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BDA:

--- Quote from: GavinT on Thursday,April 21, 2022, 07:55:14 PM ---The stock dash in my Type 54 only has a coat of brown paint on the back - and not a substantial coat at that. The same paint extends into the switch holes but not around the perimeter edges. I think the edges probably got a coat of whatever varnish was used on the face.
Is that not common across all models?

As I understand it, the original dash was a veneered panel most commonly used by the furniture industry. I've never seen a comment as to who made them for Lotus.
My theory is that the cracking occurs because the relatively thick varnish on the face is stronger than the glue used for the underlying veneer. That, and I expect the interior of a car sees temperature swings far greater than a piece of furniture using a lighter finish.

While I agree it's a good idea to seal the back of the dash, I don't think it's moisture ingress that causes the cracking. If moisture were the culprit, I reckon we'd also see examples of swelling and/or inter-layer delamination of the ply.

When I refinished my cracked dash, I used two-part epoxy to glue the new veneer and a 2K polyurethane marine varnish for the face. That's lasted decades in our hot climate with no sign of an issue.
Re-veneering the dash isn't a difficult job and no specialised skills are needed.

--- End quote ---
My old Lotus dash was not painted on the back but looks more like a stain. I don't remember any varnish on any edges. I'm not a wood working guy so I can't speak authoritatively about the moisture situation, I'm really recalling what the guy who ran Prestige Autowood told me so I attributed the extra finishing to why mine has held up so well. I would say that I've seen delamination of the plywood on old Lotus dashes which I would blame on humidity.

When I did my search for other dash vendors this evening, I saw a lot of links to DIY instructions. I think you're right that it is probably within the skill set of most of us if we have the motivation and that might be the best option because you can satisfy yourself that it's done right as you define it.

Richard48Y:
I have what should be all the equipment to re-veneer dashes, if I ever get caught up on other projects.
I will be doing my S2 and possible a couple more cars for my own use.
If that goes reasonably well I may be able to do more but it will never become a full time job.

SilverBeast:

--- Quote from: BDA on Thursday,April 21, 2022, 04:58:52 PM ---SilverBeast, uhhh. I'm not JB - I don't think! But it's ok. I've been called a lot worse! I knew you were one of the guys who knew it was coming!  :)

--- End quote ---

 :-[  Sorry. That'll teach me stop browsing and go to sleep instead....

Richard48Y:
Talking with a Europa racer today this source came up.
In France but you may choose English when visiting their site.
May be a good source for those of us with S1/S2 cars.
I do not recall ever seeing them mentioned before.

http://www.gbsalpine.com/english/a110/catalog/p0016mot.html

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