Refurb dashboard

[nigelcurry]

Hi all

i am going to try and refurbish my dash over the winter but I don’t know how to go about this,as the dash is out and staring at me from the table I,m thinking HOW !!

The wood itself doesn’t look so bad but it is starting to get discoloured around the edges in places,so what wet and dry to use and what varnish or top covering do I use to get the correct slightly dull finish as per original not really shiny.I would be great if someone could list the process if possible as I have never attempted anything like this.

stay safe

nige

[ed_h]

This refurb includes new veneer, so you can skip down to the finishing part:

http://bullfire.net/TR6/TR6-45/TR6-45.html

Ed

[nigelcurry]

Great info

thanks for taking the time mate

nige

[Rob Y]

10 coats of Le Tonkinois varnish, lightly sanded between coats, 1 or 2 days between coats. Leave a few days to fully dry then flatten to remove any dust and uneven areas. Then polish as much or as little as required to get the desired finish using finer and finer polish. If it is too glossy you can always take it back to make it a bit duller with fine wet and dry. I used polishing heads on a drill as used for car bodywork paint polishing. Worked a treat

For me, having gone to all the effort of making a super gloss finish, I couldn’t sand it back to semi-Matt. It became a bit of an obsession, every other night carefully applying another coat of varnish.

It’s a very satisfying job and one you can sit and admire whenever you are driving.

Rob

[Nigel Triumph]

11 minutes ago, Rob Y said:

10 coats of Le Tonkinois varnish, lightly sanded between coats, 1 or 2 days between coats. Leave a few days to fully dry then flatten to remove any dust and uneven areas. Then polish as much or as little as required to get the desired finish using finer and finer polish. If it is too glossy you can always take it back to make it a bit duller with fine wet and dry. I used polishing heads on a drill as used for car bodywork paint polishing. Worked a treat

For me, having gone to all the effort of making a super gloss finish, I couldn’t sand it back to semi-Matt. It became a bit of an obsession, every other night carefully applying another coat of varnish.

It’s a very satisfying job and one you can sit and admire whenever you are driving.

Rob

I've done similar, on a smaller scale with Spitfire Mk3 dash. I used another varnish, but still the biggest problem was the time taken for each coat to harden enough to sand back. As Rob says, it takes 48 hours between coats (that's a minimum, indoors at around 20 deg C). This job simply can't be rushed!

Nigel

[Rob Y]

Here’s how mine came out.

I reveneered in oak to lighten the cabin up to go with the lighter seats.

very happy with the gloss finish.

Rob

[WWT338J]

I sent my dash to this company to refurbish a few years ago

http://www.chapmanandcliff.co.uk/

I asked them to sand and lacquer as the veneer was ok. You can specify the finish in terms of matt/gloss or somewhere in between.  The finished result was outstanding and the turn around time quick.

David

 

[Keith66]

Hi

Really depends on the look you want, which is entirely personal.

I went for what I thought was a more std look in that it’s the original factory veneer varnished in a satin varnish.

Unless your dash is almost scrap it is a very simple task if the wooden plank is out. I stripped the old varnish off with paint stripper and gave it all a light rub down and very slight repairs to a couple of damaged areas.

Not sure of the coats of varnish, prob 4 to 6 but no more but allow to harden well and do a very light rub down with a very fine grit sand paper (I used foam blocks) between each coat.

As I said it’s a very personal choice but for me mine is spot on as I’m not a hi gloss burr walnut kind of guy.

 

Cheers    Keith

[Steves_TR6]

I re-veneered my dash a few years ago with a self-adhesive teak veneer

i didn’t want a shiny finish so i oild it with Danis Oil, looked fabulous and still does today !

steve

[Rob Y]

Whatever you decide to do, the first step is to remove the old varnish without damaging the veneer. I found heat worked, just used a hairdryer on hot and this was enough to soften and remove the varnish from mine.

I love it that there are so many opinions and possibilities regarding what’s best. It matters to the individual driver because it is there in front of you, but once you have done it, it’s not so difficult to change either finish or veneer, so just go for it!