Jump to content

** 26/02/23 Heading Up ** Probably how not to restore a Herald!


Recommended Posts

Colin, Pete, sounds like you are both in need of light restoration!

I'm back at work today, but working from home, and apart from a flurry of mails this morning, it's currently dead, so definitely taking it easy.

Given the work that needs to be undertaken on the bulkhead (it's way worse than yours was by the looks of things Colin) I decided to start stripping out the dash a couple of months back in order to get it out of the way, and also so that I could bring it indoors to work on it, which obviously meant disconnecting the loom.

Cue lots of labelling.

The bulk of the loom is in good shape given it's over 50 years old, but there is some evidence of both deterioration and bodgery.

Not sure what has happened here....

QeRNBL.jpg

….and this looks like it's come into contact with something it ought not to have here...

WbBzYN.jpg

Note green wire tacked onto the loom, which I is part of the conversion from dynamo to alternator.

I have since stripped the tape away from both of the above points, which has shown that the area in the first pic is actually fine, but I will need to splice in some new cable for the area in the second picture, and look to include the new green wire into the loom properly when I re-tape it, having replaced it with a correctly coloured section of yellow wire.

When I got the car, the wipers weren't controlled from the 'Wiper' switch, but from a random toggle switch on the underside of the dash.

Why? I don't know as the wiper switch works perfectly, but this has meant that someone tacked on this carbuncle.

 hF3Q76.jpg

It was covered in a horrible, squidgy vinyl tape, that was difficult to cut, but once cut actually revealed a fairly tidy pair of joints.

0HdE3m.jpg

Needless to say they will be coming off as a matter of course as I take the loom back to near original spec..

I say near original as I will probably add a fuse box and possibly a relay for the lights, as well as replacing some of the missing connectors.

Karl

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice to have you back Karl, just hope next year is a better one for you.   Bakelite responds well to Brasso and a toothbrush (not mrs B's) i found that off a chap at a show when i had a Ford pop with bakelite window surrounds they came up superb. :) 

Tony.     

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello Karl

Sorry to hear about your Mum. It is hard getting over these things. Some time ago I lost my Mum, Dad, Auntie and a close friend over a few years, I struggled for a number of years, even packed in working on a car which I was hoping to turn into a bit of a rally car for my friend and I to drive in rallies. It took a number of years to restart the project. 

I hope everything goes well and you continue to work on the car.

Graham

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the support guys, and the suggestions on the clean up of voltage regulator.

I spent an hour or so this afternoon wet polishing the case with MicroMesh cloths in order to minimise any dust, and increase the shine, which left me with this.

1kt4ve.jpg

r4Prqq.jpg

Not perfect as the surface of the Bakelite appears to have broken down in a few areas, but at least it doesn't have underseal and other gunk stuck to it.

That'll do for New Year's Day, time to go eat some party food.

Happy New everyone!

Karl

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Just realised that I haven't posted since the start of the year, but that doesn't mean that I haven't been busy, just somewhat tardy with my updates.

I've continued working on the dashboard and it's associated components, focussing on trying to sort out the veneer on the dashboard itself, with mixed success.

The varnish on the dash was heavily cracked.....

VaIrxm.jpg

….and in close up!

6EI1BS.jpg

As well as having a number of areas where the veneer had cracked off completely.

KbGLFM.jpg

Therefore I set about the dashboard trying to chip the varnish off to start with, as in many areas it was easy enough to slide a thin blade under the varnish and spring it off, as per the section on the front of the ash tray below.

F72Yc9.jpg

This worked to a point, no pun attended, but left large chunks of varnish on the dashboard.

Change of plan, time to break out the power sander, slowly sanding back the varnish to the veneer beneath.

vt2l46.jpg

Unfortunately some of the cracks went all the way through the veneer, and in trying to sand them out I went straight through the veneer. Bugger!

Back to plan A, re-veering the whole dashboard, which meant stripping it back to the carcass, cue more sanding and a whole lot of dust!

wmgUF3.jpg

This is now smooth and flat ready to be re-veneered, but first I need to work out what veneer I want to use.

Does anyone know what wood Triumph used on the Herald dashboard?

In the interim I have been cleaning up the speedo and switchgear.

GybltC.jpg

Clean inside and out.

Headlight and windscreen wiper switches cleaned up.

HS6791.jpg

3olmUK.jpg

Slightly less shiny, but in need of a clean up, the interior light switch.

