In a message dated 5/12/2004 3:52:01 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
owner-triumphs@autox.team.net writes:
> Date: Wed, 12 May 2004 07:30:29 -0700
> From: Barry Schwartz <bschwart@pacbell.net>
> Subject: Gluing dash veneer
>
> I am about ready to refinish the dash on the wife's Spitfire resto. I am
> leaning towards using contact cement(Scotch 90 high strength), but thought
> I would check to see if anybody has had any experience good or bad with
> using it, or possibly a suggestion for using something else if that isn't
> suitable.
............
> - plus, anybody have a source for white transfer letters??? I used to be
> able many years ago to buy them but with the advent of computers, transfer
> type letters are practically obsolete.
Barry, et al:
I just finished a similar project on a TR4 wood dashboard. At the
recommendation of the cabinetry shop that sold me the veneer, I used DAP
Weldwood
Contact Cement. It seems to have a very tenacious grip, but be mindful that
you
only get one try in positioning the veneer on the base wood. To help guide
myself
in this, I lightly pencil-traced the outline of the dashboard on the back of
the veneer. This still showed through after applying the glue and helped to
align things as I lowered the dashboard onto the glue-side-up veneer. It
worked for me.
In order to promote good adhesion I also used a small rubber roller to press
the veneer onto the base immediately after applying the veneer. It looks like
a small paint roller but the roller itself is solid rubber. Be careful not
to press unevenly or you risk pushing right through the larger instrument
holes. It's one of the few times I've been caught raiding the wife's tool kit
-- I
believe this roller's intended use is rolling out the bubbles and wrinkles on
freshly applied wallpaper.
As to the white press-on letters, I still find these at an artist's supply
shop near my home. One of the biggest makers was Lettraset (dry transfer
lettering) so you may have some luck if you do a Google search on the brand or
descriptive term. You'll also want to be sure that the letters survive the
application of whatever varnish you use on the dash. I believe the letters are
a
type of wax and they may be sensitive to some of the solvent-based products
used
for top-coats. A little test on some scrap veneer and varnish will tell the
tale, but I'd suggest a water-based polyurethane varnish. I'm told (again by
the folks at the cabinetry shop) that, unless the car spends an inordinate
amount of time with the dash exposed to the direct sun, you don't really have
to
use the UV-resistant spar varnish.
Bob Sharp
Michigan
64-ish TR4
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