I have a '73 delta 88, and the wood veneer on the dash and other areas is faded and worn. Does anyone know;
(1) is there a way to repair/restore the existing veneer?
(2) is there a way of replacing this worn veneer with new?

In both cases, any ideas on how to recreate or restore the text that is written on it(heater control, lights, etc.) would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Chris

 

Chris,

As you might suspect, this "wood" is just a printed decal on a metal substrate. The only way to "repair" it is to replace it. Unfortunately I'm not aware of any sources that repro the appliqué for the B-body cars. That leaves you to either find an NOS set (good luck) or a used set in better shape than yours. Sorry.

 

Dang.

I was afraid of that.

 

The 73 seemed to be the worst of them for fading and looking dull. If you don't mind a little "deviation", the ones from a 71-2 88 or 98 will fit perfectly and seemed to hold up better. You want to get really fancy (as I did with my 73 Delta ragtop years ago), get them from a 71-3 Toronado which have a brushed champagne gold finish.

You might have to finagle around to find a set with all the switch cutouts you need, but it's fairly easy to cut out the mounting holes in the appliqué. The openings are already in the bezel.

 

Thanks rocketraider. At least that will give me a few more possibilities when I go part-hunting.

 

Have you thought about going to a good upholstery shop and asking them if they can duplicate or overlay the old veneer with some quality veneer? May sound wierd but a lot of the upholstery places I know will do this kind of service. They just need the dash inlay to get a really good pattern. Most of the high end veneer overlays have a solid backing plate so they don't shrink. Seems to also help avoid UV and IR fadeout. Why, i don't know. If they can't help you, they probably know shops that can do this because there's lots of demand for aftermarket alteration with woodgrain finishes.

Probably a lot faster and more convenient than trying to track down OEM or NOS replacements. Good luck with your quest.

 

Hydro-dip.com Have a look!!! Maybe they can help. Thanks