[W126 Coupe] Wood Trim Patterns?

[Mister McGoo]

Hi Yousef,
A very good step-by-step instruction for refinishing the woodwork was on the MBCoupes technical section.  I have the photo section but haven't found where I downloaded the text.  Could have been on my computer under-the-sea now.
Best bet would be a '86-'91 300SE or even a 300SD/SDL from your Asian parts-cars source....... likely all had Zebrano.  I believe the Gen I SE's also had a straight grain walnut, not burled (280SE, 380SE, 300SD)  One of the problems is they will have to let YOU remove the parts you want because taking the wood from the cars is not a job for the ham-fisted, and YOU know how to remove the pieces without breaking anything.
I did finally find the shifter/window controls panel that I hid from myself.  Unfortunately the finish is fogged from sun exposure, and the wood is burled walnut anyway.
-Al

From: usef4188 at gmail.com
Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2011 01:26:14 +0400
To: mbcoupes at mbcoupes.com
Subject: Re: [W126 Coupe] Wood Trim Patterns?



Hey Gerry
First of all .. WOOW very very knowledgable (esp on the history info)... I can't help but ask.. How do you know all this?? This is a great example on what kind of MB enthusiasts we have on this forum..  Ofcourse interesting info.. Checked out some examples on Maccasar, truly unique..
Now, I already found a shop that does auto wood trim . However what the do is completely remove the pattern and re-make a new pattern.. They had a very dark version of Zebrano but I wasn't convinced ..
My problem(s) with your solutions are 1) I live in Dubai (maybe I should put it in my signature :P) 2)  My local place asked for 1500 AED = 408 USD for the re-trim.. So things are much cheaper locally .. Am gonna look for another place that could offer better options .. Going to the US would be my last resort financially .. Also am gonna go back to the scrap yards and find a reasonably good condition set of wooden panels
Thanks again for the info Yousef
Sent from my iPad
On Nov 20, 2011, at 12:33 AM, Gerry Van Zandt <gerryvz at me.com> wrote:

You can actually order zebrano panels for your SEC (new from Mercedes) if you want to spend the $2,500-$3,000 it would take to purchase a full set of new interior wood.  If you need help with the part numbers, please let me know.
Alternately, you can remove your wood and send it to Madeira Concepts in southern California, and they can re-veneer it in Zebrano for you for significantly less than purchasing new Zebrano panels from MB.  I would think it would probably cost on the order of US $1,500-$2,000 to re-veneer the wood.
You see, the wood on MBs from model year 1973 onward is of a different finish than earlier MBs.  The 1973 and later MBs used a clear-coat of urethane over the veneer.  This clear coat tends to get very cloudy with exposure to UV light as well as age, and this very considerably lightens the wood veneer underneath to the eye.  The urethane layer also often cracks (not the veneer underneath, just the surface coat of urethane) and you see this quite often.  Again extended exposure to heat and/or UV light generally causes this.  It's very common on 126s to see cloudy wood, cracked center console pieces, and so forth.
There is no real solution other than having Mediera re-finish the wood with new urethane.  The good thing with having them refinish or re-veneer the wood is that the wood will be as good as or better than it left the factory.
Older MB wood (up to model year 1972, the last year of the W108/109 S-Class) used a lacquered finish over the veneer.  This is not early as durable as the later urethane and with age and such the lacquer tends to crack and lets the wood become susceptible to moisture and the elements, including the underlying veneer.  So often with the older cars' wood, you will see the veneer actually separating from the base layer on highly exposed pieces on the dashboard, the early cars' wooden instrument binnacles, and so forth.
The cool thing about the older cars' wood is that MB offered more varieties of wood in addition to zebrano and burl walnut.  They used to offer some real exotic woods that were imported from strange, faraway places, such as Macassar Ebony and several others.  My former 300SEL 6.3 had Macassar and it was wonderful -- it's sort of like a very dark, super striped Zebrano.
Cheers,Gerry



On Nov 19, 2011, at 11:15 AM, mbcoupes-request at mbcoupes.com wrote:
Thanks everyone, mine has the Burl walnut and I've noticed very few other
SECs with similar trim but darker and less of a shine so I thought there
might be a third pattern. In this case i guess the trims aged and lost
their shine. Also, to be honest I like the Zebrano more. If i ever find the
correct match and condition I'd switch. Even on the W124'z Zebrano is
better in appearence out of all (in my eyes).. but in the end its a
question preference and taste.


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