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TR4/4A How difficult is to remove 4A dash for refinish?

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K

karls59tr

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Thinking of removing the wood dash for refinishing on the 4A. Is it a straightforward job? Any advice or tips on removal.Can the wood dash be refinished by sanding and applying a urethane or marine varnish or is there a thin layer of veneer that has to be reapplied first? The old surface now is crumbling and flaking..... varnish I think. CK.
 
Most likely the veneer is coming up too, and it can be done but then I have not seen a pic of your dash. If you have some wood working skills you can do it, best if you have a vacuum sealer, thats how veneer is applied. glued and put in a bag and pull a vacuum on it, I used one of those vacuum sealer you see on TV. cut out the dash openings with a dremmel tool and sanding drum is the best way. sand with 400 paper and urethane or varnish what ever you like

you can buy veneer online too

Hondo
 
karls59tr said:
...Any advice or tips on removal...
Click to expand...

Know when to stop...

interiorout.JPG


Pretty much just a matter of reomving the screws and gauges, I don't recall any mystery. The indicator lights for the turn signal & charge stay in place on the metal sub-dash.
 
not an expert on the TR4 but would assume when you pull the windscreen frame off and have the dash out then its easy

Hondo
 
joejoecat said:
Does the dash have to come completely off ?
Click to expand...

To replace the pads... I didn't see any other way (though it isn't as drastic or large a task as the photo may suggest and anyway a good chance to clean the instruments and tighten up the electrical connections. Probably easier for me as I have no heater.
 
As far as the question of refinishing, I had a dash with the same flaking finish, the veneer was fine, I picked the original varnish or shellac off, mostly it just flaked off, had to use a heat gun carefully for some of it, then I cleaned with some Homer Formby's wood conditioner and lightly sanded and simply refinished with clear minwax polyurethane, it turned out pretty well, but much darker than original, which I like, but if you want the original look you may need to start with a new veneer.

tr250int-1.jpg
 
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