OK folks,
Any tips on safely removing the wood panels from the dash of a facelifted XJS? I have a '94 and the wood needs to be refinished. I’m going to attempt this myself, but I’m more scared of removing the pieces than I am of refinishing them!
most panels are secured with clips or screws but some you can get the trim off by heating with a hair dryer…now i sit and wait for someone to say i’m wrong…
British Autowood has nice instructions here:
I looked into removing the trim on my '94; using Saul’s instructions, it didn’t seem that difficult, but he doesn’t (I don’t think) cover the removal of the trim covering the passenger side airbag (where the glovebox used to be). I didn’t feel confident enough to deal with that, though you can find instructions elsewhere - it involves getting in behind the trim, as I recall.
I do wonder if that airbag - or indeed the one in the steering wheel - would actually still function, at this point.
I just upgraded my center vent on my '92. I just used plastic trim removal tools. For that section I started from the glove box (opened) side and gently wedged the tool in-between, then the bottom. The top popped rather easily after that.
Here’s some photos of the backside of that section.
Haven’t tried any of the other sections.
And, as others have mentioned in the past, the amount of effort needed to remove makes you think you are doing it incorrectly and are about to break the piece.
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And as to the door pieces (and side ones in the rear area), they have kind of a bayonette catch-type thing for attachment on them so that the pieces slide forward to remove. On the pieces for the doors, I think you may have to first remove that plastic escutcheon piece underneath the door handle, but don’t remember for sure. 
If you’re looking to remove the ski slope piece, it’s a bit tricky with a pair of nylon “nuts” that are accessed and loosened with the fingers from underneath (after first removing the ashtray assembly). More detailed instructions for how to do that are in the archives. I wouldn’t worry about the wood pieces breaking when you go to remove them, as they have an underliner of steel (?), so they are quite sturdy no matter how old, dried out, etc. the veneer wood itself may be.
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Courtesy of British AutoWood. Check them out at BritishAutowood.com. In Orlando, FL
Removal/installation:
I don’t know where B.A.W. is coming up with those “directions” to remove the door veneers or ski slope, but that is NOT how they are removed on the facelift XJSes (or the XJ40s). E.g., the entire door card does NOT have to be removed to slide out the door pieces … and there is no “single screw” holding the ski slope piece in place, but rather the pair of white nylon “nuts” that are loosened from underneath w. the fingers, as I mentioned earlier. Either that or I must have totally lost my mind of late … 
I’m not so much concerned about deploying the airbag. I’m just wondering if the wood panel in front of it is mounted in the same fashion as the rest of the dash panels. Still, thank you all for the help - especially those of you who shared photos. This is such a GREAT group!!!
Interesting. My 93 convertible is like their description. Door card off and 3 philips screws hold the wood, and remove the plastic cap in the center console, and there is one screw under it. Hmmmmm
My '94 convertible has a single screw at the rear of the ski slope and 2 plastic locating forks further forward - no nuts that I recall.
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Wow … I guess then I did brain fahrt, and was thinking of my old XJ40s … (and X-300?) … Sorry for (my) confusion, guys … 
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