Wvh0Ew.jpg

And then it was time to clean up some of the hardware associated with the glove box.

Hinges, clean on the left, as removed on the right.

e29vV9.jpg

And the lock assembly, which actually had a fair bit of rust on it, but which cleaned up very nicely.

Szf0Ei.jpg

So not earth shattering progress, but progress all the same.

Karl

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

49 minutes ago, Bordfunker said:

Unfortunately some of the cracks went all the way through the veneer, and in trying to sand them out I went straight through the veneer. Bugger!

I had the same problem with my Spitfire (Mk3) dash. In my case, I'd only gone through in one relatively small patch, and it kind of looks like a bit of a burr, so I decided to live with it.

50 minutes ago, Bordfunker said:

Does anyone know what wood Triumph used on the Herald dashboard?

I believe they used "crown cut walnut" for all '60s and '70s wooden dashes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks both.

When I stripped the varnish off the veneer had a distinct reddish tinge, which made me think it possibly wasn’t walnut, and certainly not as dark as the wood in your link Tony.

However I have been looking at this site, and their walnut looks paler and pinker.

https://www.veneersonline.co.uk/collections/iron-on-wood-veneer-sheets/products/iron-on-walnut-pre-glued-wood-veneer-sheet-2500mm-x-300mm?variant=34179503882

But then their Cherry looks a closer match.

https://www.veneersonline.co.uk/collections/iron-on-wood-veneer-sheets/products/iron-on-cherry-wood-veneer-250cm-x-30cm?variant=22650934663

Might have to ask for a sample.

As you can see I’m thinking of going with an iron on veneer, but time will tell.

Thanks

Karl

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks both.

I’ve decided to keep it stock and go with the walnut veneer, which I have duly ordered.

No other progress this week due to being down with the lurge, so aside from ordering the veneer, I have done no more than stick the dashboard components in the airing cupboard to ensure they are fully dry ahead of starting the veneering process.

Karl

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

It's been a few weeks since I last posted an update, mainly due to being ill, which meant feeling like doing nothing for a couple of weeks, and then starting a new job, which meant trying feverishly to complete/handover all the stuff I had been managing in my old role.

However there has been progress on the dashboard, with me sanding down the first coat of PVA that I applied, and then applying a further dilute coat to seal the ply of the dash backing.

0b3g2A.jpg

LDr7ks.jpg

wPoz3B.jpg

This was then further sanded back and wiped down, and left to dry out, as well as having all the little screw holes cleaned out.

The veneer comes in a roll, which is great for posting, but doesn't really reflect the shape of my dashboard.

jENnre.jpg

Not going to sit on the dash like that is it!

sn45WJ.jpg

So stretched the roll out on the table, and left it overnight to 'relax' back to a fairly flat profile.

I went with the iron on veneer, rather than going for a separate glue and veneer, and this shot shows the back of the veneer, and the glue that will attach it to the dash when ironed.

q7XOAq.jpg

Given that the veneer was going on as one sheet, and that I would be applying heat and pressure in order to get the veneer to adhere, I needed to blank the holes in the dashboard for the ash tray and speedo, which meant cutting blanks out of thin ply, and building a very crude framework to hold it all in place.

LHL58E.jpg

K5G7e6.jpg

zPVfkz.jpg

This left me with a flat surface on the driver's side, but I still needed to ensure that glove box lid was held in place.

xsuEN3.jpg

I make no apologies for my woodworking skills, but can attest that it was good enough to hold everything in place.

More updates over the weekend, given that Coronavirus now has put paid my business trip.

Karl

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Pete.

Thankfully I don’t have Coronavirus, well at least I don’t think I have, but then I have spent quite a lot of time on the tube this week, so God only knows!

I started a new job on Monday and was supposed to fly out to SA tomorrow, but given the flap around Coronavirus, the company have put a global ban on travel, so I get to have a full weekend at home instead.

The veneer is on the dashboard, but need my laptop to publish proper sized pictures, so will post tomorrow.

Karl

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Bordfunker said:

Thanks Pete.

Thankfully I don’t have Coronavirus, well at least I don’t think I have, but then I have spent quite a lot of time on the tube this week, so God only knows!

I started a new job on Monday and was supposed to fly out to SA tomorrow, but given the flap around Coronavirus, the company have put a global ban on travel, so I get to have a full weekend at home instead.

