Fixing holes in the glove box door

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Steve Meltzer
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Fixing holes in the glove box door

Post by Steve Meltzer »

Tom, I too, would love the name of someone who could repair the holes that have been pretty well "puttied" where a dash plaque once lived, on my GTC. thanx. s
steve meltzer,
"I've spent all of my money on wine, a beautiful woman, and stunning cars. Then, squandered the rest."
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peterp
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Re: Fixing holes in the glove box door

Post by peterp »

It would help to see a photo. How big are the holes? The 330 dash is just raw teak, which is readily available. Teak is also a very lightly figured wood, so it isn't very difficult to match existing grain. You might be able to insert teak plugs into the holes and the sand the plugs flush with the glovebox surface. If you took time to match grain for each plug, it might be an invisible repair.
Peter P
1966 330 2+2 series 2 #8169
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Re: Fixing holes in the glove box door

Post by Jumprun »

You and me both Steve, that damned badge was mounted with two 5/16" holes through the dash. I have some teak plugs but I'm trying to figure out how to blend them into the existing finish, which is still that satin semi-gloss clear. I'm afraid of the slippery slope that forces me to refinish the whole door, then you know where that can lead. My door is (teak?) plywood with teak facing. Steve, I have extra plugs if you want some, they are about 1/4" to 3/8" diameter, I can check tonight to be sure. I'm pretty handy but confess ignorance when it comes to wood and finishes.
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Steve Meltzer
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Joined: Mon Sep 06, 2004 10:31 am
Location: with Barney the Beagle boy and Enzo 8995

Re: Fixing holes in the glove box door

Post by Steve Meltzer »

let me try to get to this in the next day or so. I'm really afraid to fool with mine, as "the enemy of good, is better". s
steve meltzer,
"I've spent all of my money on wine, a beautiful woman, and stunning cars. Then, squandered the rest."
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peterp
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Re: Fixing holes in the glove box door

Post by peterp »

I believe the teak from the factory is unfinished -- there is no clear coat or any other coating. It's just raw teak finished with teak oil. Watco teak oil (available at Home Depot) is excellent. You can treat the plugs with teak oil to get a feel for how well they will match the dash.
Peter P
1966 330 2+2 series 2 #8169
Steve Meltzer
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Re: Fixing holes in the glove box door

Post by Steve Meltzer »

thanx again, Peter. s
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Re: Fixing holes in the glove box door

Post by Jumprun »

peterp wrote: Tue Nov 13, 2018 3:23 pm I believe the teak from the factory is unfinished -- there is no clear coat or any other coating. It's just raw teak finished with teak oil. Watco teak oil (available at Home Depot) is excellent. You can treat the plugs with teak oil to get a feel for how well they will match the dash.
Hi peter, the finish on my dash definitely has some type of clear finish applied, I found out when I was experimenting with some very fine abrasive pad to blend some discoloration that was under the badge, it did not go well because the coating was coming off and not blending in. Of course I can't bet my life my dash has never been refinished but I sure would bet a lot of money due to the history I know of my car and having removed gauges and switches for various reasons...no evidence of refinishing.
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peterp
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Re: Fixing holes in the glove box door

Post by peterp »

Jumprun wrote: Tue Nov 13, 2018 4:09 pm Hi peter, the finish on my dash definitely has some type of clear finish applied, I found out when I was experimenting with some very fine abrasive pad to blend some discoloration that was under the badge, it did not go well because the coating was coming off and not blending in. Of course I can't bet my life my dash has never been refinished but I sure would bet a lot of money due to the history I know of my car and having removed gauges and switches for various reasons...no evidence of refinishing.
It's possible somebody added some kind of poly to the surface at some point, though it doesn't look like it in the picture. What you are seeing may just be the finish from the teak oil applied long ago. When you apply Watco teak oil, you apply it to the wood and to get it to soak into the grain as much as possible, then let it sit/dry for 45 minutes or so, then apply it again and let it sit for another 15 minutes before wiping off the excess. The oil that remains does dry to seal the grain, so it kind of looks and acts like a coating, but it's really just an oil-treated surface.

Teak is pretty indestructible, surface-wise, which is why they use it in marine applications almost universally. On boats, teak can look absolutely horrific after years of untreated exposure to salt air/water, and it will come right back to looking like new with the right treatment.

It's best to clean the wood as best you can before applying oil -- both to remove the old oil and to clean the wood surface. Once new oil is applied, it seals off the grain and you can't really get to the deeper part of the grain to clean it after that. Naptha is very good for cleaning wood (including teak) before applying oil (always test first, of course, especially if you think you have might a coating on the wood). You could try cleaning across the plaque area and then apply oil to see how it blends. It should blend very well if you can get the wood clean and the wood is "open" to accept new oil because teak usually comes back perfectly (even in marine environments that are a lot worse than a car dash sees).
Peter P
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Re: Fixing holes in the glove box door

Post by peterp »

Worst comes to worst, you could replace it or cover holes with something more subtle. Of course, it will set you back $5 :P

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Car-Accessorie ... 0&LH_BIN=1
Peter P
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Re: Fixing holes in the glove box door

Post by Jumprun »

Here's some photos of the dirty deed, to add insult you can see staining and lack of natural fading from the brass shield. I tried to blend the discoloration with some light abrasive and that's when I perceived that it had some type of finish rather than raw wood. the back side of the door definitely has a some type of clear finish.
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peterp
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Re: Fixing holes in the glove box door

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Jumprun wrote: Fri Nov 16, 2018 4:05 pm Here's some photos of the dirty deed, to add insult you can see staining and lack of natural fading from the brass shield. I tried to blend the discoloration with some light abrasive and that's when I perceived that it had some type of finish rather than raw wood. the back side of the door definitely has a some type of clear finish.
I do think the inside of the globe box is finished with a coating -- it has a different look and feel in comparison to the dash.

Those are pretty large holes -- I guess that badge was securely mounted :). I suspect that the difference in color under the badge is more the result of that area retaining more teak oil than the surrounding area. I don't think the surrounding area is faded, the original oil has probably just dried out more from being exposed to air.

If you apply fresh teak oil, all of the wood will get darker (though you want to clean very well before applying new oil). I would try lightly cleaning the area under the badge using "VM&P Naphtha" (Home Depot stocks it). That will clean any dirt and will also help remove the old teak oil. That may help lighten the badge area a bit to better match the surrounding area, but even if Naphtha doesn't lighten it to an exact match, it may end up matching after you apply new teak oil everywhere because the wood should absorb roughly the same amount of teak oil everywhere as long as the dash/glovebox is prepped to be clean and open so that it accepts the oil.

Naphtha is benign to wood and evaporates quickly, but it's still good to test in small area just to err on the side of caution. It used to be that lighter fluid was 100% Naphtha, but don't think that it is now (even though it still contains some Naphtha).

Watco teak oil is really good and also available at Home Depot. At the risk of sounding like a broken record: It's very important to clean all of the wood before you apply new oil so it will be absorbed.
Peter P
1966 330 2+2 series 2 #8169
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