Interior Wood De-Gloss

[Richard Madison]

Hello wood people:

When the previous owner refinished the dash wood in the 280SL, he used his other cars (Mercedes sedans) as his model and gave the wood a high gloss finish.

I'd like to get the wood back to satin or semi gloss, closer to the original...and I'd like to do this without removing the wood.

I think that if I use a lacquer remover or a paint remover, the surface will be mottled and uneven. If I put semi gloss right over the high gloss finish will it dull it down?

Can you suggest a way to a nice duller finish without removing the wood?

Richard M

[mdsalemi]

Richard,

Personally I would not attempt any kind of work with the wood in place.  But that's just me.

You have several options.  First is a good rub down with 0000 steel wool.  Not all steel wools are alike, I'd suggest you get something like this:

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=1436&filter=steel%20wool

Liberon is the highest quality steel wool you can find and is preferred by many master furniture refinishers.  A good rubbing with this stuff is how one achieves a beautiful satin finish.

Another thing to try is "liquid sandpaper" or "deglosser".

http://www.savogran.com/Retail_Products/Cleaning_Products/cleaning_products.html

But I'd hesitate using any kind of liquid with the wood in place, you might destroy the leather/tex on the dash, destroy the speaker, and curse the moment you took on the project.  You'd also have to try it in a discrete location first to see if it give you the look you want.

Another issue to consider is what kind of finish is on there now?  If it is a polyester gloss finish they are hard to work with.

Best of luck.

Michael Salemi
1969 280SL
Signal Red 568G w/Black Leather (Restored)
President, International Stars Section
Mercedes-Benz Club of America

[Paddy_Crow]

It depends on what he used. If it's shellac, denatured alcohol will remove it. You might want to test the alcohol on the MB-tex to see how careful you need to be. I would use cotton balls and work in a small area.

If it's lacquer or polyurethane, it's very difficult to dissolve. I wouldn't attempt to refinish it without removing it from the dash.

Whatever you do, do not use anything abrasive like sandpaper or steel wool. The veneer is very thin and easy to sand through.

As for new finish, the options are many depending on what you want. You can do an oil finish with the wood in place, but you'll have to be very careful to keep it off the Tex. Personally, I wouldn't try it. The PO of my car got some sort of finish all over the dash, if I'm going to get rid of the stains I'll need to recover the dash.

[jsaylor]

Richard,

a fine Steel wool will work great, though the resulting steel fiber residue could be a problem (Rust spots).  I'd mask things carefully and use a bronze wool or experiment w/ different 3M pads.

Aloha,

Jim Saylor
Kauai, Hawaii
'65 230SL

[mdsalemi]

quote:Originally posted by jsaylor

Richard,

a fine Steel wool will work great, though the resulting steel fiber residue could be a problem (Rust spots).  I'd mask things carefully and use a bronze wool or experiment w/ different 3M pads.

Aloha,

Jim Saylor
Kauai, Hawaii
'65 230SL

...that Liberon steel wool has very long strands and thus tends not to break apart like inexpensive steel wools.  But also you can get extremely fine synthetic pads that don't break down and are not ferrous.

I had the top of my piano refinished recently, and after the final coat of varnish it was quite glossy, but after many hours of rubbing with the synthetic pads was a beautiful satin.  The refinisher doesn't like steel wool for the reason Jim stated.

Michael Salemi
1969 280SL
Signal Red 568G w/Black Leather (Restored)
President, International Stars Section
Mercedes-Benz Club of America

[Bob G]

Thank you again michael.
 for your teriffic knoledge you pass on to us all.
Bob Geco