TodB
Well-Known Member
I'm helping a friend find someone who can refinish his interior wood trim. I know Maderies (SP) is the goto with a stellar reputation, but his prices are too high for my friend. Who are the other options?
Wood refinishing options
- Thread starter TodB
- Start date
@Bella can do it for I believe about $1000 plus shipping. I’m working with someone in my local area and I will let you know how turns out
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Wrong Bela Scott
If the backer wood is structurally sound (which is to say that it maintains its size and shape), I feel that any local and willing furniture shop, custom wood shop, wooden boat/canoe maker, or skilled wood shop guy or gal can successfully work with refinishing or replacing and finishing the veneer. Where the specialists come into higher value (in my opinion) is if your backing wood no longer resembles the shape it needs to fit into the car correctly. They have forms and jigs to true everything up for our cars. That's my 2 cents...
Yes. Click on the link I provided, and view his profile postings. Hasn't posted on here for awhile, but it all has to do w/his wood refinishing.
By the way, my local guy who is doing Maywood seems to be making it much more complicated than it is. He is convinced that the wood has been done at least two prior times one time very very poorly. He can’t figure out why. He says there’s even some Bondo in it.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
jmackro
Well-Known Member
Exactly! A lot depends on what "refinishing" means. If the varnish just needs re-doing, then sure, Madera Concepts is overkill. But if the backing wood has gotten exposed to moisture and has rotted / fallen apart, then no local shop is going to have the templates (or CNC data) to re-make it. That's when a specialist like Madera makes sense.
Good candidate for 3d printing (base wood that is)
here are pics of my wood that Gary, with a little help from me, re-veneered and finished. i am very happy with the results. the wood is figured etimoe ... more orange brown but this looks great with a black interior. probably not so good with a blue interior.
Insanely nice!
i still need to stain the ends of the door wood pieces. i am really excited about it. i am getting ready to start work on the speaker grille - i will sand it to remove the existing finish ... then separate the back from the front and replace the cloth.
Beautiful Scott!
Rek
Well-Known Member
What did you use to finish these. Was it varnish or some other coating. I have experimented with two part clear epoxy, with patchy results.
inovermyhead
Well-Known Member
Looks unreal Scott, beautiful work, if I send mine over......?
Cheers. John
Cheers. John
the finish was an automotive 2 part lacquer with a satin sheen. it was recommended to Gary by someone ... so i don't know the actual name. Gary did have a little trouble with air bubbles. the finish cost about 75 bucks a quart. Gary is working on getting his car home from the paint shop so i know he isn't spending too much time on the forum.
it is a lot of work to do this, Gary is an experienced woodworker and has built some custom furniture. it is not easy and i highly recommend sending to Bela if you don't have the proper tools. Gary has a vacuum bag that we put the door pieces in and the instrument cluster piece in ... but the vacuum will suck the veneer into the instrument holes and that can make it not turn out / ruin the veneer (we did a few experiments with spare pieces of veneer). we ended up making some plugs to fill the holes, then wet the veneer and shaped it in the bag ... then laid it up and put it back in the bag. the big curved pieces were laid up with a lot of clamps and backing pieces.
it is a lot of work to do this, Gary is an experienced woodworker and has built some custom furniture. it is not easy and i highly recommend sending to Bela if you don't have the proper tools. Gary has a vacuum bag that we put the door pieces in and the instrument cluster piece in ... but the vacuum will suck the veneer into the instrument holes and that can make it not turn out / ruin the veneer (we did a few experiments with spare pieces of veneer). we ended up making some plugs to fill the holes, then wet the veneer and shaped it in the bag ... then laid it up and put it back in the bag. the big curved pieces were laid up with a lot of clamps and backing pieces.
In a former life, I was a luthier (technically, I guess I still am). Working with thin wood and bending it into elaborate, curvaceous shapes is not foreign, nor scary to me. The methods you are describing for laminating the veneer into these shapes sounds very similar to what I've done for guitar body shapes. With that in mind, I will definitely take on my own veneer work. And I can only hope that my results are as beautiful as yours!
That wood looks great. I have some more mechanical work to deal with on my car. Then I want to deal with the wood. Probably over next winter. How much much of a chore is it to remove it from the dash?