W126 console, fix wood veneer
08-12-2014 | 05:23 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 5
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420SEL
W126 console, fix wood veneer
Refinish Wood Veneer on the Console & Replace the Shift Boot
Yes, this may be excruciatingly boring but on the other hand you may be slightly amused and educated at the same time. Let’s give it a go.
This project started because the centre wood veneer console on my 1987 420 SEL (W126) was faded and cracked. At least it looked like that to me. I mentioned it to the “bride” who gave me that stare and head tilt ... right. Twenty seven (27) years will do that. The veneer, not the wife. So I thought, how tough would it be to tackle this myself? Piece of cake, I thought. Right again!
Some advice before any of you think this is a good idea. Unless you enjoy spending a lot of time obsessing and worrying about your car, live with the faded original. Hey, a faint heart never kissed a duck’s ***.
First, one has to get the wood veneer out of the car. The only trick to this is to go very, very slow. Remove the ashtray, then a couple of screws and then that little plastic coin tray gizmo has to come out. Don’t pry out the wood veneer piece, it slides gently north about 1 cm, then it lifts up. Be careful as all the window switches, etc are still attached and if you haven’t done this before, the wires and switches will be very dry and brittle. Stop here.
There isn’t much written about how one removes these switches. If you can see the underside of the switches, they are each held in place with two clips at the north and south ends. If you have a tiny screwdriver (or extra fingers and I’m not here to judge) very gingerly try to pry them away and the whole switch will come out from the underside, not the top. Once done you’ll see a plastic template gizmo that staples to the underside of the wood veneer. Each switch has its own part number and the switch itself pries away from the wiring harness if you have to replace one.
So ... I got the veneer piece out of the car. What do I do next, I ask myself. Stapled on the back is the black plastic template I mentioned that holds the window, right side mirror and rear speaker switches in place. Very gently (again) use a tiny jeweler’s screwdriver (I found was best) and pry the plastic away from the wood piece. The plastic will come away with some encouragement, with the staples sticking out (which will have to be removed). Use a tiny pair of pliers to reverse push the staples back so you can get a tool to pull them all out from the same side they were put in at the factory. You’ll have to put this all back later so the staples have to come out.
Find a quasi-clean place to work and concentrate on getting the existing coating off the wood veneer faceplate. You won’t read this anywhere but this stuff is like concrete and congratulations to Mercedes for using such a tough coating. I used the standard wood stripper and hardly made
a ‘dent’ after four attempts. I finally saw some of the coating coming away from the sides of the piece, then four more coats and I had it all off. This took a week on and off. I was finally down to the bare wood. Towards the end there were splotches of original varnish still on the wood so I applied stripper with a Q tip just on the areas that needed to come off. When you think you are done, inspect the wood very carefully as there are always some hidden spots on the sides where the original coating was still intact.
Voila! I should have stopped there. I checked around for some wood refinishing places where they could spray clear coat on the exhibit but the price was high and what the hell, in for a dime, in for a dollar. I tried three times with spray clear from the local hardware store to do this myself but I finally gave up. I even built a small dust shield cover for the piece right after my spray job but dust and bugs seemed to be everywhere. Try working in an area cleaner than my 40 year old single decrypted wood garage that the wife calls the “Man Cave”. There is a reason why there are experts in this field and they have real workshops! About a year ago I removed a tiny starter of a wasp nest and at the worst possible time a gentle wind picked it up from somewhere in the garage and deposited it right in the middle of my day’s work! Aaaaarrrrhhhh.
I was up at Rudi’s (Rudi Koniczek and Company) one day, picking their collective brains and I think they took pity on me. I had tried poly resin which I was told would solve my problems but it just went cloudy after a day. They seized my “work in progress” and advised me to step away. It was in good hands now. A few days later, Rudi called me and said he had my veneer in his office for pick up. When I showed up, the fellow who had worked on my piece wanted to do another coat and but Rudi said that was enough, and “it’s not as if this is a $500,000.00 collector car.” I was crushed, speechless; it may look like an ’87 420SEL but it is my pride and joy and worth at least 1⁄2 a million (if you consider the time I have put into the car). What I got back was absolutely beautiful, work of art by the hands of a true craftsman. This final photo doesn’t do it justice.
