W123-TECH Interior Wood Trim - Refinishing - Replacement

[Grey Ghost]

One of the nicest aspects of the 123 chassis cars in the U.S. is the REAL WOOD trim.

Unfortunately, the ravages of time have loosened a number of my trim pieces. What is the PROPER way to re-adhere these pieces?

Also: the piece that runs underneath the glove box lock has actually warped...how to remedy?

(this thread first started in "Diesel Discussions" in error)

[Marshall Welch]

I think there are some posts on this subject in the Archives. Some recommended contact cement, others recommended 3-M brand double-sided foam tape. However, I don't recall any discussion of why foam-backed adhesive tape appears to be the original type of adhesive that attaches the wood trim to the underlying sheet metal mounting strips.

I have the same problem with my '82 300D-Turbodiesel. The wood trim on the dash came loose and/or fell off. It appears to have been originally fastened to the underlying metal strips with foam rubber-backed double-sided adhesive tape. I wonder why this was used. Could it be that this was done to allow for the probable differences in the rates of expansion of wood and metal with changes in humidity and temperature?

Maybe one of the businesses that refinish/repair the wood trim and advertise in The STAR would be able to offer advise. I look forward to learning more about this.

[safetytiger]

Looking for a piece of wood trim for 85 300D Turbo. It is the Center horizontal piece that is about 12 inches long. The piece in question matches up with the piece on the glove box. It is zebrano (german name) wood.

Alternately, if anyone knows of a good source to purchase the wood trim please let me know that as well.

Thanks,
Ray

[moviesharq]

Ray,

If you find a source, let me know. I need that too. As well as the piece around the climate controls.

Melissa
Twin Cities
1983 300DT

[barrypower]

I was looking for the left curved wood trim for my '84 300D turbo
and thought I'd check out my local 'Pick 'n Pull' (auto dismantler)
and found it! Along with an amber fog lens and the front fender
molding - all 3 pieces for $12.00 !!!!!!!
Junk yards rule!
Then there is always ebay.

[askalthea]

Greetings! Just bought a 1983 300 DT with 98,000 totally rust free original miles - original paint/interior, etc. It was only driven on sunny Sundays and still has that new car smell...LOL!

While my W123 is almost perfect, one piece of the wood console is cracked - under the radio and heading toward the gear shift. I found a German website offering all the wood pieces for EU 299 in OEM Zebrano wood. Umm, I speak German so it's not a problem for me. But the price - eek.

http://eris-car.de/cgi-bin/iboshop.cgi?show1750,3632046810

Any tips for carefully removing these pieces from a salvage interior? I live in NJ where salvage is abundant. Once I hook up with the right yard I'll be putting all kinds of parts away for rainy days.

Thanks....AA

[mbzjag8090]

In such a low-mileage example it makes more sense to send off the piece in question to Drew Hickburn (sp?) in North Carolina. The grain will match and the piece will be original. If you buy a new piece, the grain will not be from the same source.

Don't worry about it if you are not a perfectionist, but even if you are not, getting the wood finished through this venue will probably cost less than buying a new piece all together.

Good luck!

[askalthea]

Thanks for the tips, Justin. Yah, the story behind this car is cool and I was finally lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. I won't make anyone cry by telling how little I paid for this lovely original example.

How do I find Drew?


Cheers...aa

[lkchris]

http://boostnbenz.1baddsm.com/DIY/Wood/

[askalthea]

Thanks Kent! My wood console is cracked - repair or replace? If repairing, how do I go about fixing the cracked wood?

Cheers...AA

[mbzjag8090]

I didn't remember his name correctly... Here is the correct information:

Drew Tibcken of Heritage Woodworks
http://www.heritagewoodworks.com/

I cannot personally recommend his work, but I have seen cars that he finished and the wood was very nice.

[askalthea]

Got to Drew's website and we'll go from here. I'll keep the forum posted. It may turn out that the German sources for the entire wood set @ EU299 will be the most cost efficient because I can replace all the wood parts to match from their stock, as opposed to custom from Drew.

Happy New Year!

Cheers....AA

[txsgt]

My 1985 300 CTD has funky plastic that hase come loose in places. I would love to replace this with wood and am looking forward to any updates you offer with bated breath.

In the meantime, this appears to be glued down. Is that correct and what would be the proper glue/adhesive?

Thanks

George

'85 300 CTD
'96 220 C

[Grey Ghost]

I'm finally having my Becker 4602 installed properly by a car audio pro. Once that's done, I'll need to reglue the vertical panel of 'zebrano' wood that surrounds the HVAC buttons and temperature dial. I notice that there are screws behind the panel that may need to be accessed in the future, so I don't want to take a permanent glue approach to re-affixing the panel. What type of glue should I use, or should I try to do it with Velcro strips?

