Black wood-grain dash inserts?

[mrspeed]

I need to replace the wood in my dash with new matching pieces; my dash is currently a mishmash of different wood grains from different cars.



Anyway, it got me thinking I've seen some of the custom dashes, and I really like them, though I'm hesitant to get into a really involved project due to a lack of time to spend on it. Anyway, looking for some feedback as to how involved you think this project would be with insight from anyone who has done a custom Fiat dash before.

My idea started with one of my guitars, which has an awesome green painted and varnished finish where you can still see the wood grain. It looks something like this:



I was thinking it'd be really cool to do custom wood inserts somewhat like the above, but with a black varnished finish, more like this bass:



A little googling turned up a steering wheel with the same look and feel I'd be going for:



I have a bit of experience building random things, like shelving and whatnot here and there, as well as working on the car of course, but basically no experience on painting/finishing wood. Is this look hard to achieve? Would I be better off buying some used wood inserts and just trying to refinish them, or cutting my own wood? If the latter, is it easier re-creating the stock dash insert shapes, or to do the one-piece wood dash that goes all the way across?

Thanks in advance for the help and advice!

[DieselSpider]

Ebony wood stain with a good Marine Poly over it would be doable:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Minwax-1-qt- ... /100204711

The wooden parts are all pretty basic and would be cut from one length of lumber/strip of veneered plywood to keep the grain the same.

[mrspeed]

Awesome thanks for pointing me in the right direction!

[v6spider]

I think the black stained wood will look nice all poly urethaned up. Here's what I did I cut panels out of aluminum and polished them.

I've seen carbon fiber dash inserts that look real good too.

Cheers
Rob

[btoran]

i built my own 2 piece mohagony dash and stained it to match my steering wheel. i also added wood accents on the radio and lower consoles. you could do this with many different kinds of woods/stains but you'll you need to varnish it to protect it from uv sunlight. that part sucks. 12 coats of marine varnish with sanding in between. i also relocated some gauges / switches, added a speaker, and changed the radio, all projects in their own right. although the project wasn't that difficult, it did take lots of time and attention to detail, with the car torn apart for months, so plan it for the off season if you have one. there are several kits out there to do just the dash with replacement pieces.

[davery]

i built my own 2 piece mohagony dash and stained it to match my steering wheel. i also added wood accents on the radio and lower consoles. you could do this with many different kinds of woods/stains but you'll you need to varnish it to protect it from uv sunlight. that part sucks. 12 coats of marine varnish with sanding in between. i also relocated some gauges / switches, added a speaker, and changed the radio, all projects in their own right. although the project wasn't that difficult, it did take lots of time and attention to detail, with the car torn apart for months, so plan it for the off season if you have one. there are several kits out there to do just the dash with replacement pieces.

What are you using for the glovebox latch?

[mrspeed]

Awesome feedback. Thanks!

Yeah, I'm leaning toward just the stock wood panel replacement shapes, so that I can just trace the current panels onto the wood to cut them out. I've done a lot of bondo work in the past on a different car from my childhood, so it sounds very similar to that process with all the sanding involved. Not too hard, but very time consuming. I'd also probably keep the old dash in while I'm making the new one, though I'm in Michigan, so we do have a very long off-season I could work with.

For the glovebox lock, I just have the stock one that came with the car (though I'm getting a replacement today, because the back tab on the latch broke).

EDIT: Haha, I just realized you were asking btoran about his latch. Never mind

[mrspeed]

I like the custom aluminum panels too, those are nice!

[v6spider]

I like the custom aluminum panels too, those are nice!

Thanks man! Please post pics of your dash when it is done. I'd love to see it.

Cheers!
Rob

[btoran]

i removed the glove box lock as i thought it was ugly and didn't provide any real function. if i put something important in the glove box and locked it, it could still be easily broken into, which would damage the car or glove box or both. i use the trunk if i have anything important to keep safe for a short period of time.

on the new glove box, i removed the lock for a clean look and instead use a $2 fixture made for kitchen cabinets. a small metal plate is epoxied to the back of the glove box door and a push-in magnetic fixture is mounted where the old latch resided at the top (inside) of the glove box. to open the glove box, you push in on the top center and it springs open. push it back and the magnet engages.

I figured the box without the big lock would look a little too empty (which it did), do i mounted an ebay-bought pininfarina emblem on it, which is low profile and pretty classy looking (at least to me).

[joelittel]

I tried to cut my own wood pieces to be used as a substrate but eventually had to pay someone to do it for me.

Make sure you have the right tools or you'll be spending a long time fixing mistakes. I tried using a skill saw to cut my shapes and they never came out looking professional. It was hard to cut a straight line and the edges were never square. At first I figured that I could just sand away my mistakes, but ultimately knowing that I still had to figure out the veneer and varnish I decided it was taking more time than I wanted to spend. So I found a pro and got a great dash from him.

If you have a bandsaw and a belt sander capable of creating a nice squared off edge I'd think you could do this job easily. If you only have a skill saw and a block with sandpaper on it, like me, consider other options now.

[aj81spider]

I found the easiest way to get a good match was to use a router and a template following bit. You can cut a rough pattern in the plywood, then use the template following bit to make an exact match (including the holes).

I then veneered on top of that. Be very careful cutting the veneer flush as it will chip.

[DieselSpider]

Yes a router with a sharp bit is your friend.

[v6spider]

On my first attempt of cutting out my aluminum panels I used a saber saw to cut the holes. For wood if you have a nice saber saw it would certainly help. This last time I had my friends at a CNC shop cut it out on their waterjet table. The original panels are solid wood. They would certainly be stronger cut from birch plywood then veneered as suggested.

Cheers!
Rob

[azruss]

i did mine with a drill press, belt sander, jigsaw. I used an old dash as a template. drilled the holes with undersized hole saw. Sanded the holes to size with the drill press and barrel sanders. cut the outside with a jigsaw and sanded to finish with the belt sander. This looks like easy work but it is not. The wood is very thin between the holes and the edge and are prone to cracking. If i did it again, i would consider laminating a layer of fiberglass cloth on the back side for strength before i started. Seal the wood on all surfaces.