thanks for this. It looks great! IMHO - as an aside: the easiest application I've found: use a "wipe on poly" such as Minwax. I used their oil-based poly. One VERY light coat at a time using a small cotton cloth (t-shirt) as an applicator - ONE STROKE, doing several light coats over a few days. NO bubbles, orange peel, yellowing, or specs (wipe with a tack cloth and let dry 1 hr between coats). apply as many coats as you need to get the effect you want. perfectly smooth and glossy with no sanding. added: use slightly lighter sawdust particles and CA glue to fill the cracks.
I find these sorts of things crazy labor intensive. Alex is doing this the right way. What he started with was much worse than others on youtube and the results are way better than those guys. I suspect minor imperfections are a matter of spending even more crazy time with the technique he is using. Hats off to Alex. I''m inspired.
@@AlexBeras wicked! As I need to redo the varnish in my classic and several mercedes which is always a huge problem on those, this will help me tremendously. Thank you very much!
You’re most welcome! I redid the wood on my old r107 and my old w123. Be careful with the plastic pin on the underside when removing on the Mercedes. Good luck, and I’m sure it’ll come out great!
@@AlexBeras yes I know about that. Have several channels for Mercedes W116, W124 and W126. Had in the past several W123 as well. I would not go as far saying I know these like the palm of my hand, but nearly
Great job bro, my XJ6 S3 has exactly the skate board style console like yours. I still dont trust myself to do it but it is really nice to see how these were actually done. Its definitely better than hydro transfer and the original venners texture matches with the rest of the car.
that was very nice work, I have a old BMW 850 that I need to fix the cracked wood trim and this video will help me a lot but please be more specific what kind of material we should use or show us what ever you use that way we will not buy a wrong material god bless you that was nice piece of work
Albert Mananian thank you!! Patience, wood stripper, and a spatula will be your best friends. I condensed this episode into 15 minutes but the process took about three days and some trial and error. I would recommend a mask to block out the fumes from the paint stripper. Any questions, feel free to ask anytime!
@@AlexBeras ah ok, i was afraid of yellowing happening in the first year or so. Great videos by the way, you inspired me to redo the wood trim on my w123. And thanks for the fast answer
Looks good. Un working in the same process with my Jag. I want to do something radical and thay is I want to change the color of my wood from natural to navy blue (toatcj the color of my jag but still make it look like wood. Any ideas?
Actually I found something called UNICORN SPIT (I'm not making that up) that will do the blue. While I was in Home depot theh had clear Epoxy thay is suppose to give the same results as yp to 70 coats of polyurethane. Anyone ever use crystal clear epoxy?
@@AlexBeras Ive worked with epoxy but I'm worried how well it will do on nonflat shapes that need to cure without running and dripping like a shift knob and the steering wheel that has wood on the top and the bottom.
Thank you for the question, if the veneer is warped you are trying to restore it back to its flattened state. Moisture causes wood to warp, so depending on the shape by which the veneer is warped you add moisture on the layer opposite from which you want it to bend.
Brush or roll on the initial coats using polyurethane clear. Spray cans contain mainly solvent and give next to no build. Don't waste time with the paper grades you're using, start with something no finer than 320.
Greg Parker yes! The California company is “Madera Concepts” they refinish maybe better than factory in some cases. “Congleton Service” also refinishes veneers to perfection.
Hi, Alex, you did the best job I've ever seen. Thank for the demonstration. Really like that the " stripper can take your wife's clothes off " (your words) and the crickets.
Great pair of videos -- I've got a 95 RRC as well and have thought about whether to attempt this. A couple of questions for you. 1. After doing this do your door and other wood panels look a different color so that they're not a good match? That's my concern b/c they are faded and colored differently, but not cracked (likely because they're vertical so not as much direct sun). 2. Did you use a clear varnish? Thanks!
Tahoe Sacramento thank you for the comment! The restored panels look very different from the unrestored, but the faded door panels don’t show any cracking so I didn’t redo them. I used clear polyurethane spray which is UV resistant.
Oh boy!! gonna do this on my recently purchased RRC
Great job Man! Thank you for details, no one in TH-cam community ever did it like you!
I’m currently restoring my XJS wood trim, this was a great help. Thanks man!
ed wilkinson you’re welcome!
thanks for this. It looks great!
IMHO - as an aside: the easiest application I've found: use a "wipe on poly" such as Minwax. I used their oil-based poly.
One VERY light coat at a time using a small cotton cloth (t-shirt) as an applicator - ONE STROKE, doing several light coats over a few days.
NO bubbles, orange peel, yellowing, or specs (wipe with a tack cloth and let dry 1 hr between coats).
apply as many coats as you need to get the effect you want.
perfectly smooth and glossy with no sanding.
added: use slightly lighter sawdust particles and CA glue to fill the cracks.
Beautiful work! Just discovered your channel last night while looking for veneer fix options. Merry Christmas!
Looks great Alex! Thanks for sharing this!
My pleasure! Thank you for watching!!
I find these sorts of things crazy labor intensive. Alex is doing this the right way. What he started with was much worse than others on youtube and the results are way better than those guys. I suspect minor imperfections are a matter of spending even more crazy time with the technique he is using. Hats off to Alex. I''m inspired.
Thank you!! Your words are truly appreciated! Definitely not perfect, but a labor of love.... and it was a ton of fun trying to get it presentable.
This is a great video, as we say in Finland, hard work takes you through the gray stone
Wow. Definitely a thorough guide for me as I am in the midst of restoring my w202 1996 Merc wood panel. Thanks!
