Dash Removal and Re-vaneering

[phillpot]

Lewis's Friend said:

I'm guessing there is not too much experience of Hydro-dipping?

Is the surface good enough for hydro dipping or would small imperfections such as where securing studs have been spot welded on the back show through? I imagine the "film" is very thin

[Lewis's Friend]

phillpot said:

Is the surface good enough for hydro dipping or would small imperfections such as where securing studs have been spot welded on the back show through? I imagine the "film" is very thin

I think you're right, but the price would include prepping (either filling or filler primer I imagine) to get a reasonable finish.

A lot of interior parts seem to get done and on more modern cars that 'elephant skin' effect has to be smoothed out before applying the finish.

[Alistair H.]

Why not try another qoute for the re veneering?

I know TVR MADS do them. I have seen a couple of cars done by them and the finish was faultless.

[AceOfHearts]

Make sure you get some before and after pics!

[Lewis's Friend]

I think I'm going to try buying a hydro-dip kit and do it myself.

This is partly because I've never done it before and I've enjoyed re-finishing the interior up until this point. However, it is also a lot cheaper (around £65) which is very attractive right now!

I keep finding more things I want to change or upgrade and the costs spiral again...

I shall definitely take photos to document my triumphant dipping experiences though as a warning to others!

[Dave_M]

All things being equal, I should be reciving the loan of a dash for a template this week. A friend has offered to look at it and see if he can make one out of wood.

I have no idea if it is possible yet but hope to find out in a few days. Happy to share whatever I am told

[AutoAndy]

...have you considered sticky-back plastic with wood finish?....no, seriously!

My original veneer was peeling and cracking so replaced the smaller center-console section with sticky backed plastic for convenience. - Didn't do the main dash yet as it is not too bad, plus I didn't want the hassle of removing it...It looks very similar and after a year of use (top down of course) it has survived the elements well...



...added advantage: Its lighter too for improved power-to-weight-ratio

[foot2firewall]

Dave_M said:

All things being equal, I should be reciving the loan of a dash for a template this week. A friend has offered to look at it and see if he can make one out of wood.

I have no idea if it is possible yet but hope to find out in a few days. Happy to share whatever I am told

When I bought my S3 it had a dashboard made out of wood which sat in front of the original veneered dashboard as an interference fit. It was well made (by a furniture maker as I recall.) However it did mean that the instruments were recessed by the depth of the wood, which I thought looked a bit odd.

I've still got the panel and a matching one for the transmission tunnel and should have some pictures of it, which I'll dig out tonight.

[Lewis's Friend]

Just started taking the dash off. Got all 6 bolts off, but do you have to release the bolts holding the gauges on too? They seem to be on a separate plate.

I don't want to force it and find I've missed a bolt...!

[S3THUNDER]

Hello, I've just about finished my dashboard,so I've found this subject interesting. As mentioned at the beginning of this topic, I opted for burr walnut formica and I'm happy with the effect. I found the dashboard gets quite warm after a while and was concerned that wood may begin to split over time. I'm sure some people won't like the idea of formica,infact I wasn't sure at first,but now I'm very pleased with the effect.

[v8s4me]

That's a nice looking job what size was the sheet of Formica you had to buy and what did you decide to do about the door card trims? There is an alternative to the little bits of plastic with tape on them; have a look at the links in my earlier post.

[S3THUNDER]

I had to buy huge sheet about 4ftx10ft. Not sure what to do with the strips on the door cards yet. I will have a look at your earlier post regarding tape. I think it had tape before,but it does look a little cheap.

[v8s4me]

S3THUNDER said:

..... I think it had tape before, but it does look a little cheap.

I think that's what they fitted at the factory, ie bits of broken plastic and tape.

With some of the surplus Formica you could make a posh cover for the compartment in your centre console.

Some people have stripped and polished the door trims and they look very good.

[Dave_M]

foot2firewall said:

Dave_M said:

All things being equal, I should be reciving the loan of a dash for a template this week. A friend has offered to look at it and see if he can make one out of wood.

I have no idea if it is possible yet but hope to find out in a few days. Happy to share whatever I am told

When I bought my S3 it had a dashboard made out of wood which sat in front of the original veneered dashboard as an interference fit. It was well made (by a furniture maker as I recall.) However it did mean that the instruments were recessed by the depth of the wood, which I thought looked a bit odd.

I've still got the panel and a matching one for the transmission tunnel and should have some pictures of it, which I'll dig out tonight.

Thank you

[foot2firewall]

Dave_M said:

foot2firewall said:

Dave_M said:

All things being equal, I should be reciving the loan of a dash for a template this week. A friend has offered to look at it and see if he can make one out of wood.

I have no idea if it is possible yet but hope to find out in a few days. Happy to share whatever I am told

When I bought my S3 it had a dashboard made out of wood which sat in front of the original veneered dashboard as an interference fit. It was well made (by a furniture maker as I recall.) However it did mean that the instruments were recessed by the depth of the wood, which I thought looked a bit odd.

I've still got the panel and a matching one for the transmission tunnel and should have some pictures of it, which I'll dig out tonight.

Thank you

I could only find a picture of the transmission tunnel one in situ - as you can see the switches are recessed, the 'overlay' dashboard is approximately 6mm deep.

[Lewis's Friend]

Thought I'd quickly update this. I received my Formica sample direct from Formica UK. I am most unimpressed by it. At first glance it looked good, but on closer inspection you could see what looked like little air bubbles in the finish (similar to a badly applied screen protector, but not so obvious).

I don't think I'll be pursuing that route to be honest.

[glenrobbo]

Lewis's Friend said:

Thought I'd quickly update this. I received my Formica sample direct from Formica UK. I am most unimpressed by it. At first glance it looked good, but on closer inspection you could see what looked like little air bubbles in the finish (similar to a badly applied screen protector, but not so obvious).

I don't think I'll be pursuing that route to be honest.

So what's it like with the protective film removed then?

S3Thunder's Formica dash looks really good.
I bet it took a very long time to whittle it down from a sheet of 10x4 though!

Edited by glenrobbo on Thursday 8th January 01:03

[Lewis's Friend]

glenrobbo said:

Lewis's Friend said:

Thought I'd quickly update this. I received my Formica sample direct from Formica UK. I am most unimpressed by it. At first glance it looked good, but on closer inspection you could see what looked like little air bubbles in the finish (similar to a badly applied screen protector, but not so obvious).

I don't think I'll be pursuing that route to be honest.

So what's it like with the protective film removed then?

S3Thunder's Formica dash looks really good.
I bet it took a very long time to whittle it down from a sheet of 10x4 though!

Edited by glenrobbo on Thursday 8th January 01:03

Have I just been rather stupid!?

Ah well, I am a rather stupid person... I still think I'm going to try hydro-dipping though. Just because I've never done it before.

[glenrobbo]

Lewis's Friend said:

Have I just been rather stupid!?

Ah well, I am a rather stupid person... I still think I'm going to try hydro-dipping though. Just because I've never done it before.

No my friend, that's MY job!

Keep us posted on the hydro-dipping though, I'm quite intrigued.

I wonder if a whole car can be hydro-dipped?

[AceOfHearts]

glenrobbo said:

Lewis's Friend said:

Thought I'd quickly update this. I received my Formica sample direct from Formica UK. I am most unimpressed by it. At first glance it looked good, but on closer inspection you could see what looked like little air bubbles in the finish (similar to a badly applied screen protector, but not so obvious).

I don't think I'll be pursuing that route to be honest.

So what's it like with the protective film removed then?

Edited by glenrobbo on Thursday 8th January 01:03