Michael999
09-06-2006, 03:11 AM
All of my flat timber trim in my car has cracked, warped, or just looks unsightly, so ive decided to try and restore some of it before i go and buy a kit or make new parts myself.
i started with the automatic gearknob because it comes off with a grub screw, and if i stuff it up i buy a new one and dont risk damaging a door panel!
My gearknob had sever sever cracks in it, so bad that the BMW logo was no longer a circle.
The cracks were mostly in the laquer, the cracks in the actual wood were not very severe.
I started by snapping off the old laquer using a stanley knife.
Once i got close to the edges i used a wood file around the edge so that i did not crack off any more laquer (the underside and shaft were not damaged).
After this i gave the entire unit a good sandpaper with some 80grit sandpaper on a cork block.
After i got it all relatively smooth I sandedd the unit with 180grit all over to prepare it for its first coat of finish, it was here whilst sanding that it was discovered that the timber used on this unit is about <1mm thick.. URGH!
I went through in a few small spots, showing some yellow fibreglass or some kind of plastic.
I concealed these spots by smearing some brown pastal (crayon?) that looked the same colour on the spots where i went through, it seemed to match when dry.
Ive now put on 2 brush on coats of Epoxy resin, and I am getting my Dad to spray it with a proper finish tomorrow at his work.
(you can see in one shot that on the side above the button there is some running, this has since been sanded out)
i started with the automatic gearknob because it comes off with a grub screw, and if i stuff it up i buy a new one and dont risk damaging a door panel!
My gearknob had sever sever cracks in it, so bad that the BMW logo was no longer a circle.
The cracks were mostly in the laquer, the cracks in the actual wood were not very severe.
I started by snapping off the old laquer using a stanley knife.
Once i got close to the edges i used a wood file around the edge so that i did not crack off any more laquer (the underside and shaft were not damaged).
After this i gave the entire unit a good sandpaper with some 80grit sandpaper on a cork block.
After i got it all relatively smooth I sandedd the unit with 180grit all over to prepare it for its first coat of finish, it was here whilst sanding that it was discovered that the timber used on this unit is about <1mm thick.. URGH!
I went through in a few small spots, showing some yellow fibreglass or some kind of plastic.
I concealed these spots by smearing some brown pastal (crayon?) that looked the same colour on the spots where i went through, it seemed to match when dry.
Ive now put on 2 brush on coats of Epoxy resin, and I am getting my Dad to spray it with a proper finish tomorrow at his work.
(you can see in one shot that on the side above the button there is some running, this has since been sanded out)