During this whole ordeal, I noticed that the rubber boot was cracked/torn under the gear shifter. I thought, as I was half-way there, might as well try to remove it. The plastic surrounding the shifter is well bolted in place. Bolts at all four corners and very hard to get at. You need a very thin extension to your socket to wiggle it between the rigid air tubes on either side. Get your head up by the dash and you can see the bolts. Remove then very slowly. Once out, (the plastic not my head) you’ll see two tiny plastic clips and a lighting wire on the north side that have to be removed.
Then two tabs on the sides that have to be pushed in.
Everything kind of falls apart at this stage. Here are the exploded views.
The shifter is pretty straightforward. Loosen a nut at the bottom of the shifter and it just screws upward and out. Here is the old boot. A new one from Three Point Motors was about $20.00 (had to be ordered from Germany).
This was a good time to clean out the area under the switches and the shifter. A lot of gunk, dust, dirt accumulates over the years. No real advice from me how to do this, just a lot of Q tips and some careful vacuuming.
There is still more to this story. I figured that I had the window switches out, might as well clean the terminals. Using an electronics spray, it seemed like I just touched the first switch and it disintegrated in my hand. More aaaarrrrhhhhh!
New from the dealer these are about $90.00 each but Topcat (Langford) had some used plus a cardboard box of used centre veneer consoles. All were in pretty rough shape but I got two switches for $15.00. Just to be safe I got a couple more new ones online for about $15.00 each. Made in China.
Reassembly was straightforward. I cleaned the underside of the plastic template, then dabbed JB Weld where the staples used to be, then just put some weight on it all for a day, until everything cured. I covered the refinished wood veneer with a cloth and some tape just in case. A day later, I snapped the window (et al) switches back into place. I had broken two plastic tabs removing them so put a pin-sized amount of JB Weld at a key spot to hold the switch in place. If I have to remove them, again I’ll be able to get them out. I kept reminding myself, just a tiny amount. Luckily I tested the window switches before reassembly and the driver’s window didn’t work. Fuse had blown, easily replaced.
Stand by for my next project. Wheel refurbishing, air-conditioning unit repair, front seats refurbished ... so many projects, so little time. Aka How I rebuilt my Mercedes by hand.
Sorry, the photos didn't load. If you need them, contact me.
Yes, this may be excruciatingly boring but on the other hand you may be slightly amused and educated at the same time. Let’s give it a go.
This project started because the centre wood veneer console on my 1987 420 SEL (W126) was faded and cracked. At least it looked like that to me. I mentioned it to the “bride” who gave me that stare and head tilt ... right. Twenty seven (27) years will do that. The veneer, not the wife. So I thought, how tough would it be to tackle this myself? Piece of cake, I thought. Right again!
Some advice before any of you think this is a good idea. Unless you enjoy spending a lot of time obsessing and worrying about your car, live with the faded original. Hey, a faint heart never kissed a duck’s ***.
First, one has to get the wood veneer out of the car. The only trick to this is to go very, very slow. Remove the ashtray, then a couple of screws and then that little plastic coin tray gizmo has to come out. Don’t pry out the wood veneer piece, it slides gently north about 1 cm, then it lifts up. Be careful as all the window switches, etc are still attached and if you haven’t done this before, the wires and switches will be very dry and brittle. Stop here.
There isn’t much written about how one removes these switches. If you can see the underside of the switches, they are each held in place with two clips at the north and south ends. If you have a tiny screwdriver (or extra fingers and I’m not here to judge) very gingerly try to pry them away and the whole switch will come out from the underside, not the top. Once done you’ll see a plastic template gizmo that staples to the underside of the wood veneer. Each switch has its own part number and the switch itself pries away from the wiring harness if you have to replace one.
So ... I got the veneer piece out of the car. What do I do next, I ask myself. Stapled on the back is the black plastic template I mentioned that holds the window, right side mirror and rear speaker switches in place. Very gently (again) use a tiny jeweler’s screwdriver (I found was best) and pry the plastic away from the wood piece. The plastic will come away with some encouragement, with the staples sticking out (which will have to be removed). Use a tiny pair of pliers to reverse push the staples back so you can get a tool to pull them all out from the same side they were put in at the factory. You’ll have to put this all back later so the staples have to come out.
