July 1999 

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Day 30:    July 11, 1999     Ashtray
Day 31:    July 17, 1999     Glovebox
Day 32:    July 25, 1999     Dashboard
Day 33:    July 30, 1999     Take it to the Pro

The wooden trim on the car's dashboard was in terrible condition.  They were splitting at the edges, and the finish was cracked, matted, and just terrible.

After receiving a lot of tips from the MB Veterans List on refinishing wood trim (e-mail me if you want a copy of from my archives), I decided to give it a try.  The smallest wooden part on the dashboard was the ashtray, so I started there.

Using a 150 grit sandpaper, I tried to sand the old lacquer off.  This proved to be too much work, so I decided to try some chemicals I had lying around in the house.  Paint Thinners were too 'weak' to cut it.  Looks like I'll be needing a paint stripper.  Its Sunday night and all the hardware stores are closed.... so till next weekend.

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I've bought a popular chemical stripper (Stripsol),  and tried the ashtray again.  I applied the stripsol with an old toothbrush and watched the old lacquer dissolve.  I scraped it off with a metal spatula.  I can now see the bare wood.

I then removed the next biggest piece of wood in the car -- the glovebox door.  This is held in place by two philips-head screws.  After removing the screws, the door is simply pulled off the hinges.

The old lacquer on the glovebox door was then chemically stripped.

*note:  Be careful not to get any of the Stripsol in contact with your skin.  It is gets very itchy and leaves a burning sensation.  Just imagine what it could to your eyes!!

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I proceeded to remove all the bits and peices of the dash (gauges, switches, heater controls radio, glove-box, padding, etc), and carefully pulled the rest of the wood trim out of the car.

I used the Stripsol to remove the lacquer from the wood.  Using a quick-drying wood putty/filler, I filled in the gaps and used a lot to build-up the edges.  After the putty has dried, I sanded it down to shape.

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I bought a Walnut Stain and applied it to the wooden pieces.  Unfortunately, the wood absorbed the stain well, but the wood putty didn't.  The putty stood out a light colored blotches.

After unsuccessfully applying the correct stain and finish, I decided to send all the wooden bits and pieces to a professional furniture maker for finishing.

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