Re: Source for trim veneer anyone? (archive)

The complete automotive resource for buyers, sellers, and owners like you.

tools you will need,
1/4 sheet elec palm sander
dremel tool with a sanding drum
razors (not the gillete type)
rubber sanding block
razor knife
3/8 high speed elec. drill
6"-7" buffing wheel for drill
veneer roller
and common hand tools

materials,
cheap paint brushes (for the cement)
4 cans of verithane laquer spray
100 to 600 grade sand paper
0000 steel wool
mequires polishes and waxes;
Heavy cut
medium cut
fine cut
wax only

strip off old veneer, it can be scraped off, sanded off, or you can soak each piece with a wet cloth overnight and peel it off.

Sand the plyboard base as smooth and straight as you can while not interfering with the original contour.

1/32 veneer worked fine for me. just need to pick a specie of wood. lay the sheet wood side down, place your trim pieces down, trace around each of them leaving at least 1/2" extra material around them. cut them out with an xacto or scissors.

Applying the cut out sheets of veneer is easy, dust off both surfaces, apply lots of contact cement on both surfaces. let stand for 2-3 minutes. there are lots of ways to lay the veneer on, but these are very small so furniture techinques aren't all that relevant. Just start on one end, and as carefully as you can slowly lay the sheet down as evenly as possible. Now, use the roller to smooth it all out to remove any air that might have been trapped. If you get a bubble that won't come out, try cutting a small gap along the grain of the veneer to release the air. Let the pieces dry over night or longer, but 24hrs at at least 65 degrees is good enough. Now, either use a razor or a lot of sanding to trim away the extra veneer from the edges of the pieces. You will need to used either a dremel or round file to get at the holes in the front pannels for the vent-crank and ashtrays.

Seems pretty easy so far right?
Now, you can stain the wood if you like. Now the fun begins, if you used any stain let it dry for 24 hrs. Use some of the 0000 steel wool to make the veneer smooth. This will also make any high or low spots visible. If there are any use 600 grade on the spots (BE careful though! the wood is very thin). Clean off the surface with compressed air or a tack cloth, spray on a thin coat of lacquer.
let it dry for 30 minutes, rub it smooth with 0000 steel wool (meaning to make the lacquer look as smooth as possible), wipe or clean as described above spray on another coat of lacquer, repeat the rubbing with steel wool. after about 4 light coats the finish should start to look pretty smooth and glossy. At this point I started to lay on the lacquer as heavy as I could without creating any runs. Let the heavy coats dry for at least 2 hours or more if it's tacky to the touch. after each of the heavy coats rub with steel wool again enough to remove the very outer layer (kinda hard to explain, but if you rub the lacquer, it will expose a more transparent layer just underneath the dark top layer.) repeat the heavy coats 4 times or more if youd like.

The polishing, rub one last time with the steel wool. Use the mequire's waxes/cutters from heavy-cut to fine to a wax coat. repeat with each grade of polish twice.

This should produce something close to a piano finish. I don't know if it will last as long as a factory job, but mine are about a year old and still doing ok this far.

I searched the archives and found lots of good info and pics on various trim restoration projects. I checked in with mrglass and he left me unimpressed with his ethics - the price quote via email for a complete set of door and quarter trim was more than the web site lists them a la carte!

So, I am considering tackling this project the old fashioned way - work! Anyone out there have a good source for the veneer and/or tips and techniques?

Questions, comments, or problems, please visit the Roadfly help desk.