What is the right wood?

[Marc-M]

Question????
What is the correct wood veneer for the CSL?
I have got some samples of Quarter cut European Walnut and just want to check before I buy it.
The American Walnut looks a bit too dark, but having said that every tree is different!
Any help appreciated.
Regards

Marc

 

[adawil2002]

French Walnut. Just had my '73 CSi wood restored by Madera Concepts in CA to match correct factory wood and finish. Very reasonable cost, just under $2K, using my originals.

http://maderaconcepts.com/NewSite/VehiclePages/bmw_vehicles.html#BMW_3_0_CSi_CSL

 

[aearch]

very easy to get

i have a bunch of extra
simple to do
scape of old
soak sheets in hot water add wood glue to both sides let dry
use steam iron to anchor
done

 

[dave v. in nc]

wood

Agree with Andrew...Most European walnuts are, however, sold under the trade name of "French walnut", which includes..Italian walnut, Persian walnut, German walnut, etc...English walnut, altho also a Juglans Regia ("royal walnut"... what most of us eat, started as Persian, later called English...like the trees in the hanging gardens of Babylon..), tends to be a little less warm in color than the "French varieties"...American walnut, Juglans Nigra ("black walnut"... much harder to crack and harvest, good flavour but not as mild), is completely different; darker brown wood, with purple tendancies...beautiful, but not what our E9's had from birth.
This concludes today's piece of worthless trivia...retain for future episodes of Jeopardy if so inclined. Wood is good.

 

[Marc-M]

here are the two samples i have

Looking at the pictures shown of the new recon dash, the Qtd cut European Walnut is the one - i just now have to learn how to do it!

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[adawil2002]

If you plan to do it yourself, I highly recommend purchasing a vacuum bag(s) used for veneering. It's the easiest way to clamp with even pressure on all the curves because every piece is curved.

Could also find a local wood or auto restoration shop and possibly borrow their equipment.

Very interested to see your results.

 

[rsporsche]

the biggest question with veneer is whether you are going to stain it or clear finish it. i prefer clear finishes if at all possible as the more stain there is, the more you hide the beauty of the wood and can even hide the figure.

to me, you first need to decide the tone that you want the wood to be - light / med / dark ... then color - honey / orange / red / brown tones. then select the wood. if you want more of a honey tone with walnut, you better use the european walnut and you might need to have a slightly tinted clear. if you want a rich brown, then clear on the american walnut. if you want an orange tone, use a wood like makore and some other woods of the mahogany family like khaya - clear will give you and orange / brown. if you want reddish tint, you need to use a cherry or something with a little red tint. rich brown is best with a dark veneer with a clear finish - american walnut, etimoe, etc.

the last question is want sheen do you want - low sheen, you might want oil rubbed finish - satin to high gloss, you will want catalyzed lacquer. i tend to prefer to stay away from varnishes as they tend to yellow over time.