Wood colouring

[Eddie]

I have bought some Vitesse wooden front door cappings to fit on my Herald.

 

They are not a matched pair, so were slightly different colours, and are much lighter in colour than my dashboard, which has been re-varnished at some time in the past so is almost certainly not its original colour. Also the varnish on the cappings is cracked and peeling in places.

 

I am removing the old varnish by sanding with very fine sandpaper (see photo), but what is the best way of changing the wood colour to get a similar shade to the dashboard?

 

Should I use wood dye and then many coats of clear varnish, or should I use coloured varnish?

 

I realise that I will never get an exact colour match unless I also strip and re-varnish the dash, but would appreciate any advice.
 

 

[Pete Lewis]

I used french polish to get a shade and also ronseal wood dye both worked with trials of how much

then clear varnish , some use wood floor sealer to get the depth of shine,

the ronseal is better for varnishing over

french polish takes alot of work to build a depth and doesnt like varnish

 

so just used what was in the cupboard, with some patience and flatting

 

can give acceptable results without being specialised

[Eddie]

Thanks Pete.

[Pete Lewis]

over the years there's been a lot of ideas on this problem, many have their own stamp on how to restore the timbers

they range from awful. pleasant, brilliant and too good to touch its a bit trial and error but a good willing surface is 

achievable with simple diy stuff  if you want it Rolls Royce then thats another headache to  dream of

so much of this is the 'down to preference stuff' or  time +money 

Pete

[Eddie]

Thanks for the advice, Pete.

 

I used Wilkinson's teak wood dye as it seemed to be the closest match to the colour of the dash, and many, many coats of Wilkinson's yacht varnish, rubbing down between coats with 1500 and then 2500 grade wet and dry.

 

 

 

 

I am quite pleased with the results, although there are still some tiny bubbles in the final coat of varnish. I can remove these with wet & dry and then use cutting compound but can anyone recommend a final polish to produce a really good shine?

 

[Paul H]

Has anybody used this product http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151545279628?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

Regards

Paul

[rogerguzzi]

Hello Paul

                I used that product when I made a new dashboard last winter.

 

I put at least 12 coats on? you can mix some up and keep it in an air tight jar and the brush in a plastic bag and keep adding coats as soon as one has dried just do not let it harden to long(it seemed ok for a day) or you have to wait for it to fully cure.

 

Then flat betwwen some of the coats, I did not use anything more coarse than 800 and fininshed with 2000?

 

Then use their Burnishing cream and you if keep going you will get a very high gloss finish.(I stopped before it got to shiny! to up market for Spitty I thought)

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rustins-Polishing-Compound-Plastic-Coating-Burnishing-Cream-63ml-/201460271955?hash=item2ee7f7cb53:g:-t4AAOSwAYtWN5RZ

 

It seem to be working ok it has been baked in Italy(2.5 weeks) and rained on in Ireland and only one crack but that is because centre section did not sit quite flat(my fault and its a bit narrow next to the fuel gauge)

 

Roger

[Eddie]

Thanks for posting the link, rogerguzzi.

 

I have ordered one of those.

[Paul H]

Hello Paul

                I used that product when I made a new dashboard last winter.

 

I put at least 12 coats on? you can mix some up and keep it in an air tight jar and the brush in a plastic bag and keep adding coats as soon as one has dried just do not let it harden to long(it seemed ok for a day) or you have to wait for it to fully cure.

 

Then flat betwwen some of the coats, I did not use anything more coarse than 800 and fininshed with 2000?

 

Then use their Burnishing cream and you if keep going you will get a very high gloss finish.(I stopped before it got to shiny! to up market for Spitty I thought)

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rustins-Polishing-Compound-Plastic-Coating-Burnishing-Cream-63ml-/201460271955?hash=item2ee7f7cb53:g:-t4AAOSwAYtWN5RZ

 

It seem to be working ok it has been baked in Italy(2.5 weeks) and rained on in Ireland and only one crack but that is because centre section did not sit quite flat(my fault and its a bit narrow next to the fuel gauge)

 

Roger

Hi Roger - thanks for info - did you stain the dashboard first 

Paul 

[rogerguzzi]

Hello Paul

                I Glued a new veneer onto my new dashboard and I did stain it very slightly (I think?) I did tests on off cuts to see what the colour it would be as I did not want it too dark(like the Burr Walnut a lot go for)

 

I use this type of veneer(not from them! Ebay)

 

http://www.preciouswoods.com/site/index.cfm?id_art=92950

 

This was the Forum link I ran

 

http://forum.tssc.org.uk/index.php?/topic/818-dashboard-veneer/

 

Roger