Find a quasi-clean place to work and concentrate on getting the existing coating off the wood veneer faceplate. You won’t read this anywhere but this stuff is like concrete and congratulations to Mercedes for using such a tough coating. I used the standard wood stripper and hardly made
a ‘dent’ after four attempts. I finally saw some of the coating coming away from the sides of the piece, then four more coats and I had it all off. This took a week on and off. I was finally down to the bare wood. Towards the end there were splotches of original varnish still on the wood so I applied stripper with a Q tip just on the areas that needed to come off. When you think you are done, inspect the wood very carefully as there are always some hidden spots on the sides where the original coating was still intact.
Voila! I should have stopped there. I checked around for some wood refinishing places where they could spray clear coat on the exhibit but the price was high and what the hell, in for a dime, in for a dollar. I tried three times with spray clear from the local hardware store to do this myself but I finally gave up. I even built a small dust shield cover for the piece right after my spray job but dust and bugs seemed to be everywhere. Try working in an area cleaner than my 40 year old single decrypted wood garage that the wife calls the “Man Cave”. There is a reason why there are experts in this field and they have real workshops! About a year ago I removed a tiny starter of a wasp nest and at the worst possible time a gentle wind picked it up from somewhere in the garage and deposited it right in the middle of my day’s work! Aaaaarrrrhhhh.
I was up at Rudi’s (Rudi Koniczek and Company) one day, picking their collective brains and I think they took pity on me. I had tried poly resin which I was told would solve my problems but it just went cloudy after a day. They seized my “work in progress” and advised me to step away. It was in good hands now. A few days later, Rudi called me and said he had my veneer in his office for pick up. When I showed up, the fellow who had worked on my piece wanted to do another coat and but Rudi said that was enough, and “it’s not as if this is a $500,000.00 collector car.” I was crushed, speechless; it may look like an ’87 420SEL but it is my pride and joy and worth at least 1⁄2 a million (if you consider the time I have put into the car). What I got back was absolutely beautiful, work of art by the hands of a true craftsman. This final photo doesn’t do it justice.
During this whole ordeal, I noticed that the rubber boot was cracked/torn under the gear shifter. I thought, as I was half-way there, might as well try to remove it. The plastic surrounding the shifter is well bolted in place. Bolts at all four corners and very hard to get at. You need a very thin extension to your socket to wiggle it between the rigid air tubes on either side. Get your head up by the dash and you can see the bolts. Remove then very slowly. Once out, (the plastic not my head) you’ll see two tiny plastic clips and a lighting wire on the north side that have to be removed.
Then two tabs on the sides that have to be pushed in.
Everything kind of falls apart at this stage. Here are the exploded views.
The shifter is pretty straightforward. Loosen a nut at the bottom of the shifter and it just screws upward and out. Here is the old boot. A new one from Three Point Motors was about $20.00 (had to be ordered from Germany).
This was a good time to clean out the area under the switches and the shifter. A lot of gunk, dust, dirt accumulates over the years. No real advice from me how to do this, just a lot of Q tips and some careful vacuuming.
There is still more to this story. I figured that I had the window switches out, might as well clean the terminals. Using an electronics spray, it seemed like I just touched the first switch and it disintegrated in my hand. More aaaarrrrhhhhh!
New from the dealer these are about $90.00 each but Topcat (Langford) had some used plus a cardboard box of used centre veneer consoles. All were in pretty rough shape but I got two switches for $15.00. Just to be safe I got a couple more new ones online for about $15.00 each. Made in China.
Reassembly was straightforward. I cleaned the underside of the plastic template, then dabbed JB Weld where the staples used to be, then just put some weight on it all for a day, until everything cured. I covered the refinished wood veneer with a cloth and some tape just in case. A day later, I snapped the window (et al) switches back into place. I had broken two plastic tabs removing them so put a pin-sized amount of JB Weld at a key spot to hold the switch in place. If I have to remove them, again I’ll be able to get them out. I kept reminding myself, just a tiny amount. Luckily I tested the window switches before reassembly and the driver’s window didn’t work. Fuse had blown, easily replaced.
Stand by for my next project. Wheel refurbishing, air-conditioning unit repair, front seats refurbished ... so many projects, so little time. Aka How I rebuilt my Mercedes by hand.
