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Went ahead and bought 3M Ebony Woodgrain Vinyl Wrap , took me some time to pull center console trim, then 3 hours to wrap all pieces and this is end effect
AFTER
You have done a good job and it doesn't look too dissimilar to my factory original Rich Oak:
That's what really scares me about this confinement.
I don't like it, although you will like it.
I prefer to leave everything as it is and when this confinement passes I will decide what changed and what not with more criteria.
I am not saying that you do not have good judgment but I am currently quite affected by the virus and my confinement and I prefer to wait for some modification
After much deciphering I believe he is trying to say that where he is located (Spain) the virus has hit extremely hard and due to the shut-down he's going to wait until Corona has passed before modifying or any alterations take place on his xkr.
I'm really scared to write to the google translator.
Let's see if I can explain myself better or I'm lucky that this is well translated into English.
In my previous intervention I wanted to say that in my case, due to the confinement and boredom that invade me, I do not want to make any modifications to my car because I believe that I am not in optimal psychological condition.
I prefer to wait for my nerves to decrease so as not to make any mistake caused by nervousness and boredom.
The work you have done on your car is very well done, although I do not like the color you have chosen.
But it looks like a very well done job.
To be really honest I just was not a fan of the style of the real wood I had in my car, the pattern wasn’t my style..... there is that light wood trim I like but it would cost a lot to replace it.. so for now wrap will do until I grow up to appreciate the original wood trim
I really like your trim ! I wish mine would look like this then I would never wrap it
To be honest I'm with Peter the original pattern does not suit the style of the car nor does it flow with the interior scheme its in your face in a bad way perhaps with a cream interior it would suit it to a tee.
Having a look at the pictures Richard posted up of his interior the rich oak looks absolutely sensation with the charcoal interior. If only you could get a rich gloss applied on your vinyl wrap it would definitely be on par with his.
Neitherless nice work !
Last edited by steve_k_xk; 04-25-2020 at 08:28 PM.
After much deciphering I believe he is trying to say that where he is located (Spain) the virus has hit extremely hard and due to the shut-down he's going to wait until Corona has passed before modifying or any alterations take place on his xkr.
Yep how I read it, with a population of 47m Spain's had 23k deaths, if the USA had it at the same rate you'd have had 160k and not the 50k experienced so far.
Agree that modifying out of boredom and 'something to do' probs isn't the right mindset, especially when your mind is worried about not getting ill/job security.
I went the other way on my 2007 XK from the thin embossed junk that Jaguar call Knurled Aluminium to Poplar Veneer. I could have gone for one of the darker veneers but prefer the lighter type.
It is expensive to change a Veneer Set and hardly justified on a used Jaguar so I waited for a set to turn up on ebay. I would never consider using wrap.
Strange that Veneer Sets for the earlier XK8 turn up regularly but XK ones are rather rare.
Here's my 2009 XKR Portfolio with Ivory and Slate leather and contrast stitching, and Rich Oak veneer. My mods include the //R logo footrest, slate Leaper logo floor mats (the OEM mats are Ivory and impractical), shift paddle extensions, Leaper logo on the shift knob, and //R logo on the wood above the glove box latch. My backup cam is in the ashtray.
That baffles me they used Oak for the top of the line portfolio edition. Anyone know the reason? Is it perhaps something different from regular oak.
Oak is one of the cheapest species, and nothing 'signature' about it. You would not dream of doing a floor in bird's eye maple or walnut burl, even if you were royalty as its simply not available in large sizes.
I went the other way on my 2007 XK from the thin embossed junk that Jaguar call Knurled Aluminium to Poplar Veneer. I could have gone for one of the darker veneers but prefer the lighter type.
Graham it must be Poplar burl (root), which is very exotic due to its nature and would not be referred to as Poplar. It looks like bird's eye maple.
Regular Poplar to my knowledge does not have any pattern. Its used for plywood. https://www.oakwoodveneer.com/poplar...r-premium.html
I went the other way on my 2007 XK from the thin embossed junk that Jaguar call Knurled Aluminium to Poplar Veneer. I could have gone for one of the darker veneers but prefer the lighter type.
It is expensive to change a Veneer Set and hardly justified on a used Jaguar so I waited for a set to turn up on ebay. I would never consider using wrap.
Strange that Veneer Sets for the earlier XK8 turn up regularly but XK ones are rather rare.
Graham
it improves the look dramatically, as far as I’m concerned. Always liked that light burled walnut look. Birds eye maple too.
Graham it must be Poplar burl (root), which is very exotic due to its nature and would not be referred to as Poplar. It looks like bird's eye maple.
Regular Poplar to my knowledge does not have any pattern. Its used for plywood. https://www.oakwoodveneer.com/poplar...r-premium.html
In the original giant sized launch brochure it's used in two of the photos and just described as Poplar although I have to agree that it is likely to be burl with those markings. The walnut option is described in the brochure as Burl Walnut.
Jaguar have long favoured "book matching" veneers through the centreline of the vehicle ........
....... the join line is usually discernible but there was no evidence on this set which made me suspect there may have been some artificial "enhancement" of the grain pattern during production.
Did not know that. (It would not be apparent on my walnut burl) Its reassuring to know that Jaguar was mindfull of the art while it was still in it.
Here is some return of info; I was in the business- we offered Carpathian elm burl, same as Rolls Royce, the art was in book-matching but ultimately the lacquer.
Its not lost on people in USA, there is a massive industry in ultra-luxury. Entire office done in Zebrawood for moguls of industries. You may think it would be too much but its stunning. On a yacht every room was done in it. Even on the mass-produced cheap ones. Believe it or not they make more of these than they do XKs. https://galleries.searay.com/2020-Mo...50/i-nVfdKjV/A
To make ends meet we took on work from that very company, producing by the thousands some of the things in that picture.
Towards the end, so many of the species got so rare that availability, particularly for book-matching was next to impossible.
So the industry came up with a solution, inkjet augmentation on exotic veneers, there was no difference in cost, just for sake of consistency.
If I had to take my trim apart as you did, it would be so much cheaper just to take that to an artisan and put on truly stunning veneers. Those pieces would cost nothing as its very small pieces, even in the most expensive veneers.
If I had a black interior I would do fumed oak. It would be stunning. https://volpewoodworks.com/products/...1-42nd-8706-18
..... If I had to take my trim apart as you did, it would be so much cheaper just to take that to an artisan and put on truly stunning veneers. Those pieces would cost nothing as its very small pieces, even in the most expensive veneers.
If I had a black interior I would do fumed oak. It would be stunning. https://volpewoodworks.com/products/...1-42nd-8706-18
There was a few trees sacrificed for my Bentley Continental R:
Replaced it with a Bentley Continental GT. Nice car but nowhere near the same build quality:
Looking through the veneers in your link, it would have to be Indian Rosewood for me.
The first Bentley was a showcase of craftsmanship. Quite difficult and expensive to do. Those vast stretches would have required a master to pull it off. The second is just efficiency in manufacturing and they are showcasing that. And thats the point, this is one of those rare things where consumers can substantially go beyond OEM and bespoke simultaneously.
Should opportunity presents itself again- and for those who might have bad interior: The old lacquers prone to cracking and bubbling were just that. Nowadays the high-solids polyester used is essentially optically clear epoxy. In addition to starting with much better species of wood than run-0f-the-mill manufacturers supply, the the 2-component lacquer can be applied much heavier than OEM and its tough as nails. I used an Italian one called Ilva.
I'll post a picture of a sample in rosewood after I dig it up.