Looks awesome Alex. Came out incredible!
Thank you so much!! It was nerve wracking at times, but the end result was worth it!
Very, very nice job!!!👍👍👍.I like how much you appreciate the Range Rover brand. Keep it up.🤝.👏👏👏
Hi, can you place in the description of the video the product in can you have used?
Kind regards
Thank you for the suggestion! I updated the description on both video segments!
@@AlexBeras wicked! As I need to redo the varnish in my classic and several mercedes which is always a huge problem on those, this will help me tremendously. Thank you very much!
You’re most welcome! I redid the wood on my old r107 and my old w123. Be careful with the plastic pin on the underside when removing on the Mercedes. Good luck, and I’m sure it’ll come out great!
@@AlexBeras yes I know about that. Have several channels for Mercedes W116, W124 and W126. Had in the past several W123 as well. I would not go as far saying I know these like the palm of my hand, but nearly
Great job bro, my XJ6 S3 has exactly the skate board style console like yours. I still dont trust myself to do it but it is really nice to see how these were actually done. Its definitely better than hydro transfer and the original venners texture matches with the rest of the car.
Zhi Yang Tan thank you! Definitely a nail biting experience but I’m satisfied with the finish!
Great video you just gave me hope on my 94 Chevy pickup with a woodgrain center console. May have to contact you for help in the near future.
Absolutely!!
Nice one man thanks for this video, going to try this in my 89 RRC one day soon.
defenda1 thank you!! patience is key! But definitely doable!
that was very nice work, I have a old BMW 850 that I need to fix the cracked wood trim and this video will help me a lot but please be more specific what kind of material we should use or show us what ever you use that way we will not buy a wrong material god bless you that was nice piece of work
Albert Mananian thank you!! Patience, wood stripper, and a spatula will be your best friends. I condensed this episode into 15 minutes but the process took about three days and some trial and error. I would recommend a mask to block out the fumes from the paint stripper. Any questions, feel free to ask anytime!
Really nice. Great work.
Andy Reeves thank you!
Wow that looks amazing! Great job🔥
Great Video ! Just wondering what polish did you use to get the nice shine ?
Thank you! After wet sanding and letting it thoroughly cure, I used Meguires compound followed by a polish. Luckily it worked!!
@@AlexBeras Thank you for your reply, I'm looking forward to do my trim this week following your very helpful video.
What about uv exposure? Does the polyurethane coat turn yellow?
That is a likely possibility. the original coating did turn yellow over 32 years, but coating technology has definitely come a long way since 1988.
@@AlexBeras ah ok, i was afraid of yellowing happening in the first year or so. Great videos by the way, you inspired me to redo the wood trim on my w123. And thanks for the fast answer
Great work
Great video! Thanks.
Thank you!
Looks good. Un working in the same process with my Jag. I want to do something radical and thay is I want to change the color of my wood from natural to navy blue (toatcj the color of my jag but still make it look like wood. Any ideas?
Actually I found something called UNICORN SPIT (I'm not making that up) that will do the blue. While I was in Home depot theh had clear Epoxy thay is suppose to give the same results as yp to 70 coats of polyurethane. Anyone ever use crystal clear epoxy?
@@marvinonstage I was about to suggest something similar!! I was doing some research on it!
@@AlexBeras Ive worked with epoxy but I'm worried how well it will do on nonflat shapes that need to cure without running and dripping like a shift knob and the steering wheel that has wood on the top and the bottom.
Cool, thanks for this
I have a question sir, i want to restore my mercedes w210 wood trim, i just dont understand a step where you remove moisture or what?
Thank you for the question, if the veneer is warped you are trying to restore it back to its flattened state. Moisture causes wood to warp, so depending on the shape by which the veneer is warped you add moisture on the layer opposite from which you want it to bend.
@@AlexBeras ohh i get it now! Thanks!
Wood stain next before the clear coat would have given the veneer a "fresher" color. Try it out next time.
Brush or roll on the initial coats using polyurethane clear. Spray cans contain mainly solvent and give next to no build. Don't waste time with the paper grades you're using, start with something no finer than 320.
Yes! I learned my lesson the hard way! This definitely took forever.
@@AlexBeras The golden rule with abrasives is to begin with the coarsest grade you can get away with. This is when the levelling takes place.
Great video. Thanks. You mentioned a company in CA. Do you have contact info. for the company you would have sent them to for refinish?
Greg Parker yes! The California company is “Madera Concepts” they refinish maybe better than factory in some cases. “Congleton Service” also refinishes veneers to perfection.
Thank You!!!!
Hi, Alex, you did the best job I've ever seen. Thank for the demonstration. Really like that the " stripper can take your wife's clothes off " (your words) and the crickets.
Hahahaha, the occasional corny jokes!
Great pair of videos -- I've got a 95 RRC as well and have thought about whether to attempt this. A couple of questions for you. 1. After doing this do your door and other wood panels look a different color so that they're not a good match? That's my concern b/c they are faded and colored differently, but not cracked (likely because they're vertical so not as much direct sun). 2. Did you use a clear varnish? Thanks!
Tahoe Sacramento thank you for the comment! The restored panels look very different from the unrestored, but the faded door panels don’t show any cracking so I didn’t redo them. I used clear polyurethane spray which is UV resistant.
@@AlexBeras Yeah, cracking seems nonexistent except for the center console -- just completely different color-wise.