Sorry, the photos didn't load. If you need them, contact me.
08-12-2014 | 05:29 PM
#2
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
420SEL
Refinish Wood Veneer on the Console & Replace the Shift Boot
Yes, this may be excruciatingly boring but on the other hand you may be slightly amused and educated at the same time. Let’s give it a go.
This project started because the centre wood veneer console on my 1987 420 SEL (W126) was faded and cracked. At least it looked like that to me. I mentioned it to the “bride” who gave me that stare and head tilt ... right. Twenty seven (27) years will do that. The veneer, not the wife. So I thought, how tough would it be to tackle this myself? Piece of cake, I thought. Right again!
Some advice before any of you think this is a good idea. Unless you enjoy spending a lot of time obsessing and worrying about your car, live with the faded original. Hey, a faint heart never kissed a duck’s ***.
First, one has to get the wood veneer out of the car. The only trick to this is to go very, very slow. Remove the ashtray, then a couple of screws and then that little plastic coin tray gizmo has to come out. Don’t pry out the wood veneer piece, it slides gently north about 1 cm, then it lifts up. Be careful as all the window switches, etc are still attached and if you haven’t done this before, the wires and switches will be very dry and brittle. Stop here.
There isn’t much written about how one removes these switches. If you can see the underside of the switches, they are each held in place with two clips at the north and south ends. If you have a tiny screwdriver (or extra fingers and I’m not here to judge) very gingerly try to pry them away and the whole switch will come out from the underside, not the top. Once done you’ll see a plastic template gizmo that staples to the underside of the wood veneer. Each switch has its own part number and the switch itself pries away from the wiring harness if you have to replace one.
So ... I got the veneer piece out of the car. What do I do next, I ask myself. Stapled on the back is the black plastic template I mentioned that holds the window, right side mirror and rear speaker switches in place. Very gently (again) use a tiny jeweler’s screwdriver (I found was best) and pry the plastic away from the wood piece. The plastic will come away with some encouragement, with the staples sticking out (which will have to be removed). Use a tiny pair of pliers to reverse push the staples back so you can get a tool to pull them all out from the same side they were put in at the factory. You’ll have to put this all back later so the staples have to come out.
Find a quasi-clean place to work and concentrate on getting the existing coating off the wood veneer faceplate. You won’t read this anywhere but this stuff is like concrete and congratulations to Mercedes for using such a tough coating. I used the standard wood stripper and hardly made
a ‘dent’ after four attempts. I finally saw some of the coating coming away from the sides of the piece, then four more coats and I had it all off. This took a week on and off. I was finally down to the bare wood. Towards the end there were splotches of original varnish still on the wood so I applied stripper with a Q tip just on the areas that needed to come off. When you think you are done, inspect the wood very carefully as there are always some hidden spots on the sides where the original coating was still intact.
Voila! I should have stopped there. I checked around for some wood refinishing places where they could spray clear coat on the exhibit but the price was high and what the hell, in for a dime, in for a dollar. I tried three times with spray clear from the local hardware store to do this myself but I finally gave up. I even built a small dust shield cover for the piece right after my spray job but dust and bugs seemed to be everywhere. Try working in an area cleaner than my 40 year old single decrypted wood garage that the wife calls the “Man Cave”. There is a reason why there are experts in this field and they have real workshops! About a year ago I removed a tiny starter of a wasp nest and at the worst possible time a gentle wind picked it up from somewhere in the garage and deposited it right in the middle of my day’s work! Aaaaarrrrhhhh.
I was up at Rudi’s (Rudi Koniczek and Company) one day, picking their collective brains and I think they took pity on me. I had tried poly resin which I was told would solve my problems but it just went cloudy after a day. They seized my “work in progress” and advised me to step away. It was in good hands now. A few days later, Rudi called me and said he had my veneer in his office for pick up. When I showed up, the fellow who had worked on my piece wanted to do another coat and but Rudi said that was enough, and “it’s not as if this is a $500,000.00 collector car.” I was crushed, speechless; it may look like an ’87 420SEL but it is my pride and joy and worth at least 1⁄2 a million (if you consider the time I have put into the car). What I got back was absolutely beautiful, work of art by the hands of a true craftsman. This final photo doesn’t do it justice.
