Veneering auto dash parts?

Hello All:

I was just looking into upgrading my car with a wood dash kit. These kits go for about $200 and include a few pieces of veneer that are precut and shaped to fit on various parts of the dash. I reckon that these kits are very convenient, but it seems to me that I could remove these parts and veneer them myself with a vacuum bag system. I've never done vacuum veneer work but have read about it and it seems relatively straight forward.

Anyone tried this with auto dash board parts? Care to comment?

Thanks,

Jim

Reply to
Jim Martin
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The first new car that I ever bought was a VW Bug (1971 Superbeetle) - I made my own veneer dash using thin plywood from a model making store and some rosewood veneer. I made two dash pieces to replace the two stamped steel pieces on either side of the odometer, and I made a new glove box door, replacing the original glove box door. I think that the new glovebox door was poplar with rosewood veneer. I'm sure that the cost was closer to $20 than $200, and it wasn't a terribly huge amount of work.

Reply to
Mark in Maine

Hi Mark:

Thanks for your input. I did petty much what you described with a 1986 Mustang. I used black walnut and I thought it looked really good.

Unfortunately, the parts in my current car are all very 3-dimensional in shape and so I reckon that the only way to do the job is to pull those parts out and vacum form the veneer to them.

Thanks,

Jim

"Mark in Maine" wrote > >

Reply to
Jim Martin

I have done several ,allbeit flat dashes. Seems to me regardless of the veneer job and the finish quality problems do seem to reoccur. I personally think it is because of the differential expansion rates of the ply base, the veneer and the finish.

My solution is to find an attractive piece of wood the size of the dash ,mill it to thickness and use the old dash as a pattern for the new one . Cut the instrument cutouts a little undersize, clamp the old dash to it and using it as a pattern use a router and the applicable with a pilot bearing tracing the cutouts . The glove compartment can be cut with a fine fretsaw blade out of the same piece of wood .

I will post an example on ABDW....mjh

Reply to
Mike Hide

If they're curved (and they fit), then $200 is a bargain price for a one-off.

If they're flat, if the dashboard is out and on the bench while you do a complete restoration, or if you're going to mass-produce them, then it might be worth doing it yourself. Otherwise it's a lot of trouble to make jigs to vac-mould the curves in.

Ply or MDF is a good backing material. Hide glue is the best veneering adhesive (the tube stuff is fine, and easy to work with). There's a huge range of veneers out there that will work, so don't think it has to be walnut.

I've no idea how you finish it. I use shellac (first french polishing I ever did was on my wife's Triumph Herald), but I live in the UK. Something for a Californian convertible might need more UV-resistance.

-- Do whales have krillfiles ?

Reply to
Andy Dingley

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