[Marshall Welch]

I haven't looked at what holds the console wood panels on, but in my car the strips of zebrano along the dashboard/glove box door were originally adhered to the underlying sheet metal strips with an adhesive-backed foam tape. In my car the foam tape deteriorated a couple of years ago and I removed all of the wood strips and cleaned off the adhesive. I'm inclined to try to re-attach the wood strips using foam tape again because that's how it was done originally. I suspect they did it that way to allow for different degrees of expansion between the wood and the sheet metal with changes in temperature. I have more foam tape but haven't reattached the zebrano yet.

One type of tape I have is Duck brand Double-Sided removable mounting tape, 3/4 inch (19mm) width. I also bought some 3-M brand mounting tape, which appears to have a more dense foam, in case the Duck tape brand foam tape doesn't work out.

I think the instructions for the 3-M tape say not to attach it directly to unfinished wood. I have been planning on trying a layer of brush-on contact cement or the spray-on 3-M Super #77 Multipurpose Adhesive to back side of the wood, and then adhering the foam tape (either the Duck brand or the 3-M tape) to the adhesive-coated back side of the wood.

Maybe one of the folks who re-finish the zebrano wood such as Heritage Woodworks would be willing to answer this question. I've also heard recommendations for contact cement on these forums if I recall accurately.

[Stutsman]

I realize that this is an old post, but here is my two cents worth. I have fixed three of my strips and have used good, high VOC type contact cement. It has only been about 3 years but tnere is no sign of loosening. If you are going to use foam dbl. sided tape, only use 3M VHB tape. (Very High Bond). It is bullet proof. It is used to attach things like signs on ATM's,buildings, etc. I would lightly spray the wood with 3M 77 spray glue first. Don't bother with the metal- the tape will never come off of it.

[blackwax]

i second the contact cement suggestion. however, proper application is paramount and not easy.
1. get both surfaces very clean, there needs to be as much contact between the two surfaces as possible.
2. you will need to find a way to put the wood on without slippage. i use wax paper. overlap the pieces of wax paper so that you can pull the middle most piece out first, then apply pressure with a small roller. then work your way out to each side by pulling wax paper, then rolling, then applying pressure. it really helps to have a second person help with this. once you are confident the wood is down without bubbles, keep rolling and hit it with a hair drier.
3. apply pressure to as many areas as possible for as long as possible. think small bags of sand placed on the wood, or some sort of clamp.

the advantage of the contact cement (get it at the hardware store) is that if you screw up when placing it on, you can usually remove the wood pretty quick without ruining your work. other types of glue will not be as friendly. if you choose a different adhesive, make absolutely sure that it does not expand on drying.... best of luck.

[Grey Ghost]

A permanent mating of the wood to the plastic is undesirable, in my view. The wood panel is mounted to a plastic panel that has at least four Philips-head screws in it. If I permanently affix the wood the plastic, the wood will have to be DESTROYED the next time someone needs to back those screws out to service what's behind that plastic panel.

Seems to me that a thin velcro strip solution may make more sense...

[Marshall Welch]

I agree; I would like to be able to remove the wood without damaging it. Replacement cost would be prohibitive. The velcro thing might work.

[Scotte]

Has anyone tried refinishing the wood in their W123? I tried putting some paint stripper on one piece yesterday and it did absolutely nothing except burn me. It appears to be a really tough coating and not sure how to remove the old finish? I really don’t want spend a lot of money sending it to a professional restoration shop but neither do I want to look at a chipped finish. Any ideas?

Scott

[VLayton]

Yeah, they use a hard core sealant that I'd expect non-industrial solvents won't have good effect. There are a few specialist who can reproduce wood, I don't think the one piece would cost all that much.

If you want something restored cheap, do it yourself. ;)

[H-townbenzoboy]

Good writeup on it here.
http://www.diymbrepair.com/Wood/

[pop & blow]

what I would do and what I did was to remove all my wood lightly sand it with 220 grit sand paper , sand very lightly with very little presure, sand with the grain and repair any missing vaneer which is the wood you will be sanding with a wood puty let dry sand and get yourself a stain pencil that matches your vaneer, then when every thing looks to your satifaction, take a tack rag and clean it very well . take a can of spray polyerothane the kind that comes in a spray can and spray several coats letting it tac up between coats usely 15 minutes between coats let dry and sand between coats, this should turn out very well if you take your time and allow 24 hours dry time before sanding. good luck, Jerry:)