During this whole ordeal, I noticed that the rubber boot was cracked/torn under the gear shifter. I thought, as I was half-way there, might as well try to remove it. The plastic surrounding the shifter is well bolted in place. Bolts at all four corners and very hard to get at. You need a very thin extension to your socket to wiggle it between the rigid air tubes on either side. Get your head up by the dash and you can see the bolts. Remove then very slowly. Once out, (the plastic not my head) you’ll see two tiny plastic clips and a lighting wire on the north side that have to be removed.
Then two tabs on the sides that have to be pushed in.
Everything kind of falls apart at this stage. Here are the exploded views.
The shifter is pretty straightforward. Loosen a nut at the bottom of the shifter and it just screws upward and out. Here is the old boot. A new one from Three Point Motors was about $20.00 (had to be ordered from Germany).
This was a good time to clean out the area under the switches and the shifter. A lot of gunk, dust, dirt accumulates over the years. No real advice from me how to do this, just a lot of Q tips and some careful vacuuming.
There is still more to this story. I figured that I had the window switches out, might as well clean the terminals. Using an electronics spray, it seemed like I just touched the first switch and it disintegrated in my hand. More aaaarrrrhhhhh!
New from the dealer these are about $90.00 each but Topcat (Langford) had some used plus a cardboard box of used centre veneer consoles. All were in pretty rough shape but I got two switches for $15.00. Just to be safe I got a couple more new ones online for about $15.00 each. Made in China.
Reassembly was straightforward. I cleaned the underside of the plastic template, then dabbed JB Weld where the staples used to be, then just put some weight on it all for a day, until everything cured. I covered the refinished wood veneer with a cloth and some tape just in case. A day later, I snapped the window (et al) switches back into place. I had broken two plastic tabs removing them so put a pin-sized amount of JB Weld at a key spot to hold the switch in place. If I have to remove them, again I’ll be able to get them out. I kept reminding myself, just a tiny amount. Luckily I tested the window switches before reassembly and the driver’s window didn’t work. Fuse had blown, easily replaced.
Stand by for my next project. Wheel refurbishing, air-conditioning unit repair, front seats refurbished ... so many projects, so little time. Aka How I rebuilt my Mercedes by hand.
Sorry, the photos didn't load. If you need them, contact me.
Yes, this may be excruciatingly boring but on the other hand you may be slightly amused and educated at the same time. Let’s give it a go.
This project started because the centre wood veneer console on my 1987 420 SEL (W126) was faded and cracked. At least it looked like that to me. I mentioned it to the “bride” who gave me that stare and head tilt ... right. Twenty seven (27) years will do that. The veneer, not the wife. So I thought, how tough would it be to tackle this myself? Piece of cake, I thought. Right again!
Some advice before any of you think this is a good idea. Unless you enjoy spending a lot of time obsessing and worrying about your car, live with the faded original. Hey, a faint heart never kissed a duck’s ***.
First, one has to get the wood veneer out of the car. The only trick to this is to go very, very slow. Remove the ashtray, then a couple of screws and then that little plastic coin tray gizmo has to come out. Don’t pry out the wood veneer piece, it slides gently north about 1 cm, then it lifts up. Be careful as all the window switches, etc are still attached and if you haven’t done this before, the wires and switches will be very dry and brittle. Stop here.
There isn’t much written about how one removes these switches. If you can see the underside of the switches, they are each held in place with two clips at the north and south ends. If you have a tiny screwdriver (or extra fingers and I’m not here to judge) very gingerly try to pry them away and the whole switch will come out from the underside, not the top. Once done you’ll see a plastic template gizmo that staples to the underside of the wood veneer. Each switch has its own part number and the switch itself pries away from the wiring harness if you have to replace one.
So ... I got the veneer piece out of the car. What do I do next, I ask myself. Stapled on the back is the black plastic template I mentioned that holds the window, right side mirror and rear speaker switches in place. Very gently (again) use a tiny jeweler’s screwdriver (I found was best) and pry the plastic away from the wood piece. The plastic will come away with some encouragement, with the staples sticking out (which will have to be removed). Use a tiny pair of pliers to reverse push the staples back so you can get a tool to pull them all out from the same side they were put in at the factory. You’ll have to put this all back later so the staples have to come out.
