Wedge Dash Veneers anyone?

[mgpete]

Hi all, does anyone know where best to obtain dash veneers for my 280i? I know 'Hotty' used to do them & I was in contact with him to see about getting some made over a year ago but it seemed he was having problems with his supplier. Tried contacting him via PH & his home email but no luck. If anyone knows of another source please let me know as it's the only thing that let's my car down. Cheers, mgpete

[Yatesy350i]

I've recently got a nice piece big enough to do the centre console twice. It was around £20 plus post from memory ans is quite nicely figured within the grain.

I'll send you a link later. The only slight problem is I believe it is slightly thinner than the original. But I don't see this being an issue.

Karl.

[mrzigazaga]

Hi Mate..This is a subject that pops up on occasion and it would be good to find someone..You could always have a go yourself as there are a few options..There is "Iron on veneer" but this wont have any burr..For that you will need to buy a sheet/leaf of burr walnut..The correct adhesive and lacquer..Here is a few links to some previous post's..Hope it helps..Ziga

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[mgpete]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the feedback, main reason I wanted to use Hotty was that he did the cutting out of the clocks & switches etc I believe which would have been ideal. My problem is I only have 1 arm thanks to a Lithuanian truck driver in Irish lorry! (hence my 280i & main cars being auto's) so it would be extremely difficult for me to make something from scratch.
I am now starting to think along the lines of Carbon Fibre thin sheet which I reckon I could cut out fairly easily without all the rubbing down & varnishing etc. From what I've seen it could look quite good so any idea's on this theme (or other idea's) is most welcome. Thanks

[mrzigazaga]

Hi Mate..sorry to hear about your unfortunate accident...There are companies who hydro-dip anything..This company was passed on to me by a friend and some of the designs are really cool..Even the wood effects are cool..Have a look through their gallery...You could probably send the panel that had the venner was on for them to cover/dip..Not sure on prices though...Ziga
http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=c...

Some examples....
Wood effect:
http://www.wickedcoatings.co.uk/wp-content/uploads...
http://www.wickedcoatings.co.uk/wp-content/uploads...
http://www.wickedcoatings.co.uk/wp-content/uploads...
Carbon effect:
http://www.wickedcoatings.co.uk/wp-content/uploads...
http://www.wickedcoatings.co.uk/wp-content/uploads...
http://www.wickedcoatings.co.uk/wp-content/uploads...

[Mr Tank]

Hi Pete

How's your nice 280iS3, have you altered any of your controls?

I am in the middle of doing a project with my auto 280i FHC part of which is to fit hand controls. I also plan on doing this to my 280iS3, as well.

That way I can drive a TVR again with or without a roof!

As your car is a S3 like mine do you know if you have harden valve seats. I am have the FHC heads fitted with harden seats but am uncertain if the S3 needs this work done due to the year of manufacture of the engine!

Andy

Andy

[Jon280]

Just been looking into that process a bit more, as I need to get my switch panel done as its a bit tatty at the moment!

It appears that it is possible to undertake this process yourself, but careful control of water temperature is needed. You need to prime the item, then give it a suitable base colour, then apply the film (which you can get for less than £10), then rinse, then apply a clearcoat/varnish. Better results may be obtainable by using an activator rather than water.

From a bit of a google, I have found a couple of websites with prices, examples are a 14" wheel from £40 and trim parts from £25 (+p&p), so it could be quite reasonable compared to the cost of getting a proper veneer done.

There seem to be numerous places that do this, so finding a local one could save a few £ on postage etc. Search for Hydro graphic printing, or water transfer printing.

[bobs280i]

i got 2 pieces of wood veneer on the net , tried to redo my glove box (crap both times )just didn't work for me ...so i have striped it down and used the left over paint from my TVR re-spray and painted my glove box door , added the old school decal cleared and sanded about 4 times so the sticker is smooth , i know its not going to be every body's cup of tea , but really nobody over here has every seem one !to know its not factory ....also painted the door panel bars white as they where bear metal. As i;m not looking for re sale prices , just doing what i want to the car

[bobs280i]

finished glove box!

[MarkS1966]

bobs280i said:

i got 2 pieces of wood veneer on the net , tried to redo my glove box (crap both times )just didn't work for me ...so i have striped it down and used the left over paint from my TVR re-spray and painted my glove box door , added the old school decal cleared and sanded about 4 times so the sticker is smooth , i know its not going to be every body's cup of tea , but really nobody over here has every seem one !to know its not factory ....also painted the door panel bars white as they where bear metal. As i;m not looking for re sale prices , just doing what i want to the car

Hey Bob, I'm a great believer that your car should be what you want it to be, otherwise there wouldn't have been such a long list of options available when they were new!
Your glovebox lid looks great and most importantly it's what you want!
As I did my time as a cabinet maker back in the 80's, I thought I'd exercise the old skills and have a go at re-veneering my dash, I had a couple of disasters before finally getting it about right (its been 25 years since i last veneered anything at all!) and you can see I has to fabricate a complete new panel set, and even now I'm toying with taking it out and adding another 20 odd layers of lacquer, as I've already started to experience the dreaded white bloom through the lacquer! Or maybe laminating a piece of high pressure wood effect laminate to all the faces.
Will you be painting the other couple of panels on the dash and the door inserts as well?

