• Hey Guest!
    British Car Forum has been supporting enthusiasts for over 25 years by providing a great place to share our love for British cars. You can support our efforts by upgrading your membership for less than the dues of most car clubs. There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Upgraded members don't see this banner, nor will you see the Google ads that appear on the site.)
Tips
Tips

Dashboard restoration

Share this page

Brosky

Brosky

Great Pumpkin
Offline
My next big winter TR-6 project will be to remove and replace the worn and cracked vinyl dash panels and replace them. Does the windshield have to come out to do this job? Or should I say the entire windshield frame off of the car?

Is there anything else that should be done at the time? I plan to clean the gages and replace their bulbs as well as fixing the heater motor that blows a fuse everytime that I turn it on.

I'd like to do something to make the wood look better, but I'm not sure there is anything that can be done with the veneer finish on a 74.

Any suggestions or advice on what to avoid will be greatly appreciated!

Paul
 
I think it would be difficult to do this without removing the windscreen... a task that itself may not be too difficult (depends on how well stuck the posts are - mine popped right out).

In addition to what you mentioned I cleaned all electrical connections and coated with dielectric grease.
 
My father refinished the wood on my 73. Took him quite awhile to get the old satin finish stuff off, but the veneer itself was in pretty good shape. Once he had it stripped I redid it using glossy marine polyurethane. Didn't come out quite as glassy as I would have liked but it still looks pretty nice, and light years better than what was on the car.

[image]
DSCN0743a.jpg
[/image]

Of course if you want the car to be correct you'd have to go with a new satin finish, but personally I don't like the look of the satin, the gloss looks much classier IMO. I think something like thats about the best you can do with the stock dash. If you want something more you'd most likely have to go with a solid hardwood aftermarket piece. I've seen some beautiful ones in cherry and tiger maple.
 
I replaced my dash pads last year. I asked the same questions you did. You may be able to find my old posts about it here by doing a forum search. Whether you completely remove the windscreen or not, you should at least loosen it so you've got room to push a portion of the dash top pad under it. However, an advantage of taking it off is that you can replace the seal between the windscreen frame and the body if needed.

I don't know the history of my car, but I don't think the windscreen had ever been removed. It took me three or four days to get it off. However, since I've removed it and replaced it, I can pop it out easily now. So, the time involved depends how recently it has been removed - i.e., the posts unstuck.
 
Yes, you will definitely have to remove the windscreen. Its difficult the first time because all the rubber seals have turned into glue, but once you break the seal out it pops. Don't forget to replace the windscreen to bonnet seal with new and you may take the opportunity to replace your glass glazing seal and chrome stip. I replaced my dash last year with a new TRF unit. The old veneer was way too gone for refurbishment. I agree with the previous opinion, glossy is much nicer than the typical six satin finish. I used spray on polyurethane in high gloss on my new dash. Also, take apart your guages, clean the glass and repaint the bezels, you will be amazed at how nice they can look.
 
Hi Paul, It is more economical but a little more work to simply reveneer and refinish the old dash yourself.---Fwiw--Keoke
 
Paul, there are all kinds of way to do this and you have heard a few, now mine. Once you get the dash out and you think your veneer is good, glue all the edges back down with a good water proof glue (Gorilla, SP), then find someone with a planner and just skim the top off your dash and that should get the old varnish off and if it turns out it's not good enough, plane down a bit more and you will have a good surface for a new veneer of you choice. I did find that after glueing the new piece on, if you apply a wet cloth to the veneer in the area around the holes, it cut easier with a pointed knife, then fine sand around the the holes. Wayne
 
Hey guys .... a lot of great info here. When you say to install a new veneer or reveneer and refinish, where does one find a new veneer to install over the old? I'm not familiar with advanced wood refinishing, other than the basics learned in high school shop class, so this is new to me but very interesting indeed. I'd like to learn more.

Thanks,

Paul
 
OK, now I see what you mean. My mistake, I thought that you were referring to a kit of sorts for this. I get the concept but still have a question about the finish. I would seem to me that these are what they are and need no top coat. If I want a really high gloss finish, do you have a suggestion for how to obtain that result? Do I use the polyeuruthane suggested above directly over this new veneer?

Paul
 
Back
Top