Find a quasi-clean place to work and concentrate on getting the existing coating off the wood veneer faceplate. You won’t read this anywhere but this stuff is like concrete and congratulations to Mercedes for using such a tough coating. I used the standard wood stripper and hardly made
a ‘dent’ after four attempts. I finally saw some of the coating coming away from the sides of the piece, then four more coats and I had it all off. This took a week on and off. I was finally down to the bare wood. Towards the end there were splotches of original varnish still on the wood so I applied stripper with a Q tip just on the areas that needed to come off. When you think you are done, inspect the wood very carefully as there are always some hidden spots on the sides where the original coating was still intact.
Voila! I should have stopped there. I checked around for some wood refinishing places where they could spray clear coat on the exhibit but the price was high and what the hell, in for a dime, in for a dollar. I tried three times with spray clear from the local hardware store to do this myself but I finally gave up. I even built a small dust shield cover for the piece right after my spray job but dust and bugs seemed to be everywhere. Try working in an area cleaner than my 40 year old single decrypted wood garage that the wife calls the “Man Cave”. There is a reason why there are experts in this field and they have real workshops! About a year ago I removed a tiny starter of a wasp nest and at the worst possible time a gentle wind picked it up from somewhere in the garage and deposited it right in the middle of my day’s work! Aaaaarrrrhhhh.
I was up at Rudi’s (Rudi Koniczek and Company) one day, picking their collective brains and I think they took pity on me. I had tried poly resin which I was told would solve my problems but it just went cloudy after a day. They seized my “work in progress” and advised me to step away. It was in good hands now. A few days later, Rudi called me and said he had my veneer in his office for pick up. When I showed up, the fellow who had worked on my piece wanted to do another coat and but Rudi said that was enough, and “it’s not as if this is a $500,000.00 collector car.” I was crushed, speechless; it may look like an ’87 420SEL but it is my pride and joy and worth at least 1⁄2 a million (if you consider the time I have put into the car). What I got back was absolutely beautiful, work of art by the hands of a true craftsman. This final photo doesn’t do it justice.
During this whole ordeal, I noticed that the rubber boot was cracked/torn under the gear shifter. I thought, as I was half-way there, might as well try to remove it. The plastic surrounding the shifter is well bolted in place. Bolts at all four corners and very hard to get at. You need a very thin extension to your socket to wiggle it between the rigid air tubes on either side. Get your head up by the dash and you can see the bolts. Remove then very slowly. Once out, (the plastic not my head) you’ll see two tiny plastic clips and a lighting wire on the north side that have to be removed.
Then two tabs on the sides that have to be pushed in.
Everything kind of falls apart at this stage. Here are the exploded views.
The shifter is pretty straightforward. Loosen a nut at the bottom of the shifter and it just screws upward and out. Here is the old boot. A new one from Three Point Motors was about $20.00 (had to be ordered from Germany).
This was a good time to clean out the area under the switches and the shifter. A lot of gunk, dust, dirt accumulates over the years. No real advice from me how to do this, just a lot of Q tips and some careful vacuuming.
There is still more to this story. I figured that I had the window switches out, might as well clean the terminals. Using an electronics spray, it seemed like I just touched the first switch and it disintegrated in my hand. More aaaarrrrhhhhh!
New from the dealer these are about $90.00 each but Topcat (Langford) had some used plus a cardboard box of used centre veneer consoles. All were in pretty rough shape but I got two switches for $15.00. Just to be safe I got a couple more new ones online for about $15.00 each. Made in China.
Reassembly was straightforward. I cleaned the underside of the plastic template, then dabbed JB Weld where the staples used to be, then just put some weight on it all for a day, until everything cured. I covered the refinished wood veneer with a cloth and some tape just in case. A day later, I snapped the window (et al) switches back into place. I had broken two plastic tabs removing them so put a pin-sized amount of JB Weld at a key spot to hold the switch in place. If I have to remove them, again I’ll be able to get them out. I kept reminding myself, just a tiny amount. Luckily I tested the window switches before reassembly and the driver’s window didn’t work. Fuse had blown, easily replaced.
Stand by for my next project. Wheel refurbishing, air-conditioning unit repair, front seats refurbished ... so many projects, so little time. Aka How I rebuilt my Mercedes by hand.
Sorry, the photos didn't load. If you need them, contact me.
