CUSTOM VENEER DASH'S

[azygoustoyou]

Hi guys and gals,
I was wondering if there would be a market for custom veneer dash kits? If so, I was wondering what you would expect to pay for something like that. I would probably take orders for each specific veneer. You do realize that the higher cost veneers would cost more. Thanks for your replies.

[mdrburchette]

Are you planning to recover the dash of whoever sends you theirs? What about clearcoating them? What type of clearcoat would you use? Would there be extra for filling in voids in the old pieces of wood? The early models were a plywood with a veneer so they have cracked and warped. Just a few questions.

[tonyfromjersey]

Yes, and I don't know how much, but probably in the 200-300 neighborhood.

[azygoustoyou]

Denise,
show me a pic of the voids if you can. I was thinking of making totally new pieces. Whatever might be easier. I have to check into what coatings would be best. I was also thinking of producing a fiberglass dash of the one everyone likes and covering in thier choice of veneer. I'm going to make a press to do this soon so I can do the best job possible. If it isn't nice enough to be in my car, then it shouldn't be in yours is my thought on quality. Just wanted to know if there is interest. Seat belt guides aren't making me enough. LOL I want my car done but can't do it without the money.

[mdrburchette]

I must have misunderstood your post, thinking you were going to re-veneer dashes. From experience, I can tell you there are a lot of man hours in shaping the wood and refinishing it. Here is a pic of a dash I did for a fellow Fiat owner on his Fiat truck thing. Notice where some of the veneer had lifted and layers had come up. I also had to completely chip the old lacquer off before veneering over it and refinishing it. If you are planning to start from scratch, you are still looking at a lot of time to get it right. Using a plywood as a base, then veneering over it will take longer than just using a solid wood and planing it to the proper thickness.

[pope]

Nice job on the Fiat truck, Denise.
Thankfully, I am just down the street from Oakwood Veneers with 250+ species. I used Lacewood for mine.

[kuhndg]

I was also thinking of producing a fiberglass dash of the one everyone likes and covering in thier choice of veneer.

Brady, Don't stop there...come up with a design to complete that dash down to the center council.

Denise, You missed your calling; Very nice work!!

[baltobernie]

I was wondering if there would be a market for custom veneer dash kits?

I thought of the same thing, but only in solid mahogany, to match the IAP/SpiderPoint/etc. steering wheels of the same material.

There are two different dash styles, and five- or six-hole layouts, so inventory would be unlikely. But the big problem I see is that many (most?) dashboards are uneven in some areas, with warped center bezels and such. Also, there are a lot of cars whose dashes have been capped, and there are at least two vendors of those. Glove box doors on many cars are rubbing already. So the likelihood of a remote customer being able to "plug and play" a wood kit into his car is unlikely.

I now think I'll be able to sell off my wood inventory by offering cut panel sets, unfinished. The customer might have to trim to fit her own car, but then they'd be free to stain and finish as desired.

Maybe you/I could insist that the customer send their existing wood items to use as a template, rather than us copy straight, original ones. But this is looking more and more like a job best done (or at least, finished) on the individual car.

[mdrburchette]

Denise, You missed your calling; Very nice work!!

Thank you for the compliment. There are plenty of my wood dashes out there in the Fiat community. I think everyone is happy with them....at least I haven't heard anything bad yet.

[azygoustoyou]

Denise,
Was the veneer you used paper backed? How did you secure the veneer to the substrate? clamps or a press? Looks like you did a good job. I think a press would insure any lifting and using paper back on the veneer would help the layers to stay in place.
I'm in the learning stages though.

[mdrburchette]

We do a lot of laminating in our business so I have access to tools of the trade. I used paper backed veneer. After prepping the pieces, I rolled contact cement on the face and on the back side of the veneer, let it set up, then carefully put them together. Then I rolled them with this doo-hickey:


I was then able to trim away what I needed to cut out, sand, stain and clear the pieces. I usually use a polyurethane because it hold up better to the weather changes than lacquer, even though lacquer is so much easier to use. Spraying it with an HVLP gun keeps lines and fuzz out of the clear, but either way is fine since any bugs, mosquitoes or gnats within a 5 mile radius will be attracted by it and will surely take a swim in a new coat. I sand between each of the 12 to 14 coats of clear so each coat will adhere better and you get a nice, slick finish. That many coats is usually needed to completely cover the woodgrain. Hope this helps!

[azygoustoyou]

Okay I picked up some wood today to fabricate the custom dash a lot of us like. My plan is to shape it out of wood, then make a fiberglass mold, and Veneer onto the fiberglass.
http://www.fiatspider.com/f08/viewtopic ... &sk=t&sd=a

If anyone see's any possible problem with my plans. Please let me know before I waste my time.

[manoa matt]

Making a dash like the one in the picture will be far easier out of solid wood that trying to go the fiberglass and veneer method. veneers do not want to conform to compound curves, you would at least need a vacuum bag, but I don't think the veneer will bend that much without cracking. Keeping it adheared to the fiberglass will also be a problem.

If you want to replicate the original dash pieces either with total replacements or just re-covering you NEED to have a small trim router with a flush cutting roller bit. Just that tool alone will dramatically speed up the process and give the best results.

The bits come in two variations with the roller on top or bottom, depending on which face of the material you want the router base to ride on.

http://cdn-viper.demandvideo.com/media/ ... d0dc_2.jpg

http://www.timberframe-tools.com/wp-con ... ttern2.jpg

[wachuko]

We do a lot of laminating in our business so I have access to tools of the trade. I used paper backed veneer. After prepping the pieces, I rolled contact cement on the face and on the back side of the veneer, let it set up, then carefully put them together. Then I rolled them with this doo-hickey:


I was then able to trim away what I needed to cut out, sand, stain and clear the pieces. I usually use a polyurethane because it hold up better to the weather changes than lacquer, even though lacquer is so much easier to use. Spraying it with an HVLP gun keeps lines and fuzz out of the clear, but either way is fine since any bugs, mosquitoes or gnats within a 5 mile radius will be attracted by it and will surely take a swim in a new coat. I sand between each of the 12 to 14 coats of clear so each coat will adhere better and you get a nice, slick finish. That many coats is usually needed to completely cover the woodgrain. Hope this helps!

Have you done one in cherry wood without high gloss varnish/lacquer? If you seen the Range Rovers they have an interior wood finish that is flat, almost like you need to oil the wood every so often... it is a very smooth matte finish. Wondering if you have done one in that finish and have photos to share?

[mdrburchette]

I've done a black walnut dash in a satin finish. I was really amazed at how well I liked the not so glossy look. I was actually at the mill where I buy some of my lumber and was checking out the cherry boards they had yesterday.