Is the Black Ash Wood trim real wood?
Forgive this obvious first-world problem, but during a recent long trip, I was admiring the cabin design on my 2018 E400 Coupe, which has the black ash wood trim for dash and center console (see pictures), and noticed that the door panels were absolutely identical in their wood grain. They are not just similar, but exact mirror images of each other, which would be impossible to do if the wood grain was real, as the panels are not flat and the wood grain is pretty complex.
I've read in several threads that the black ash wood trim uses the same wood grain between dash and console for consistency, and that's definitely true in my car (it's a beautiful touch, really), but the door panels do not really match the rest of the dash's wood grain and again, are exact mirror images of each other. So, are the door panels real wood that was etched to simulate some random wood grain, or are they actually just very well done wood imitations? This is like a reverse OCD effect, but I was convinced all of the wood in the W213 interior was real wood, albeit a thin layer of it, but now I have some doubts... https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...f15662a75f.jpg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...7ea964e887.jpg |
They are not exact, close but not an identical copy, they are sheets of real wood veneer cut from the same log, two sheets will give an almost identical mirror copy if placed correctly.
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You can put your OCD to rest. The wood is real wood. And as Vic pointed out, they are cut from the same log so they will mirror each other. That's MB attention to detail!
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I thought the same thing and then compared with photographs, they are indeed different and real wood. My guess is that they are sequential matched cuts. In fact, much fancier than expected.
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Originally Posted by c4004matic
(Post 7529824)
I thought the same thing and then compared with photographs, they are indeed different and real wood. My guess is that they are sequential matched cuts. In fact, much fancier than expected.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...7e2017e9a4.jpg |
Originally Posted by vic viper
(Post 7529710)
They are not exact, close but not an identical copy, they are sheets of real wood veneer cut from the same log, two sheets will give an almost identical mirror copy if placed correctly.
I think the explanation is that it is indeed real wood, but both panels start as thin perfectly flat veneers that are split in two and then molded into the shapes they have on the doors through some heat+moulding process. This short YouTube video on how Bentley does interior wood trim mirrored between left and right must be the answer... Kind of cool that Mercedes is applying the same trim techniques on the E-Class as Bentley does! I can sleep better now... :) |
It's called 'book matching'.
When you do this correctly, you can build a box such that the grain flows seamlessly all the way around the box. To my feeble brain this seemed impossible, but when you see how it's done you think "Doh!, that is so simple!" MB does a really nice job with this wood interior. |
Learned something from this thread; I'd never have thought to look. On my interior the door panels are definitely not book matched, not even close, but you can see the relationship between the two panels. I don't mind this at all, and appreciate this as natural variation expected for a genuine wood product, albeit not up to Bentley standards!
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Originally Posted by grossmsj
(Post 7531698)
It's called 'book matching'.
When you do this correctly, you can build a box such that the grain flows seamlessly all the way around the box. To my feeble brain this seemed impossible, but when you see how it's done you think "Doh!, that is so simple!" MB does a really nice job with this wood interior. |
Are the glossy wood trims like Brown Ashwood and Burl Walnut made real wood too? Pardon me if that's a stupid question.
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Originally Posted by Courthaven
(Post 7600518)
Are the glossy wood trims like Brown Ashwood and Burl Walnut made real wood too? Pardon me if that's a stupid question.
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Thanks my man You are always helpful
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Originally Posted by Courthaven
(Post 7600536)
Thanks my man You are always helpful
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...90ed36f1a9.jpg |
Yeah, that does look nice. I went with the Brown Ashwood (but not the natural grain one) since I have natural wood in my current Infiniti. I hope it looks good.
I can't wait, I just heard on Thursday that my car was built. Then I saw that after yours was assigned a ship it was about 22 days I think. I may even drive down to the VPC one day to check it out since I am in Bmore. |
Originally Posted by Courthaven
(Post 7600601)
Yeah, that does look nice. I went with the Brown Ashwood (but not the natural grain one) since I have natural wood in my current Infiniti. I hope it looks good.
