My 1984 had a thick, yellowing coat that fell off in some parts. I heated it with a propane torch and was able to peel it off in almost all areas and without any damage at all. Obviously just hot enough to soften the plastic and break the remaining bond.
My 1969 however has a very thin coat that has a few very fine cracks but full adhesion. I don’t know what it is but if someone says french polish, that is shellac to me. Maybe an industrial version if such a thing exists.
French polish would give the nicest possible finish, not very durable and lots of work but somewhat repairable. I don’t like soaking it with an forever paint unless it has been very well proven already.
Don’t machine sand even if you think you know what you’re doing. Have seen enough ruined veneer already.
Thanks Tapped and all for good advice. I will be hand sanding only, and probably just scuff sanding at that. I will definitely check for compatibility too. Cheers!
Now be very very careful with that. The veneer on those pieces is extremely thin, especially the dashtop, and you can go through it even with a piece of fine steel wool.
Hi Tapped, Which Epifanes varnish did you use? There are several to choose from. The clear gloss would be my guess, but there is also extra UV, matte, and rubbed effect interior. Please let me know. Thanks
Mark in Seattle
I’m not yet into wood refinish task on my Mk1 but I did a test on a worst piece of door wood.
I was able to clean off old yellow lacquer by rubbing it with lots of acetone, without damaging or delaminating the vernier.
Hi Tapped, Thanks for sending the link. It has been ordered. I have begun the interior restoration, and I am starting with the door seals and wood trim etc. I really only have the room to do one door at a time. I will carefully try the Epifanes on the door cap bottom and test for compatibility. Thanks for your help.
Cheers
Mark
Hi Peter, I have joined this forum today. In the process of purchasing my first Jaguar mark 2.
I must say I’m very impressed with your work! That dashboard looks amazing. Would you consider looking at mine please ?
Best wishes
Dave
I’d promised to get back to this thread with my results on the Sutherland Wells product. I don’t recommend it, at least the low luster, which was advertised for a satin look. I found it to be too much oil, not enough build and after four coats had a very matt finish when dried. I do like the grain of the wood to show through, though and definitely don’t want a finish heavy enough to be plastic in appearance. In the end, a couple of coats of Minwax hardening paste gave me close to the sheen I wanted, so I’m satisfied, but I’ll try another product for the next pieces, likely the Arm-R-Seal or maybe the Epifanes. I personally thing a UV inhibitor finish is unnecessary for a car that lives indoors most of the time (and doesn’t glass filter out UV anyway?).
It’s interesting to compare the original veneer to re-veneered pieces posted here. The recent work by “tapped” is beautiful, but the original veneers Jaguar used were stunning, and I don’t know how such might be found now. I wonder if they had different grades for different lines of cars, as the Mk10 pieces I just did were much darker and wilder than than my earlier Mk2. On my photos (sorry, not very good under my shop lights), you can see where a previous owner has sanded through the veneer on the glovebox edges and lower right glovebox surround, but the wood is just too eye-catching to start over, so I’m living with it. The rest of the car has plenty of patina to match anyway.
