Can burr walnut really be "wrapped" to make it piano black??
Discussion
Hi,
I'm in the market for an Arnage T. Most examples have dark stained burr walnut, yet I prefer the piano black veneer.
A dealer selling a burr walnut car said he could have the wood wrapped in black.
Surely this wouldn't be as good looking / tactile / durable?
If it were, then I would think Bentley would have used a high quality plastic!
Am I right or might a black wrap work well enough as to indistinguishable?
Thanks,
I'm in the market for an Arnage T. Most examples have dark stained burr walnut, yet I prefer the piano black veneer.
A dealer selling a burr walnut car said he could have the wood wrapped in black.
Surely this wouldn't be as good looking / tactile / durable?
If it were, then I would think Bentley would have used a high quality plastic!
Am I right or might a black wrap work well enough as to indistinguishable?
Thanks,
Hi Alex,
Dark stained veneer was standard spec on a T. I respect that you prefer piano black and don't wish to be rude but if you had any idea of the amount of work that's put in by the craftsman at Crewe to achieve the finish, you would never consider covering it up. In fact, they hate producing piano black wood sets as it doesn't show up their skills in the appropriate light. I don't know if you can wrap it with any quality, although I doubt it, but it would be possible to strip the varnish, restain it and lacquer it again. It would be expensive, I have just had some chips taken out of two door waist trims on a T and it was £200, plus the labour to remove them and fit them again and that was cheap. Please do not think that Bentley would ever, even consider using high quality plastic on their woodwork, this is why it is a Bentley and distinguishes it apart from anything else on the market, nothing else comes close. Good luck in your search.
Thanks for confirming that a wrap would indeed be substandard, sinful even.
Fair point about the crafstmanship. Indeed, I have heard that the burr walnut alone on these cars takes the Bentley craftsmen as much time to perfect as it takes Porsche to build a WHOLE 911...
Nonetheless, I feel that the piano black lacquer looks more chic and young (I'm 38) and I guess showing off the constructors skills is of secondary importance to me.
Fair point about the crafstmanship. Indeed, I have heard that the burr walnut alone on these cars takes the Bentley craftsmen as much time to perfect as it takes Porsche to build a WHOLE 911...
Nonetheless, I feel that the piano black lacquer looks more chic and young (I'm 38) and I guess showing off the constructors skills is of secondary importance to me.
I agree it wold be sinful, if you ever get the chance to go to the factory, the effort put into there woodwork is amazing, I also think that the piano black wood doesn't suit the Arnage for me it suits the younger image of the Continental, I too am only 38 and have been fortunate enough to own 4 of these beasts over the last 11 years, these are more traditional cars then the Continental but have a lot more road presence then the Continental could ever command, I wouldn't say they are particularly refined or quite compared to a S class/7 Series but they are addictive, the torque, the smell, its all from a different era and i think even at the factory they wondered how they would ever replace this car! they now represent the most amazing value especially considering some of the last cars to leave the factory listed with options at nearly 240k
dazzalse said:
Ithe effort put into there woodwork is amazing
Indeed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detail...
This particular example (sold) has what I must confess is, to me, the most stunning interior I have ever seen on any car at any price:
http://www.tomhartley.com/detail?template=/zoom/zo...
The contrast of the chrome dials inset into the black is what does it for me, not to mention feeling much more youthful and sporting (more in keeping with me).
Sure, it may not show off the crafstmanship as well as dark stained burr walnut... but hey, I really don't care that much because I think it looks incomparably better.
http://www.tomhartley.com/detail?template=/zoom/zo...
The contrast of the chrome dials inset into the black is what does it for me, not to mention feeling much more youthful and sporting (more in keeping with me).
Sure, it may not show off the crafstmanship as well as dark stained burr walnut... but hey, I really don't care that much because I think it looks incomparably better.
The better idea might be to replace the entire fascia with a black one sourced from another car. This gives you two options - either look for a (rarer) black fascia or obtain another woodden one and have it coated. That would also give the possibility of replacing the original to preserve the re-sale value.
I've not heard of wood "wrapping", but it doesn't sound terribly durable. I suspect a genuine interior sent to a specialist with the instructions to "paint it black" would be a much better solution. Ok- not paint, but you know what I mean.
On the "modification" front - no it's not my "cup of tea" - I personally think that any modification to the way a car looks is a capital offence. BUT I'm adamant that this isn't my car and I'm responding to the OPs question to get him the best solution for his own car. I mean, it's not exactly as if he's after chromed wheels now, is it ?
I've not heard of wood "wrapping", but it doesn't sound terribly durable. I suspect a genuine interior sent to a specialist with the instructions to "paint it black" would be a much better solution. Ok- not paint, but you know what I mean.
On the "modification" front - no it's not my "cup of tea" - I personally think that any modification to the way a car looks is a capital offence. BUT I'm adamant that this isn't my car and I'm responding to the OPs question to get him the best solution for his own car. I mean, it's not exactly as if he's after chromed wheels now, is it ?
I have a Continental R with burr walnut and a Maserati QP GT with black piano wood and they both look exactly right. Its horses for courses and I cannot imagine the earlier Bentley's without the traditional burr walnut. Indeed it was I chose a Continental R Mullinier over a T as I did not like the turned aluminium dash.
But each to his own taste
But each to his own taste
Wrapping IMO is a perfect way to compromise on a car that just does not quite meet your desired spec and apart from giving you that personalised feel and look it can be easily removed for resale. I wanted the piano black with red leather on the Cont GT, had the perfect car not have come up I would have certainly considered a wrap, I know its not every mans cup of tea but if it was not for different tastes we would all be driving the same car.
alexwagner said:
Hi,
I'm in the market for an Arnage T. Most examples have dark stained burr walnut, yet I prefer the piano black veneer.
A dealer selling a burr walnut car said he could have the wood wrapped in black.
You have the taste to buy a Bentley. Maintain it, polish it and most of all drive it. Why take something with class and do stuff to it you wouldn't do to a Vauxhall Corsa? For pity's sake just keep it the way it left the factory. Not only will it look awful, you will be substituting a cheap finish for a handcrafted one, you will affect the value of the car. Anyone who knows anything about cars will think that you have flipped. I'm in the market for an Arnage T. Most examples have dark stained burr walnut, yet I prefer the piano black veneer.
A dealer selling a burr walnut car said he could have the wood wrapped in black.
Have a nice cup of tea and think about it a bit.
cardigankid said:
You have the taste to buy a Bentley. Maintain it, polish it and most of all drive it. Why take something with class and do stuff to it you wouldn't do to a Vauxhall Corsa? For pity's sake just keep it the way it left the factory. Not only will it look awful, you will be substituting a cheap finish for a handcrafted one, you will affect the value of the car. Anyone who knows anything about cars will think that you have flipped.
Have a nice cup of tea and think about it a bit.
You obviously don't understand what wrapping is!Have a nice cup of tea and think about it a bit.
It's a glorified sticker which you apply over the surface and is 100% removable. I'd go for the wrap as it is cheap to do and saves looking for the needle in the haystack car with the right spec and when you're bored of piano black or ready to sell the car you can peel it off and reveal the wood that the masses like so much.
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