Stripping the Veneer from the Dash.

[TeeJay]

Anyone got any UK buying suggestions for a Walnut Burr Veneer, Book matched down the middle?

Finally got the dash prepped for a new veneer. It was one of those tasks that tests your resolve.
Almost said bugger it and looked at buying this:-

http://www.classical-dash.co.uk/lotuselansplus2.html

But I said to myself, well you scrapped the paint off the body parts, so this is easy by comparison.
Also, the whole point of tasking myself with the complete restoration is to learn by experience.
That is where this forum and the World Wide Web are great.

Tips Learnt.
Use a paint/varnish remover that contains ?Dichloromethane?. I had some Nitromors left in a 1Ltr Green tin. It seems the current Nitromors does not have the ?Dichloromethane?.
I did half the dash at a time.
Apply a coat, then after 20 mins apply a second coat leave for 1 to 2 Hrs and then strip what you can.
The longer you can leave it without it drying the better it works.
It took 4 stripping sessions for each Dash half, spread over 3 days.
Removing the veneer was easy by comparison; it took a couple of hours.
Brushed some water over the veneer let it soak in, then using heat gun, warmed the surface. Then using heat gun and stripping knife, start at an edge and begin to remove it. I found that stripping in the direction of the grain of the plywood surface beneath the veneer helped to prevent damage to its surface.
Then sand flat to finish.

Helpful Web Sites.
elan-plus-f13/dashboard-trim-t17610.html
elan-f14/dash-wood-teak-walnut-mahogany-t21823-15.html
http://oakwoodveneer.com/tips.html
http://www.lotuselan.net/publish/attach ... dash.shtml

When the dash is complete, 3 new wiring harnesses to fit.

[john.p.clegg]

There's these...

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/High-Quality-R ... 4340.l2563

John

[jono]

Yeah, the new Nitromorz has been sanitised and homogenised by the PC brigade, along with the rest of the British way of life.

For veneer, you will be able to get it here:

http://www.john-boddys-fwts.co.uk/

I did my own dash too but fortunately managed to retain and repair the existing veneer prior to re lacquering

[TeeJay]

Thanks John, very useful suggestion.

I had a quick look at the Walnut veneers, but if the length was OK but the width was not or vice versa.
Will look into the possibility of if a pack of consecutive leaves can be used by asking the supplier.

Thanks again.

[TeeJay]

Thanks Jono, another possibility.

I will discuss with the supplier.

Yes lots of changes, several were poor replacements, trichloroethylene (degreaser) springs to mind.
Were not all fools, hopefully.

My veneer was badly split and lifted, so had to bite the bullet.
Cheers

[elansprint71]

Did the 68 Elan +2 have burr walnut as the dash facing originally? Just a thought; my mate bought a 68 car new, and that had a straight-grained finish, just like my 68 S4SE.

[TeeJay]

Hi Pete, now that a good question.

I know that my front has been replaced, early in its life.
When I worked on the body, I strengthened the joints; it also has the fog & spot lights, which the 68 should not have.

The dash also has the 2 addition cut-outs for the these 2 lights, whereas, I know that the original early dash does not have these cut-outs.
Now the question is was the dash replaced along with the front end, or did they just cut the cut-outs into the dash?

In my research on dashboards, I thought I read that there were 2 possibly 3 types fitted to the early +2, which included straight grained and walnut burr.

Certainly I will check this out.

Thanks

[c42]

I used these guys, not the cheapest but very good quality, I will post a picture later.

http://woodveneeruk.co.uk/

Regards
John

[mikealdren]

Hi TeeJay,
I may have missed the point here. Why did you strip the varnish off if you were going to replace the veneer?

My varnish was in a poor state from sitting in a damp garage and much of it was easily removed with a sharp chisel (like stripping paint off fibreglass).

I then used Nitromors (old stock from my garage, didn't know it has changed) to remove the rest. I cleaned it down with white spirit and then dealt with a few areas where the veneer had lifted, I just eased them up and glued back with PVA and clamped them until dry. Light sanding and revarnishing and it looks like new.

I had thought of making up a complete new dash cutting a new ply back piece using the old dash as a template. I would have used my router to copy the outline and the cutouts but the old dash was good enough. My local timber merchant has some excellent veneers but all considered, it was getting too close to the price of a new dash!

Mike

[c42]

Sorry about the picture quality but it does show the grain, because the ply was of poor quality I made a new dash from WBP ply; laborious but satisfying in a funny sort of way!

Regards
John

[Shiny_kit]

http://www.capitalcrispin.com/veneer_index.aspx

Only trouble is, once you start looking at veneers its really hard to decide what to go for.... too many choices..

[TeeJay]

Hi Mike.
I was hopeful, to hopeful, that after I stripped off the varnish I could make good the veneer. Regrettably that was not to be, so off came the veneer. But and its a big but, most off my varnish was a pig to strip, only where it was split and lifted did it strip somewhat easily. This was using the old style Nitromors, which is no longer available and I just had enough.

Hi John, thanks for the info re supplier and the photo, wow you made a new dash as well.
Your dash looks really great, is it Walnut Burr
I see that the veneer is mirrored (book matched) down the center how did you order this
Could you please advise what adhesive you used and the types of tools you used to cut out the holes for the dials and switches.

Hi Shiny_Kit, thanks for your suggested supplier.

Now I have to establish the correct veneer for my 68 +2 and then decide if that's what I'm going to use.
If its walnut burr, that's great, I do like its classic looks.

Thanks again for all your comments.

[robertverhey]

What about removing the varnish with a carefully held heat gun? That's what I used on a couple of cortina wooden dashboards of the era, seemed to work really well. But need to be careful not to overheat and burn....keep the gun moving as you scrape

[TeeJay]

Thanks Robert, interesting, it worked for you.

The research on this forum generally favoured using paint stripper although other methods were also used.

I've been thinking overnight, yes sad I know, about what Mike said re stripping. When I stripped the paint off the car I used a sharp 1.5" chisel and on the dash a 3" stripping blade.
The results I got were OK it just spanned over 3 days.

[c42]

Hi Trevor

I just ordered 2 sheets of the appropriate size over the internet, as a precaution I did speak to them to confirm the match and they were very helpful. I used a waterproof PVA adhesive and the holes were carefully rough cut with a Stanley knife or similar and finished with a router with a guide wheel on the cutter; you may have to use as small rat tail file in the tight corners of the switches. The most time consuming part of the operation is the sealing of the grain and finish sanding prior to the lacquer coat.
No problem if you require further information, I can tell you where I went wrong at least!

Good Luck

John