing mine when I first started with my car 2 years ago, thinking how hard can it ne, and didn't realize how thin the veneer is.  Be aware

jb

[Peter]

Some time ago I asked a specialist to restore the dash wood of my Pagoda.
He had a lot of experience with wooden (MB) dashboards, but her refuse to do the dash wood of a Pagoda. In his opinion the original quality is already so poor that, it is impossible to do a good quality restauration.

So, I have bought a new set; they are well available in many different colors and good fitting and quality.

Peter

[hauser]

Madera Concepts if you want to refinish it.  To my knowledge they are the only ones left since Heritage went out of business with Drew's passing.

They do all of Gernolds work.

[114015]

Some time ago I asked a specialist to restore the dash wood of my Pagoda.
He had a lot of experience with wooden (MB) dashboards, but her refuse to do the dash wood of a Pagoda. In his opinion the original quality is already so poor that, it is impossible to do a good quality restauration.

That's rubbish. 
If a woodworks specialist claims that just in general - go run!
His service clearly is not good enough then. 
Surely there are wood sets of our cars that cannot properly be redone anymore.
But if those are not too much broken or delaminated, they can very well be redone.
The veneer can be replaced (vacuum technique) if necessary, a proper woodworks craftsman _can_ do that, yours could probably not.
Personally strongly prefer keeping the old original dashwood - what I did.
There's a wealth of parts that desperately need to be replaced on the car during a resto, like all (really all!) rubber pieces and most if not all bearings or so,
but the five wood pieces (including the one around the hardtop rear window) and the original leather definitely do not need to be replaced - if those aren't gone too much.

But "buying everything new" is surely more simple than going the more tedious way of restoring the original.
Think about it - the next time.


Achim
(only original dash & hardtop wood and wooden tray of course)

[doitwright]

Maderna Concepts did a presentation at Pagoda World in SanDiego last year. They said often times the wood along the windshield (and the hardtop window) is beyond repair and then they will use either an original replacement or a newly fabricated one. They use the proper veneer and process but are expensive. They also brought a sample of what some suppliers are offering which was a resin cast piece with a wood look on the surface. I believe you must install the windshield before replacing the wood. I think I read that on the forum a while ago.

[johnk]

My wood is nicely stained and finished however it’s finished with semi gloss rather than satin. I am considering lightly scuffing up the semigloss finish and recoating with satin. Haven’t done any research yet and wouldn’t be attempting it for a few months yet.

[doitwright]

My wood is nicely stained and finished however it’s finished with semi gloss rather than satin. I am considering lightly scuffing up the semigloss finish and recoating with satin. Haven’t done any research yet and wouldn’t be attempting it for a few months yet.

Be careful with what products you use. Some research on original finishes is in order. The beautiful wood dash on the 220SE Coupe I had last summer had crazing in the top coat. I found that by carefully wiping denatured alcohol in a soft cloth would semi dissolve the finish coat and create a nice smooth finish. The Coupes wood finish has more of a gloss and is deeper so while I was able to smooth out the finish, I did not take it all the way down to the wood.


Be careful with what products you use. Some research on original finishes is in order. The beautiful wood dash on the 220SE Coupe I had last summer had crazing in the top coat. I found that by carefully wiping denatured alcohol in a soft cloth would semi dissolve the finish coat and create a nice smooth finish. The Coupes wood finish has more of a gloss and is deeper so while I was able to smooth out the finish, I did not take it all the way down to the wood.

[johnk]

Thanks frank. I really appreciate the input and will try denatured alcohol and other possible options first. I don’t think mine is the original finish just by the fact that it’s too shiny. Also the finish and rich color doesn’t look 50 years old. I am guessing my wood was professionally refinished in the last ten years or so.

[JamesL]

My wood is nicely stained and finished however it’s finished with semi gloss rather than satin. I am considering lightly scuffing up the semigloss finish and recoating with satin. Haven’t done any research yet and wouldn’t be attempting it for a few months yet.

I did my rear window surround and used finest grade steel-wool to prep it. It simply scruffed the surface rather than went down to the wood. Did that a few times and very happy with the outcome. The other parts - with the exception of the speaker grille!!! -  would be easy enough to prep/re-coat

[johnk]

Thanks james. That’s pretty much what o was thinking of doing. I want to make sure though that I have the recoat process down first so I have a smooth dustless finish. I’ve stained and finished enough wood in my life to know that is not always as easy as it looks. Also have to make sure my finish coat will not react with whatever is on there now.

[C Montana]

Wonderful Car!

I am coming up on changing tires. May I ask the type and specifics you put on. They sit very well. Thanks Chris

[ejboyd5]

C Montana:  I realize this is your first post, but if you have a question about tires, don't burden a thread about wood replacement with a changed topic.  Do a search for tires and, if you don't find your answer, then start a new thread.  "Stream of consciousness" postings make a forum almost impossible to index and to search.

[neelyrc]

Madera Concepts if you want to refinish it.  To my knowledge they are the only ones left since Heritage went out of business with Drew's passing.

They do all of Gernolds work.

The left end of my drivers side bow suffered water damage from a windshield gasket leak many years ago. About three years ago I had a back and forth with Madera about rebuilding/repairing this bow and refinishing the radio grill and right bow to match.  The estimate they provided was around $850.  This was close to the Classic Center price at the time and I ended up going with all new parts from the Classic Center. Right after installation I discovered that the right bow was delaminated.

Tom Hanson agreed to replace the defective part but rather than remove all and return for exchange I opted to repair the right bow myself rather than dismantle both left and right sides again to return the two bows.  The bows are sold in matching sets.  I removed the right bow only and Gorilla Glue and a few mini clamps solved the problem! 

I also found that the new radio grill supplied by the Classic Center is slightly different in manufacture and in my view it is inferior to the original.  I must say that esthetically the Classic Center parts are excellent.

In a repeat of this situation I would go to Madera for rework.