Cheers for now and well done Bob

Edited by MarkS1966 on Friday 8th February 07:35

[bobs280i]

Thanks Mark , wow it looks like you have been busy , my door handles are bear and i will have to do something with them ! as far as the dash goes its not anything like the glove box and is in way better shape , ??

[mgpete]

Thanks everyone, some really great work carried out, Bobs glove box looks fantastic & I think being different is a good thing to do. Mark you've done a fantastic job re-veneering your dash but I think (know) this would be too much of an undertaking for me, the ironic part is I used to re-build old mg's & triumphs as my hobby re-building from the ground up doing everything myself i.e all mechanics, welding, spraying etc so now find it very frustrating especially as it was my right arm I lost so am not quite as profficient with left arm but getting there. The point is I have to pick & choose the jobs I undertake, even just setting tappets on my V6 takes me a while!
I will certainly look into Hydro Graphic & Water Transfer Printing which look superb, the only thing here is if this is done just on the metal backing plates i.e no panel thickness will it look the same I wonder.
My personal view now is I love the look of the Carbon Fibre dash of Waynesters, thanks for this link Ziga, as my interior is also blue I think I will probably go this route depending if anything else comes along. Plus for some reason my car has had a panel put around the gear knob so I will have to bend whatever I put on around the edges so flat sheet won't work, nowt's straightforward is it!

Andy, yes I have infa red control fitted, this is basically a steering ball which incorporates small push buttons to the side so indicators, horn, hazards can all be operated from this though it's very expensive & has to be wired in by expert. I've tried uploading a photo but 1st it says file too big so converted to pdf & as thumbnail but still can't upload it, any idea's? As for valve seats, I've read in the past that if the cylinder head bolts are torx heads (which mine are) then engine has hardened seats. As my car is a very late 1988 this makes me think it even more likely to have these seats though knowing TVR they would use whatever they had sitting around at the time. When I had power steering rack re-conditioned it turns out to be from Mark 3 Cortina, anyway, as I'm not 100% sure I still put additive in the fuel to be on the safe side. Thanks again everyone

[mrzigazaga]

bobs280i said:

finished glove box!

Looks cool.... +1 what mark said...Ziga

[bobs280i]

mgpete i was checking out your car in your profile (great looking car) do you have the third brake light in the boot as i do with my us spec 280i ? as here in the states i dont think they have used leaded petrol since the seventies ' i would hope tvr did it right .......?

Edited by bobs280i on Friday 8th February 19:43

[mgpete]

Hi Robert, yes mine is identical to your 280i (which also looks great) with high level brake light in boot lid. As you can see mine is US spec which is another reason I believe it to be unleaded. Took it out for short run today as the sun shone this afternoon, it's still a thrill to hear that engine when the hoods down! It never ceases to amaze me as to how much attention the car get's wherever I go.

[bobs280i]

Thanks Pete...i was showing my son your bonnet as that is different from mine (real sharp that) swap ...lol so do you have cat converter still on it?as the last owner removed mine and installed a straight pipe ......lucky for you going for drive .i should wake up to 24 inches of snow!

[mgpete]

Tell you what, you keep the snow & I'll keep the louvered bonnet!!!! seriously I don't think many were fitted louvered but I think mines one of the last wedges. No Cat fitted thank goodness.

[Mr Tank]

mgpete said:

Hi Robert, yes mine is identical to your 280i (which also looks great) with high level brake light in boot lid. As you can see mine is US spec which is another reason I believe it to be unleaded. Took it out for short run today as the sun shone this afternoon, it's still a thrill to hear that engine when the hoods down! It never ceases to amaze me as to how much attention the car get's wherever I go.

Pete

Can I correct you. your car is one of ten Series 3 280is they were built by the factory to update the 280i to the same standard as the later wedges! They were in fact the last 280 built! They did use some of the components off US spec car, but they were built for the British and European market. As you car has the boot brake light it was proberly made for Europe! My car was the first S3 and has the identical bonnet as your car, not all S3 had this bonnet



Has your car got the same dash as this!



It would be nice if you would come to the fest so we can get a few S3 together!

I believe they have unleaded heads as they were made in 88-89

Andy

[Wedg1e]

bobs280i said:

Good effort, looks nice, but the logo is the pre-1970s style so never appeared on a Wedge

[mgpete]

Thanks Andy, I'm learning all the time which is really interesting for me.
Yes my dash is exactly the same but really tatty by comparison to yours, I wonder why someone has made a surround of the gear knob on mine to match the dash, I suspect to hide something that doesn't look very good.
How the hell do you get those photo's inserted & why can't I get to insert mine which shows the full dash, gear surround & steering knob, surely it can't be more than 2mb as pdf? help here please!