wood console refinishing question

I tore the wood console trim out of my 300E. It is sun faded and the clear coat is cracked in several places. I've given it to a friend who is a very good fine finishing carpeter to repair. Question, does anyone know a good product that will remove the clear coat but not harm the veneer. Has anyone refinished their wood and if so any pointers.

[Ashman]

all I know is the clear coat is quite thick.

Alon

[Champa]

I did it and made a mess out of the piece. I eventually fnished it but I could not match the right color and decided to get it replaced.

As mentioned before the coat is thick, but it is not clear, it is tinted. I tried a very strong chemical paint striper but it was not enough, plus it started to melt the plastic behind the piece. I then sanded it with an air tool. Another thing I noticed was that the coat is not smooth but looks like new car's paint (with small ripples) that will not show if you spray or bush it.

I think that if your friend is pretty good at finishing wood he might be able to duplicate the look. But I guess it will be hard.

hope this helps...

Thanks, I'll pass the information on to him.

[MBKid]

Have you had any success? I too am looking to refinish some zebrano pieces in my C280 which have horrible cracks. The front most dash piece which is long and skinny has 3 cracks alone! Why would MB make the clear coat of such poor quality?

Well if you call $300 Canadian a success. Took it to a friend who is a fine finishing carpenter. He sanded it down to the finish, as he tryed chemicals but nothing would touch it. He totaled 10.5 hours all together and usually charges $40 per hour. We came to a discount price. It looks very nice but the finish is a lighter colour than original, so if I have to replace any of the pieces I'm screwed. My mistake, I should have got a estimation on the time that he would be putting into it, although he admitted that originally he did not think it would have taken so long. Really I should have attempted it myself. Good luck.

.02 worth, I refinished all of my trim pieces 1978 300CD burl wood I used airplane paint stripper from auto refinish supply shop. CAUTION: this stuff is serious and toxic use thick rubber gloves in a well ventilated area. 1) remove all wood as exact matching can be difficult As Spencer said the stain is in the clear. 2) remove any plastic parts (they won't make it) the bezel for the shifter is glued in so take your time and carefully pry it off it will be glued back later. 3) use the brush on type as the spray on does not seem to work as well, place trim pieces in an tin cookie sheet (for catching exess)brushed it on, it has a slimmy texture, be generious, and let sit for 1/2 hour, it should start bubbling off in places mainly the cracked areas as the stripper needs to get between the wood and varnish. 4) take plastic scraper and scrape off gook, look at pieces to see how it is working, some pieces may need to sit longer (45 min) but over allying will only waste product as the reaction is between the wood and varnish.5) reeat process untill all clear varnish is stripped. the wood will be fine not being affected by stripper (metal/wood fine plastic melts) 6) lightly test wood with 1600 grit sandpaper GOING WITH GRAIN ONLY. my burl didn't have any directional grain pattern so I was delicate with the sanding. 6)clean off pieces with a tack cloth and air (if possible) 7) choose similar color of stain picking more towards the lighter than darker as more coats can be applied for proper richness NOTE: the clear will make the stain seem brighter and richer 8) apply stain with an olw cotton rag for uniform coverage again don't slop it on and let sit as uneven coverage will occur. 8) repeat process until proper coverage and color is attained, again the clear will bring out the color, (would have stained mine darker had i known the clear brightens the finial result) 9) clearing, I used a teak wood boat finish clear, that I sprayed on with automotive spray gun, it has uv protection, and stays flexible with the wood. make sure the pieces are very clean at the begining and between coats. I lightly sanded with 2000-1600 between coats to knock off the high spots. How many times you clear and sand is up to you I did 4 coats, but make sure that you clean the edges of the switch cutouts between coats as it must stay the same size perimeter. (tooth pick!) TAKE YOUR TIME! the better prep you do the better the results, I did this over a period in the evenings of a week as there is pleanty of down time between steps. NOTE: if your actual wood so bad that it is cracked or swollen nothing will fix this as the wood (zebrano/burl) is a type of lamination and sanding it out will wear through the laminate. I had one spot like this and although the clearcoat pronounced this area overall I am very satisfied with the results, not bad for $40.00 in supplies, easy labor, and lots of patience.

[psfred]

Just saw this thread as I tackled the wood trim in my 72 280SE. More trim there -- around the windows on the doors, the dash, and base of windshield.

The coating on the wood trim on later cars is a catalyzed polyurathane of some sort, very very heavy. To duplicate, you will need to put on multiple thin coats (probably 10 or 12) with a sprayer. Not a problem if you do it by hand and do all the trim at the same time.

I think I will like mine better when I'm done -- the nitrocelluose laquer MB used "way back when" turns brown and bubbles, shrinks, and cracks with age. This exposes the wood veneer, so it bleaches in spots, gets fungus growing in it where it is exposed, and in general causes mahem. Nasty to take off, too, but my, what a look when it is new! Deep, transparent gloss "wet" look -- and lasts about 5 years before you have to do it again, isn't waterproof, etc.

I prefer Spar varnish. It has more color that I would like -- deep yellow tint -- that makes getting the color exact more diffucult, but it should last almost forever in the car. I plan to put on at least six coats, probably with some thinner in it to make if lay flat.

Peter

[Champa]

We just had our '72 280se' wood refinished by a friend, and while it is not perfect, I do like the wet finish look. Unfortunately the wood in the dash was a bit warped and so it wont lay perfectly flat on the dash.

regards...

[psfred]

Mine's warped too, but this isn't a show car by any stretch of the imagination, just a driver I want to fix up.

The dash trim already looks much better! Door trim, other than the top piece on the passeger front door (missing) is much better to start with, will probably only strip and refinish all that, the only thing wrong with it is the cracking of the finish.

Dash needs to be done, too, but that will have to wait a while -- sooner or later the heater fan will die, and I will do it then when I have to remove everything anyway.

Peter