Calling DIY Veneer-ers
Discussion
I've had the dash out in my Griff to play with the ventilation system and thought I'd use the opportunity to have a crack at reveneering the dash. I was going to use contact adhesive to bond the veneer to the backing plate but having read the recent article in Sprint where I think they used a urea-formaldehyde glue, I got some of that. Just had a trial run and it separated after less than 24 hours although admittedly my trial was onto a piece of aluminium sheet that I hadn't roughed the surface of.
Anyone willing to share their experiences with me? What did you guys use?
Duncan
Anyone willing to share their experiences with me? What did you guys use?
Duncan
Paint three even coats of white pva glue onto the well cleaned backing plate, letting it dry completely between coats. Paint a couple of coats onto the back of the veneer, again letting it dry completely between coats. Dont worry if the veneer wrinkles slightly from the water content of the glue, just give it time to dry naturaly and it will go flat again.
When the pva is totaly dry (and not before) place the backing on several thicknesses of newspaper on a firm surface, postion the veneer onto the backing and iron it with a dry iron on medium heat setting. Make sure the iron is not on steam! Take it slowly and make sure you keep the iron moving with a reasonable amount of pressure. This will melt the pva and fuse it to the layer on the backing.
Sand with glass paper - not emery paper because of the grey dust. Finish with a pourable epoxy coating for that deep glass like finish.
When the pva is totaly dry (and not before) place the backing on several thicknesses of newspaper on a firm surface, postion the veneer onto the backing and iron it with a dry iron on medium heat setting. Make sure the iron is not on steam! Take it slowly and make sure you keep the iron moving with a reasonable amount of pressure. This will melt the pva and fuse it to the layer on the backing.
Sand with glass paper - not emery paper because of the grey dust. Finish with a pourable epoxy coating for that deep glass like finish.
I started making a new dash shortly after I got my Griff. It had an ally dash but I preferred wood. I went to Art Veneers in Mildenhall and chose some nice leaves of figured ash, then got a plain ally bakcing panel and used impact adhesive to stick the two together. It worked perfecty well. I then began the tedious process of grain filling, sanding and spray varnishing.
However, the project was then abandoned as I grew to tolerate the ally dash and so if anyone's interested in a figured ash dashboard, do let me know!
However, the project was then abandoned as I grew to tolerate the ally dash and so if anyone's interested in a figured ash dashboard, do let me know!
Tanguero said:
Paint three even coats of white pva glue onto the well cleaned backing plate, letting it dry completely between coats. Paint a couple of coats onto the back of the veneer, again letting it dry completely between coats. Dont worry if the veneer wrinkles slightly from the water content of the glue, just give it time to dry naturaly and it will go flat again.
When the pva is totaly dry (and not before) place the backing on several thicknesses of newspaper on a firm surface, postion the veneer onto the backing and iron it with a dry iron on medium heat setting. Make sure the iron is not on steam! Take it slowly and make sure you keep the iron moving with a reasonable amount of pressure. This will melt the pva and fuse it to the layer on the backing.
Sand with glass paper - not emery paper because of the grey dust. Finish with a pourable epoxy coating for that deep glass like finish.
When the pva is totaly dry (and not before) place the backing on several thicknesses of newspaper on a firm surface, postion the veneer onto the backing and iron it with a dry iron on medium heat setting. Make sure the iron is not on steam! Take it slowly and make sure you keep the iron moving with a reasonable amount of pressure. This will melt the pva and fuse it to the layer on the backing.
Sand with glass paper - not emery paper because of the grey dust. Finish with a pourable epoxy coating for that deep glass like finish.
I agree this is pretty much what I did for mine, PVA glue, and not just a single coat. I also glued on both the plywood of the dash, as well as a very light coat on the veneer (was worried too healthy a coat on the veneer itself may bleed).
For my centre console control panel however, the backing was made of steel. PVA doesn't do much to hold to steel so I used contact cement, one layer on the metal, another on the wood, and as they started to set up I brought the two together, and used a roller to apply lots of pressure and ensure the veneer was sitting nice and flat.
Before varnishing the various parts I let them sit for a day clamped type. I wrapped everything in wax paper so they didn't stick to the clamps. I continued to use lots of wax paper in subsequent stages so nothing got stuck to the table I was working on etc..
I then used Envirotech, a two part pourable epoxy finish. Although the product is pourable I used a foam brush for the first coat, and only applied a very thin coat (being thin it sealed the surface, and allowed the bubbles to come to the surface easily as the veneer gassed.
I made a point of masking all openings and edges, and after the finish was about 75% dry I pulled the masking, this caused the edges to have a nice rounded edge.
This type of pourable epoxy material allows for a fairly thick coating, so you have to be careful to get all bubbles out. Light breathing over the surface will release the bubbles as the materials off gas. I found you need to watch for bubbles for a couple of hours. As you pour the material it finds it's level, so unless you want the finish thick at one end, and thin at another you should try a level Also, keeping things dust free is critical - I built a tent that I can lift at once side to keep an eye on the bubbles but could lower down to keep dust from settling on the dash.
Multiple layers aren't a problem, and some times another coat will help resolve surface issues from a prior coat. One of my pieces was accidently touched when it wasn't dry, and had an ident that wasn't going to flow back. To fix this I did another coat, and you can't find the bad spot.
The material is also sandable. You don't need to sand between coats, unless you have some mistakes to fix - but I found when I did the narrow wood strips on my 350i's doors I needed to sand to get the edges shapped as I wanted them. I used about three grades of paper, and as I recall the finest was 1500. I followed this with a fine compound on a foam pad on a DA polisher (intended for polishing the car's paint).
Good luck, take your time, and don't count the hours you spend on it - or you may well wish you just paid a pro to do it!
Before...
After...
Blimey that really is impressive - if I manage anywhere near that I'll be pleased. Previously mine was one of those stick on sheets of fake veneers you can buy in Halfords and looked a bit ropey (although not as bad as I would have thought) so hopefully it'll be an improvement.
You're right about not counting the hours, a bit like most of my projects on the Griff! Still, it's all fun......
You're right about not counting the hours, a bit like most of my projects on the Griff! Still, it's all fun......
Tanguero said:
Try a blowtorch on a low flame for getting the bubbles out of Envirotec - works brilliantly and less chance of dust than breathing on it. Just a very light waft is needed, and with patience you can get a near perfect finish.
I have heard that works well - but I have also had a house fire once upon a time, and using a blow torch as I am falling asleep in the kitchen at 3:00 am is a bad idea
Guess what I am trying to say is if you use a torch get a start on it in the morning!
Cheers,
Rob.
ukauto said:
Tanguero said:
Try a blowtorch on a low flame for getting the bubbles out of Envirotec - works brilliantly and less chance of dust than breathing on it. Just a very light waft is needed, and with patience you can get a near perfect finish.
I have heard that works well - but I have also had a house fire once upon a time, and using a blow torch as I am falling asleep in the kitchen at 3:00 am is a bad idea Guess what I am trying to say is if you use a torch get a start on it in the morning!
Cheers,
Rob.
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