Discussion
James at TVR MADs supplies dashboards made by the same company who supplied the factory.
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/288411.htm
They are not cheap but top quality according to others on here.
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/288411.htm
They are not cheap but top quality according to others on here.
Jonny cobra said:
Yes ... But are expensive !!! Would like to see one up close first ,,
I am thinking of replacing the veneer myself , Prices are good for the veneer sheet .
JC .
Have a look at http://www.rv8r.co.uk/dashboards.html et seqI am thinking of replacing the veneer myself , Prices are good for the veneer sheet .
JC .
I've done mine twice. If I can be of any help - I've got a book on it somewhere - only too willing. Send me a PM. I've got some spare veneer if you'd like to practice, and my advice is you should.
I thoroughly enjoyed doing it, it's real fun over and above learning a new skill, but if you add up all the time it takes, the finished products - which were noticeably inferior to what the professionals do, although the second go was noticeably better than the first - is not what you might call a bargain.
Much as I like to do things myself and I'm glad I did it, if I was going for a permanent fix I would go pro.
JC, I've recently replaced the veneer on my Griffith as a DIY project for ~£120. It can be done for less as I bought twice as much veneer as I really needed. I had a limited time window in which to do the reveneer so I didn't have much choice of veneer sizes online. I paid £72 (inc. P&P) just for the veneer (American dark burr walnut - not as orange as the original), the next size of veneer down that would just fit the whole dash was £55 (inc. P&P). I decided to pay the extra to be sure I had enough and as a result I have enough left over for another dash.
It's not as complicated to do as you might imagine and most of the work is down to removing the dash and stripping it down, which you would be required to do before sending the dash off to most venerring companies anyway.
Definately a worth while DIY project. I've taken loads of pictures and hope to put some sort of guide together soon.
Edited to add that I agree with Derek that if you want absolute perfection then obviously professionals have all the right equipment. That said, I've read a few topics on here where people have had professionally reveneered dashboards that have cracked and peeled within a couple of years. I tried to get mine as 'mirror' finished as I could and I hope few people could tell the difference without a really close inspection. I think if you take your time (took me about 2-3 weeks, some evenings and weekends) you should be able to do a pretty reasonable job. Some omages below of mine before I put put it back in the car.
It's not as complicated to do as you might imagine and most of the work is down to removing the dash and stripping it down, which you would be required to do before sending the dash off to most venerring companies anyway.
Definately a worth while DIY project. I've taken loads of pictures and hope to put some sort of guide together soon.
Edited to add that I agree with Derek that if you want absolute perfection then obviously professionals have all the right equipment. That said, I've read a few topics on here where people have had professionally reveneered dashboards that have cracked and peeled within a couple of years. I tried to get mine as 'mirror' finished as I could and I hope few people could tell the difference without a really close inspection. I think if you take your time (took me about 2-3 weeks, some evenings and weekends) you should be able to do a pretty reasonable job. Some omages below of mine before I put put it back in the car.
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Edited by GJR on Friday 27th May 00:16
Derek Smith said:
Jonny cobra said:
Yes ... But are expensive !!! Would like to see one up close first ,,
I am thinking of replacing the veneer myself , Prices are good for the veneer sheet .
JC .
Have a look at http://www.rv8r.co.uk/dashboards.html et seqI am thinking of replacing the veneer myself , Prices are good for the veneer sheet .
JC .
I've done mine twice. If I can be of any help - I've got a book on it somewhere - only too willing. Send me a PM. I've got some spare veneer if you'd like to practice, and my advice is you should.
I thoroughly enjoyed doing it, it's real fun over and above learning a new skill, but if you add up all the time it takes, the finished products - which were noticeably inferior to what the professionals do, although the second go was noticeably better than the first - is not what you might call a bargain.
Much as I like to do things myself and I'm glad I did it, if I was going for a permanent fix I would go pro.
What a great guy sent all the information to do the job !!! Check his site out BRILLIANT ,,,,, Thanks Derek.
JC ,
GJR said:
JC, I've recently replaced the veneer on my Griffith as a DIY project for ~£120. It can be done for less as I bought twice as much veneer as I really needed. I had a limited time window in which to do the reveneer so I didn't have much choice of veneer sizes online. I paid £72 (inc. P&P) just for the veneer (American dark burr walnut - not as orange as the original), the next size of veneer down that would just fit the whole dash was £55 (inc. P&P). I decided to pay the extra to be sure I had enough and as a result I have enough left over for another dash.
It's not as complicated to do as you might imagine and most of the work is down to removing the dash and stripping it down, which you would be required to do before sending the dash off to most venerring companies anyway.
Definately a worth while DIY project. I've taken loads of pictures and hope to put some sort of guide together soon.
Edited to add that I agree with Derek that if you want absolute perfection then obviously professionals have all the right equipment. That said, I've read a few topics on here where people have had professionally reveneered dashboards that have cracked and peeled within a couple of years. I tried to get mine as 'mirror' finished as I could and I hope few people could tell the difference without a really close inspection. I think if you take your time (took me about 2-3 weeks, some evenings and weekends) you should be able to do a pretty reasonable job. Some omages below of mine before I put put it back in the car.
Hi GJR Got to say what a great job you have made of your dash WOW ... What veneer did you use ??It's not as complicated to do as you might imagine and most of the work is down to removing the dash and stripping it down, which you would be required to do before sending the dash off to most venerring companies anyway.
Definately a worth while DIY project. I've taken loads of pictures and hope to put some sort of guide together soon.
Edited to add that I agree with Derek that if you want absolute perfection then obviously professionals have all the right equipment. That said, I've read a few topics on here where people have had professionally reveneered dashboards that have cracked and peeled within a couple of years. I tried to get mine as 'mirror' finished as I could and I hope few people could tell the difference without a really close inspection. I think if you take your time (took me about 2-3 weeks, some evenings and weekends) you should be able to do a pretty reasonable job. Some omages below of mine before I put put it back in the car.
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Edited by GJR on Friday 27th May 00:16
JC,
Thanks guys. The veneer was called American Burr Walnut (A grade) from http://www.originalmarquetry.co.uk/. It was 43 inches by 18 inches at £49 (£72 after vat and postage). Really, it was twice the size of what was needed, but it did give me the ability to choose the nicest figured part of the walnut and, of course, it gave me two chances to get it right in case I screwed up the first one. Thankfully it was fine the first time around. 
I was worried it might be too dark as it's not as light as European Walnut, but I'm pretty please with how it turned out in the end. And, as I said before the process isn't as difficult as you might imagine as long as you take your time and don't rush it. I know that for some tackling something like this is a definate no no, but I think that if you are reasonably confident in your abilities it'll be fine.
I was worried it might be too dark as it's not as light as European Walnut, but I'm pretty please with how it turned out in the end. And, as I said before the process isn't as difficult as you might imagine as long as you take your time and don't rush it. I know that for some tackling something like this is a definate no no, but I think that if you are reasonably confident in your abilities it'll be fine.
did mine recently (diy) & opted for a matte finish lacquer which works well with burr veneer imo
handy thread here http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
handy thread here http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
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