The veneer is on the dashboard, but need my laptop to publish proper sized pictures, so will post tomorrow.

Karl

Look forward to Karl, hope things get better for you soon.

Tony.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Slightly later than planned, but only because I couldn't be bothered to boot up the laptop yesterday, some pics of where I got to last week, and this weekend's progress.

Last week after blanking off the speedo and ash tray aperture, and securing the glove box lid in the correct place, it was time to break out the iron and apply the veneer itself.

Before I attacked the dashboard in anger, I did have a go with a section of scrap timber and a bit of veneer, as practise.

fn2tan.jpg

This was important as I needed to understand not just how hot the iron needed to be, but also how long to apply the heat for. The instructions that came with the veneer, which were very thorough I must say, also suggested applying a tea towel or similar between the iron and the veneer in order to protect the latter.

As you can see it went pretty well, but I did find that using a cloth didn't allow the heat from the iron to fully penetrate the veneer, and more importantly the glue, probably due to our cheapy iron not generating an awful lot of heat.

Next job was therefore setting up the dash on a pile of books to support it in as flat a manner as possible, then it was time to get ironing.

Km88E4.jpg

This is after the application, the ironing itself was too stressful to take photos of, and ahead of starting to cut out the glove box etc..

Cutting out was undertaken with a fresh scalpel blade, very carefully scoring lightly around the various openings, until each piece was released.

jJ67W3.jpg

1lsx9E.jpg

That was where I left it last weekend, before picking up again yesterday.

I spent most of Saturday evening cleaning up all of the edges of the dashboard with sandpaper and sanding block, not very exciting, but vital to ensure a tidy finish.

That very much left the various switch holes in need opening up, not something that I was looking forward to, so I spent quite a bit of time thinking about how to approach this, before remembering my knock-off Dremel in the study, and its various assorted heads. 

For each hole, I first drilled a hole in the centre, then opened the hole up with a dental burr in the drill, until it was large enough to accommodate a small sanding drum, like the one below.

HH4r8P.jpg

This actually made making the holes very straight forward, and far less fraught than I had expected. Phew!!!

The only problem is that glue from the veneer heats up from the friction of the sanding drum, and then sticks to the drum, so you end up getting through a few of these in the process.

Drilling out all the switch holes, and not forgetting the lock for the glove box, took a couple of hours, mainly as I didn't want to inadvertently make any of the holes too big, which was then followed by a test fitting of the switches themselves.

00Q6nY.jpg

25Gzcr.jpg

And not forgetting the speedo itself.

gpwjX3.jpg

The glove box lid got the same treatment, and the lock aperture particularly needed a bit of fettling before I was happy with the fit, but left me with this.

uTQKBG.jpg

Then it was time to strip it all back down again, before the next step in the process.

j6bCGu.jpg

The next step will be applying wood filler to a few localised areas where there is minor chipping in the veneer where I have cut it, following which it will be time for varnish.

Karl

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks both.

It wasn't completely plain sailing with the iron on veneer as I had to revisit a couple of areas with the iron following all the cutting out.

etJTVZ.jpg

This is the bottom of the dash under the glove box where I had cut out the lid, and it shows where the veneer hadn't bonded to the underlying dash board. Nothing that firing up the iron again didn't cure in 5 minutes though.

The wood filler turned up in the post yesterday so no excuses not to do the few areas of filling now, and I still need to finish sanding the new veneer on the ash tray to shape.

More updates at the weekend.

Thanks

Karl

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I will have to ask what my dad used to glue the veneer to my dash - he did consider traditional bone glue, but its not water proof, but can be sealed - and also a modern glue. But he never said what he did use. Wasn't iron on though as it was veneer he had in stock.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Anglefire said:

I will have to ask what my dad used to glue the veneer to my dash - he did consider traditional bone glue, but its not water proof, but can be sealed - and also a modern glue. But he never said what he did use. Wasn't iron on though as it was veneer he had in stock.

I have used a contact glue (evo-stick) in the past with good results, but never done a full dash.

Tony.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You could consider UHU glue . Looks and smells like the original Evostick . I buy this from Poundland at £1 per tube . The tube is multi language so guessing it might not comply with local H & S regs . Tried in on several jobs and works fine , could even get high on the fumes if I was that inclined 

5BB8B22E-551C-4A5F-AD1C-FBE7780C38F0.thumb.jpeg.5e7424e75ba5cf154c8fa1d485999968.jpeg
 

Paul 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...