So the wood in your Mercedes is starting to look kind of bad huh? Thinking about refinishing? Well I hope this will help you make your mind up on what to do. Really refinishing the wood is not very hard, but takes quite a long time waiting for things to dry. Depending on what products you use the dry times may vary, but for the most part it is around 2 hours each.
First step is to uninstall the wood, there really isn't much to it, but I figured I'd take a picture of what it looked like while reinstalling just to give you an idea of what to expect.
The second step, now that we have the wood out of the car is to remove the rubber boot and the plastic frame which the boot wraps around off. To do this take a small flat head screwdriver and pry at one point, after you get that one point lifted up just work your way around slowly and carefully to be sure you don't break it. Take special care not to stab yourself with the screwdriver if it slips out of somewhere you stuck it....
The third step is strip off the old cracked finish. For this we want a really strong stripper (I used Klean Strip's Premium Stripper in an aerosol can found at home depot, MAKE SURE to wear good gloves, not disposable latex, this chemical is very caustic and burns horribly if you get it on your skin.) which can eat the almost bulletproof finish Mercedes put on our wood, yet leave the wood completely undisturbed. Try not to use anything to scrape on the wood or anything like that, just let it soak and clean it off after an hour and a half or so with some #000 steel wool (also available at Home Depot). Hour and a half??? The can says 15mins at most?!? Well the time that is listed on the can does nothing but waste chemical, in my experience anything less than 1 hour is an absolute waste of time. I have left it on overnight without any adverse effects to the wood, but it does dry and becomes a little harder to clean off. Don't expect any quick results here. Normally at first it will strip off under where the rubber boot was then at odd places, it takes at least 5 coats, anywhere up to a dozen to get it all off. Remember, don't scrape the wood, you only risk damaging it.
Now that the old finish is all stripped off and completely clean (no wet stripper still on it) we can move onto the next step, staining the wood. While if you have any strong black marks you may want to gently rub some of the #000 on it to fade the mark or use a special chemical to displace the dirt that has accumulated I will not cover that as even if you don't your results are quite rewarding. Back to choosing your stain, I choose MinWax's stain which claims to penetrate, stain, and seal the wood for you. While I have tried their color Cherry (see note), but it was much too light. So I spent another $2.95 and bought another 8fl oz of MinWax's Dark Walnut (2716), this color seems to be about right. The color you choose is kind of a big decision because once the wood is sealed you can't just use another color on it, you can however use two or more coats of the same coat to darken it if you feel it is needed. There is a drying time of 4-6hrs between coats of stain, and a minimum of 8hrs before putting on our clear finish of spar urethane. Pretty much you just open the can, dip a towel in and try to put it on evenly on the wood, moving and rubbing only in the direction of the grain. Never sand or stain across the grain, always go with it. After about 15 minutes you will want to rub it off, again try to keep the color uniform. If some areas are too light you can wait a little longer on the whole thing or that area. But whatever you do don't wait 25 or more minutes as the stain goes from water like to almost a goo which is very hard to get off, but also very hard to finish over.
As you now know the last major step is to put the finish on your wood. Looking what we have available I choose MinWax's Helmsman, I know not how long it will last under these conditions but it should outlast any other finish Home Depot sells. I tried both the can of it and the aerosol of it, I prefer the aerosol. The can which you brush on seems to go on thicker, but also puts more flaws into the finish. It has a drying time of around 6 hours between coats. The aerosol can on the other hand has a time of 2 hours between coats, but it specifically says if you can't do it in less than 2 hours you must wait 72 hours between coats, otherwise lifting may occur. This is something you may want to keep in mind while choosing your product. It will take a lot of coats whichever method you choose to build it up to the thickness the factory had it previously, some people choose not to make it as thick but remember your switches will no longer be flush if you make the finish thinner. Another thing to keep in mind is if you can't get the finish quite as flat or perfect as you want it, when it is almost to the thickness you desire wait at least 24 hours from your last coat, use some very fine sandpaper (1000grit or finer) to level your surface off for that perfectly smooth last coat. DO NOT put pressure on the wood, merely let it glide over is and take off the high spots, if you use to much pressure you may find a spot not very dry and take the whole finish off creating a big problem.
Before we put the switches in you will have to make sure all of the slots are clean and free of the urethane no matter which product you used. The switches fit in there very tightly and any foreign material at all will create problems.
The very last step is to carefully put your newly refinished wood back into your Mercedes, preferably 24 hours or more after the last coat of urethane. Remember that the finish will always be a little more delicate than the older Mercedes finish, but especially so in the first week or so. In time it should harden up quite nicely, give your wood that nice high gloss & grain depth to it all while protecting it from water and UV rays, and also increase the value of your Mercedes.
Grocery list:
Klean Strip- Premium Stripper (aerosol can)
Gloves
#000 Steel wool
1000 grit or finer sandpaper
Terry Towels
MinWax stain, color of your choose (I used Cherry #2716)
MinWax Indoor/Outdoor Helmsman Spar Urethane (Clear Gloss)
Tips:
If you think your wood is cracked look VERY closely, odds are it is just finish missing. I've had the finish lift almost
looked like the laminate was letting go but it wasn't....
Use a box to set the wood on, carry it outside, spray the cleaner on it, then put it back in your garage.
Wear gloves, don't get any stripper chemical or goo on you.
Don't use a scraper.
Never sand the wood, it is VERY thin.
Use the same box and some newspaper to spray it on, then take it inside or somewhere where you know dirt or dust will not
get blown on it and set it on another piece of newspaper.
Don't touch the fresh coats between coats.
Use an annoying timer to remind you that your 1.5 hours between coats is up.(for aerosol Spar Urethane)
Don't save money on a cheap brush, it'll get you back in the long run. (can Spar Urethane)
Email Me
Back