What does it take to strip the console wood in my 82 300D. I would like to re-do it and my stripper won't touch it. Thanks, avanti

One word of caution!
This wood is not solid...it is a THIN laminate. It doesn't take much sanding at all to destroy the laminate entirely.
Be careful.

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Bill Wood - Webmaster
MercedesShop.com, LLC

He's right. The actual wood isn't much thicker than a piece of paper. It is covered by a thin layer of clear plastic. Over time, this plastic fogs up and develops cracks. Two possible choices.
1. Replace the trim panel (expensive)
2. Remove the trim panel and wet sand with 600 to 1000 grit wet/dry silicon carbide paper. When all the cracks have been smoothed out and everything is dry, spray with 4 or 5 coats of satin sheen polyurethane. Not factory, but generally looks a lot better that before. Final product is a function of how much care and work you put into the rehab of the panel..

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Jeff L
1987 300e
1989 300e
1987 BMW 325

Heritage Woodworking refinishes interior wood very reasonably. I'd look 'em up if I were you.

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Best regards, Michael
'92 500E
'88 300TE

I have also heard great things about Heritage Woodworks.
They can be reached by phone at:
888-255-3523
or e-mail at:
autowood@juno.com
They are located in Andrews, NC

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Bill Wood - Webmaster
MercedesShop.com, LLC

I contacted Heritage woodworks in NC and was quoted $700 to refinish the wood trim for my 82 240D. That may be reasonable for some but not me. I am going to try this project on my own thanks to all the info from users of this site. Thanks guys!

Go to home depot and buy the stripper in the spray can. I don't really remember the name, but the can was goldish in color. Spray it on, wait overnight, then it should flake off. Repeat if needed.

Clean, then finish with as many coats of spar urethane as you can handle doing. If you can get your hands on some 2 part stuff, try it out and let us know.

18 oz. Stripper-ESR72 at The Home Depot


It's called kleen strip.

There's some good information here

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/315348-got-me-some-cheap-dash-wood-my-w123-300d.html

I’ve had success with Jasco Premium paint remover from Loews. As I recall, I let it sit for an hour or so and wiped off. It took maybe 3 coats for each piece. As mentioned, the wood is a very thin veneer so try to stay away from scrapping the old varnish off and sand very lightly. Here’s a pic of a refinished piece, a stripped piece and original.
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e3...cars/H2069.jpg
Good luck & let us know how it turns out.

In my 300E I used KleenStrip spray and a plastic putty knife to help it along. Took about 3 times to get it all off. If you want it to look really nice, use some wood conditioner and some sanding sealer (both by Minwax) and then finish it with the Spar Urethane Marine to save it from the UV rays. Mine came out nice from about five feet away, a little bumpy on the final coats.

220 grit sandpaper and a very thin final coat will net you a near perfect finish.

There are "build up coats", then finish coats.