I can't wait, I just heard on Thursday that my car was built. Then I saw that after yours was assigned a ship it was about 22 days I think. I may even drive down to the VPC one day to check it out since I am in Bmore. |
I’ve got the black ash wood and it’s beautiful! I love it! |
Matching veneers are very common — look at things like fine wood furniture (especially dining and bedroom sets) and even elevators.
Here's some good info on it: https://doogeveneers.com/support/matching |
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...084c7b48aa.jpg
Originally Posted by Courthaven
(Post 7600601)
Yeah, that does look nice. I went with the Brown Ashwood (but not the natural grain one) since I have natural wood in my current Infiniti. I hope it looks good.
I can't wait, I just heard on Thursday that my car was built. Then I saw that after yours was assigned a ship it was about 22 days I think. I may even drive down to the VPC one day to check it out since I am in Bmore. Here are the few pics that I took (I give up trying to attach more pics. Sheesh) |
Originally Posted by wagonsrock
(Post 7531729)
Learned something from this thread; I'd never have thought to look. On my interior the door panels are definitely not book matched, not even close, but you can see the relationship between the two panels. I don't mind this at all, and appreciate this as natural variation expected for a genuine wood product, albeit not up to Bentley standards!
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...f8e9127b94.jpg |
Originally Posted by Cao Black
(Post 7620394)
While similar they are not exact, and wouldn't you think that if the panels were artificial they would be the same in all E interiors? Seems unlikely to have many slight variations of grain patterns just to give the impression of being authentic. My grain is more horizontal than the other two pics. Just a thought.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...f8e9127b94.jpg Burlwood in my CLS |
Originally Posted by grossmsj
(Post 7531698)
It's called 'book matching'.
When you do this correctly, you can build a box such that the grain flows seamlessly all the way around the box. To my feeble brain this seemed impossible, but when you see how it's done you think "Doh!, that is so simple!" MB does a really nice job with this wood interior. But that's nothing. The next time you are in Chicago stop by the Field Building. The corridors are paneled in mirror matched marble. The striations match for well over a 100 feet and then meet in the elevator lobby. P.S. I looked at the veneer on my 19 E450. Definitely NOT mirror or book matched. The grain on the door and the grain on the dash may have come from the same type of tree, but the veneer is not continuous. The dash grain is horizontal, and the door grain in vertical. The console top and door do match up. Nothing like the continuity of grain on the Jag. |
Has anyone retrofitted the wood trim to their car? I'm looking to buy an E coupe, but most of them have the piano black or aluminium trim
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Originally Posted by e400c
(Post 7529701)
Forgive this obvious first-world problem, but during a recent long trip, I was admiring the cabin design on my 2018 E400 Coupe, which has the black ash wood trim for dash and center console (see pictures), and noticed that the door panels were absolutely identical in their wood grain. They are not just similar, but exact mirror images of each other, which would be impossible to do if the wood grain was real, as the panels are not flat and the wood grain is pretty complex.
I've read in several threads that the black ash wood trim uses the same wood grain between dash and console for consistency, and that's definitely true in my car (it's a beautiful touch, really), but the door panels do not really match the rest of the dash's wood grain and again, are exact mirror images of each other. So, are the door panels real wood that was etched to simulate some random wood grain, or are they actually just very well done wood imitations? This is like a reverse OCD effect, but I was convinced all of the wood in the W213 interior was real wood, albeit a thin layer of it, but now I have some doubts... https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...f15662a75f.jpg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...7ea964e887.jpg |
Actually, I have Black Ash in mine and it needs some touch up, I'm surprised that Mercedes doesn't make a touch up stain for this purpose. Trust me I'd love to have my Google search skills shown to be less than perfect here, lol. I've asked in at least one other thread and taking the glove box lid out of my car so that Home depot can color match it seems like a step too far. Any help on sourcing an OEM stain would be greatly appreciated.
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Originally Posted by City Rat
(Post 8907979)
Actually, I have Black Ash in mine and it needs some touch up, I'm surprised that Mercedes doesn't make a touch up stain for this purpose. Trust me I'd love to have my Google search skills shown to be less than perfect here, lol. I've asked in at least one other thread and taking the glove box lid out of my car so that Home depot can color match it seems like a step too far. Any help on sourcing an OEM stain would be greatly appreciated.
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