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Dashboard Coating Removal

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Cain

Cain

Jedi Trainee
Offline
I started trying to remove the protective coating from the wooden dashboard last night. What's the best stripper to use?

I had a couple of old cans of stripper laying around. I tried them both, but they didn't do much. (Please note that these chemicals have been on the shelf for at least two years. I don't know if they have a shelf life or not.)

Also, I don't know if the protective coating on my dashboard is the original coating or not.

I may have to go with the sander. Although I was wanting to see the condition of the veneer before I decided to replace the veneer or not.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.
 
Cain,

The topcoat on my GT6 dash fascia boards was badly weathered and kind of peeled/flaked off. I carefully scraped the coating from the areas that did not peel off, and then sanded all the boards before recoating them with a marine polyurethane varnish.
 
Yes. Mine too is coming off in chips and shards, but only in certain areas. I'm afraid that I will damage the veneer if I try too hard to remove the coating in some areas.

Another idea I thought about was a heat gun. I noticed one at Harbor Freight that ranged from 600 to 1000 F. But, I may end up doing more damage than it's worth with that kind of heat.
 
My advise is to NOT try to save the veneer. At some point in the last 30 years some goober has doused it with wax/silicone. The result is it has soaked into the wood and will NEVER let you get a good finish back on it.( a hard earned lesson !!!). Sand it down , re-veneer it, use a high grade outdoor ureathane.Take it from me, dont go there!!!
MD(mad dog)
 
I don't know if the coating is the same or not, but I did this to a 74 Jag XJ6. It started cracking, so I removed the easy pieces. It was very thick (about 2 or 3MM) like a plastic almost. But it chipped off pretty easy with a wide chisel. There were a few nicks in this process, but it came out well.

Is this the same type of coating?
 
I would think it is the same type of coating, Angel.

Well, since I last posted, I decided to forego saving the veneer, got some 60-grit sandpaper for my sander and went to town. After about 15 pieces of paper, I'm almost down to the plywood.

My veneer came in yesterday. I didn't get the veneer with adhesive backing. What brand/type of adhesive should I use to put the veneer on? I would prefer spray adhesive if possible.

Following a recommendation in an earlier post on this forum, I figure on applying the adhesive and placing the dash face down onto the back of the veneer, then cutting out the holes with an exacto knife. I have a Dremel tool that I can sand the edges down with.

Anymore ideas before I continue?
 
contact cement works great... untill you park in the sun for several hours. Carpenters glue, wax paper,old newspapers and dead flat,straight one by pine boards and clamps. also damp sponge to wipe off glue quickly if you get any on the finish side of the veneer.
 
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