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Wood veneered interiors are a feature of luxury and sports cars, Classic, Vintage, Veteran and modern. Highlighting great craftsmanship of a bygone age which is still very much appreciated in the modern era. Indeed no expense was spared in the past and the present when it comes to wood veneering with vast cockpits of wood.
Notable British cars that featured a very impressive array of wood veneered panels are Rolls, Bentley, Jaguar, Aston Martin, Bristol and Jensen. Bristol notable for its use of Burr Elm, leaving the others with the more classic Burr Walnut. Many of these with matching steering wheels.
European cars such as Mercedes Benz with its distinctive Zebrano and Ferrari with a more conservative straight grain timber.
When using natural materials such as wood veneer, the finish on each set of panels in each vehicle is unique. The same can be said for the aging process as natural elements such as sun can play an enormous role in how the wood veneer will fair.
Wood veneer can be bleached by the sun, making it crack, whereas damp will cause edges to yellow and become opaque.
Unfortunately, as is the case with all natural products, they are more likely to deteriorate over time than man-made ones – that is where we can help you. Using our years of experience and expertise we can bring your panels back to their former glory.
Refabrication
We can refabricate items such as dashboards, console panels, door cappings that have delaminated or suffered from wet or dry rot or broken due to wear and tear. This involves either completely remaking the item or repairing parts as necessary. This could be a complete set of components such as a Jaguar Mark II interior or individual items.
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The Jaguar Mark II dashboard top often suffers badly under the windscreen of the car and might need the rear edge replacing before it can be re-veneered, lacquered and polished.
Jaguar XJS and XJ6 have console panels that deteriorate over time resulting in the veneer lifting and peeling away from the steel console panel. We can supply new replacement panels which are an exact copy of the original made with modern high tech glues to increase their lifespan.
Veneering
Re-veneering is necessary when the veneer has lifted from the wooden, metal or plastic panel; such as dashboards, console panels and door cappings.
Sometimes it is possible to re-glue the veneer back into place with specialist glues and add repair pieces as necessary. Alternatively, when this is not possible and complete veneering is necessary the item is stripped, repaired and new veneer is placed on it. Veneering is always planned and to create correct ‘book matching’ from left to right
We keep stocks of various veneers such as Walnut, Elm, Maple, and Ebony from the right sized bundles, which we can bleach or stain to compliment the existing interior. High tech glues are then used to apply the veneer to the panels using vacuum and pressure.
We specialise in applying new wood veneer to aluminium, steel, plastic and wood surfaces. Examples of this would be the Jaguar XK8 aluminium dashboard fascia which is aluminium that has been wood veneered. Jaguar XJS ski slope or console panel which are wood veneered onto steel. Range Rover P38 console panels are wood veneered onto plastic.
Re-Veneering takes time and skilled craftsmanship. Matching and selecting the right wood. Stripping and repairing, sanding and grain matching. Once protected and lacquered your dashboard and all your wooden interior components are good for the years to come
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We only use high quality veneer. We stock Walnut, Elm, Maple, Ebony, European burr walnut, American Walnut, Carpathian Elm and Birdseye Maple to name a few of our most popular veneers.
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We can organise secure UK collection when you book your job in with us. Whether you are a car or collection owner, auctionhouse or specialist garage we can help you. Call 7days a week 8am-8pm Std UK time.
Lacquering
Re-lacquering may be needed because the sun has affected the lacquer sometimes bleaching or cracking the veneer and in extreme cases causing it to go opaque or milky.
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This is quite common on Jaguar XK8 XKR models registered around 2000. The effects of the elements can make the panels and the associated problem look worse than they actually are. Leading one to believe the whole panel including the veneer has been compromised when in actual fact it goes no further than the lacquer. Once removed the veneer returns to its natural clarity and colour.
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Often panels do not require full blown restoration or even re-veneering, but simply need to be stripped and new coats of lacquer applied.
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A typical example of this is the Rolls Royce Silver Shadow, Rolls Royce Spirit, Rolls Royce Silver Spur door capping’s and dashboard panels. These can be stripped back to the original veneer using specialised heat processes and a great deal of care.
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The veneer can then be sanded to regain its original colour, sealed with polyurethane and recoated with polyester lacquer as originally used by the manufacturer. The polyester lacquer is then flattened until it can be polished to a high gloss finish.
Car Wood Effects
In some cases when it is not possible to restore or replace the veneer or if the panel does not lend itself to veneering we can simulate a wood effect using our expertise and experience.
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Wood effects can be applied to wood, metal or plastic surfaces and finished as we would with veneer with a polyester lacquer and then polished to achieve a high gloss finish.
We can make the effects to simulate Walnut and Elm veneer making them darker or lighter as necessary.
An example of where a car manufacturer has used wood effects instead of real wood veneers is TVR in some of their models, which has a fiberglass dashboard casing the shape of which is unsuitable for real wood veneer and ideally suited to the wood effects.
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Steering wheels, gear knobs and plastic console parts also lend themselves to this process.
Modern Cars & Damage
Many modern cars do not necessarily have major damage in need of re-veneering but may have small cracks and damage sustained during their removal.
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We often undertake work on panels damaged due to loss or theft. Car stereo systems and satellite navigation equipment are often installed in wood veneered panels and can be damaged when items are not removed carefully. We frequently repair this damage.
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We can match any wooden finish, whether it is veneered to wood, plastic or metal. We often receive Lexus, Mercedes Benz and are happy to look at what ever you have a problem with.
The damage you can see to the panel on the left is a common problem with Land Rovers and is caused by prying out the console rather than releasing all the retaining screws.
Easily fixed and reinstalled.
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We also receive items that are damaged before the cars are even sold. Nasty scratches from careless or accidental damage are easily rectified allowing the full price for vehicles to be achieved.
We can arrange secure local collection and can pack and ship worldwide for you.
Airbag Deployment Damage
Modern cars with passenger side airbags such as the Jaguar XJS/XK8/XKR have a wooden veneered cover which is jettisoned when the passenger side airbag is deployed in the event of an accident.
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The panel can sustain damage to both the wood veneer and lacquered surface leading one to believe that the dashboard fascia set needs replacing to return it to its former glory. Alternatively at Car Wood Restoration we can repair the airbag cover.
We will by carefully removing the polyester lacquer expose the damaged veneer, then repair the veneer so we can retain the colour and graining thus keeping continuity with the dashboard panels either side of the damaged veneer.
Weather Damage
We strip, repair, reveneer and relacquer in the most beautiful way. Cured and professionally polished our work speaks for itself.
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However some dashboards are so badly damaged we do a complete reconstruction.
You can see an example to the right. This was a badly damaged Lanchester. We salvaged the top screen element and reconstructed, veneered and lacquered the rest.
