Traditionally, all the grand marques used lacquer applied to a large
number of coats to create a "piano finish". Lacquer gives great clarity
as compared to varnish. The type of lacquer used was harder and more stable
than typical furniture finish. However, it will eventually become dull
after prolonged exposure. Varnish tends to discolor or fade
quickly under harsh conditions. Urethane and marine varnishes will last
longer, but tend to look cloudy, plastic-like, and may have strong color
casts, esp. under bright sunlight.
About 20 years ago, Jag, Rolls, and MBZ all switched to a catalyzed
polyester resin finish. They made the switch in order to speed up their
production lines; the lacquer took too long to cure between coats. This
stuff does not quite have the clarity of lacquer, but it seems to be
incredibly stable. The polyester resin is tricky to mix and apply. I
have not attempted it.
I refinished an old MBZ dash and trim several years ago using lacquer.
It took over a month, but the results were beautiful. The last I saw
of the car, about 1.5 years later, the dash was still in excellent shape.
On adding veneer to a dash: you may encounter stablity problems with the
wood itself. Clearly MBZ went to extreme lengths to insure that the
veneer would not expand, contract, blister, or warp. This was accomplished
by molding laminates of veneer, plywood, and aluminum together.
Ron Knipper
DSC Optilink
707-795-9444 voice
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