[6pack] dashboard refinishing

[Robert N. Clark]

I haven't recently tried to remove the finish although I remember
messing it up on a dash when I was younger.  I would try a decent heavy
bodied paint remover and let it do the work. Has anyone tried an
electric heat gun (with care)?

After the dash is completely cleaned, an excellent method of finishing
wood exposed to moisture and humidity is to coat it completely in epoxy
using a foam roller (I prefer West System epoxies and the foam roller
cover they sell ... NFI, but I wish).  If fully coated, the epoxy will
virtually eliminate movement of the wood resulting from changes in
humidity. It also builds with one, or at most two coats giving a nice
flat finish like the original dashes. After the epoxy has set, sand it
flat and smooth.  I wouldn't go more than 150 grit.  Then a few coats of
marine varnish.  For exterior wood exposed to water, the two part
polyurethanes or the really nice marine varnishes available from the
marine hardware stores hold up very well.  Expensive and usually in a
gloss, these may be difficult to find in a semi gloss or satin finish
which is more like the original dash.  I use Minwax Helmsman (again nfi)
marine varnish in a satin sheen on interior trim and it holds up well
even on windowsills where there is exposure to sun and moisture and
occasional drop of rain.  I also used it on a wood bathroom countertop
that I also coated with epoxy and it held up well except when hot
curling irons were applied directly to the finish!

Bob Clark
'69 TR6
-----Original Message-----
From: 6pack-bounces at autox.team.net [mailto:6pack-bounces at autox.team.net]
On Behalf Of John North
Sent: Thursday, December 10, 2009 4:23 PM
To: 6 Pack
Subject: Re: [6pack] dashboard refinishing

Is the veneer chipped or just the coating?   The coating on mine was
also chipped and cracked in several places and I was able to chip all
the varnish off with a razor blade - get the blade under the edge and
pry it up.   Painstaking work, but has the advantage of not sanding
and running the risk of sanding off the veneer.   Many coats of marine
grade varnish, light sand, tack cloth, varnish, light sand, tack cloth
etc...Looks great.

I found that the finish is much grainier than the original - not sure
why that is, because I used no stain and clear varnish, but I like the
look.

Hope this helps

John North

On Thu, Dec 10, 2009 at 3:05 PM, walt <waltp58 at comcast.net> wrote:
> Speaking of dashboard refinishing. I need to refinish mine. I need to
strip
> the veneer and put on new because there are some bad chips around the
edges
> of the glovebox door. Anybody know of a good "how to" for doing that
job?
> I'm pretty good with a wrench, not much experience with woodwork,
unless
you
> include painting the trim on my house.
>
>
>
> Walt Philipson
>
> '74 TR6
> _______________________________________________