bad co

I am wondering if you experts here have any good ideas on how to treat old wood. My wood trim (yes real wood its a old car) has seen better day's. I have thought about removing and resourfacing it but that is the worst case scenario. I would hate to damage the wood since theyre is none like it floating around on the internet, so is theyre any polish or cream? I dont want to risk damage durring removal.

jfelbab

Photos please.

I take it the wood is covered with a urethane, right? You can use a polish or compound on this if it is. What is the car and age?

bad co

The car is a 1972 Mercedes 280se. Pics are coming as soon as I find the camera.

philES300

Interesting question.This thread applies to lexus owners too I assume, right? Doesn't Lexus always use real wood?

jfelbab

The wood in the current Lexus is coated with urethane, I think that the 72 Mercedes may not be. That remains to be determined. This would certainly change the action needed.

philES300

gotcha. May I ask what specifically you would use if it WAS coated? I mean, is there a simple easy answer product?

jfelbab

The coating is much like clearcoat on paint. You could use a polish on it to remove marring. I've used Swirl Remover (#9) on a scratch in my RX and it turned out perfect. I'd probably choose the new SwirlX product today for an OTC product. Tape off the area with blue painters tape to avoid getting polish on any trim or leather. I'd suggest working slowly with a new foam applicator and use brisk, firm motions to remove the blemishes. Lighten up on the pressure as you finish out the polish. If you are using polishes that have diminishing abrasives you need to work the polish until it breaks down and turns clear. Otherwise you will wind up with a hazy finish. Follow with a sealant once the surface is polished to your satisfaction.

Be sure to use a mild polish as I've found this urethane is not as hard as most clearcoat finishes on paint.

philES300

much appreciated

97-SC300

iTrader: (17)

Has anyone wet sanded and buffed the wood trim on Lexus with good results? I am dealing with some deep scratches on a vehicle I am working on and want to say wet sanding is definitely needed. Never done this before and wanted to get advice on what grit to go with and how thick the clear coating is on the wood?

Would I be okay doing something very mild like 2000-3000 then go to your typical compound with wool and foam pad with polish to finish it out?

Blueshark

Will we get good result with hand polish for the wood parts (no wet sand) vs the machine ?

zmcgovern4

iTrader: (2)

So I bought a set of wood trim for my IS so that I could skin it in carbon fiber... and in the process, I first sanded down the trim with 800 grit paper dry to scuff it up before the epoxy was applied, and the 800 grit certainly did not penetrate the top coat. I assume if you started with 1500-2000 wet and worked slowly you would be just fine.

97-SC300

iTrader: (17)

Thank you Zach. Will give it a go!

LeX2K

I've restored Lexus wood pieces by wet sanding and then hitting them with a power polisher. I used 800 grit and up paper and then used whatever compound and polish I had on hand the pieces turned out beautifully. I got out all but the worst scratches and those are now much less noticeable.

You could wet sand then apply several coats of urethane, wet sanding in between coats. But this is a time consuming process so don't do it unless you have no choice.