Wood Trim re-finish?

[diggerdan11]

Has anyone had any experience re-finishing the wood trim in a square? I have searched but have not found much info

I have a 77 in Silverado trim and the wood trim on the instrument panel  and door panels are really faded. The trim on the dash is still in great shape and has a nice semi-gloss sheen to it.

I was thinking about wet sanding and clear coating the pieces, but I am really scared of ruining them and I know it's almost impossible to find replacements.

I'm pretty sure it's real wood right? So do they have a urethane coating on them? Or what?

Anyone have any advice?

Here are some pictures

Here is the good trim on the dash:



Here is the faded trim

[ehjorten]

Nothing is real wood!

The instrument chart is plastic with a simulated wood appearance.  It is just a thin piece that is glued to the stock, black instrument chart.
The Passenger's side dash insert is just stamped aluminum with a simulated wood paint.
The door inserts are stamped aluminum with a simulated wood paint.

I think you should get aftermarket door panels and I will reluctantly take that Silverado "Cowboy" trim off of your hands! 

I have nearly the exact same interior as you!  My '77 Silverado K20 is Burgundy with a red interior.  My instrument chart has long since lost the chrome trim around it and the previous owner broke some of the mounting studs for the cowboy trim and resecured them with visible screws through the face of the trim.  Nobody reproduces that trim, but you can get new pieces of the pull strap covers.

[diggerdan11]

As much as I'm Not a huge fan of the "cowboy" trim, I would like to restore everything as much as stock as possible. I swore I've seen that trim for sale somewhere

[Dr_Snooz]

A good vinyl dressing would help. I've had really good luck with Zymol's stuff. Their "Vinyl" prodcut always gave great results for me.

[AZ4X4SQBDY]

I might try taking a couple pieces to a automotive graphics shop, one of those places that wraps vehicles for advertising and see if they can run you off something similar and cover it. It's not going to be cheap but may give you the look your looking for. The film they use is very workable and durable.

I recently had one print me off some stickers for automatic locking 4x4 hubs. I needed 2 but ended up with a hundred because of the set up charge. I think all of them were $70-80 total

[diggerdan11]

A good vinyl dressing would help. I've had really good luck with Zymol's stuff. Their "Vinyl" prodcut always gave great results for me.

So I used a vinyl dressing on them today and they definitely look better but still not like I would like them.

[Jason S]

Along the same lines as the vehicle wrap idea...

About 5 years ago, I was working on restoring the woodgrain on some 73-76 style door panels and spoke with a local taxidermist who offered hydrographic water transfer printing. The basic process here: http://www.liquidprintone.com/process.php

The film can be had in woodgrain (straight and burlwood), as well as other designs. The taxidermist had covered all sorts of things from hog skulls to batting helmets.

He sent me to the following website find a woodgrain film: http://www.liquidprintone.com/gallery/straightwood.php

The metal panel would have to be removed from the door panel and all of the old film removed. Then the panel would be prepped for the new film. I don't recall what he priced me, but it was reasonable enough for me to begin the prep work on my panels.

I had found a film pretty close in grain and color and was in the process of stripping the panels when my job relocated me. So that project got put on an extended hold... 

[roundhouse]

The HydroDip is pretty cool and very durable if done right

Friend of mine did his Glock


I picked up some cowboy wood grain panels at a JY but they look different from these
They wrap around the top of the panel

[ChevTru]

A good vinyl dressing is a nice suggestion

[Dr_Snooz]

I'm half tempted to remake mine out of real wood...