Wood Panels below the windows

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I’m going to refinish the wood pieces that attach to the side panels inside my 1934 840A Club Brougham. These are right under the windows. The one’s I have for the front doors are in nice condition. The rear ones have their veneer chipped and missing in places. Can anyone help me by identifying the kind of wood the veneer was, and what was the finish on these items……rubbed oil, varnish, or ???

Thanks for the help

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I am sure Bob Sands would know. Send him an email, Ed

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Good question Rich, I’ll be interested in the answer myself-Thanks John

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I remember on my 1934 840 that the wood was light around the edges, and the middle raised part was a darker wood…and seem to remember the fellow who refinished it called it birds eye maple…and it was varnished clear…

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I have some of the veneer still on the wood and it looks like birds eye. I just wanted to be sure before we re-veneer the two rear pieces. Clear varnish in a flat or semi-gloss ??

Thanks everyone for the help…..

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The finish on my original 1935 is glossy. 1934 would be the same.

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I just remembered that the best people to fix this type of item is a wooden musical instrument restorer , violins, cello, ect. I saw a demonstration by one of them and they said they often do veneer repair on pre war car trim. Good luck, Ed.

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That’s an interesting thought, Ed, I know the lady who restores early brass horns for me is a brass instrument repairer! Any woodworker worth his salt should be able to do the veneer work….

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Add fine furniture restorers to the list. Most top shelf furniture of this period was veneered with mahogany or birds eye maple over either oak, poplar, maple, or some other stable wood. My ’29 front floorboard is plywood, which I believe is original. The plywood is glued in layers, each layer’s grain is tangential to the next to ensure stability. As Ed and David have pointed out, these cars are similar to musical instruments of the day. I made the mistake (because it took two years and a full garage space, not because it isn’t beautiful) of stripping and restoring/re-veneering as necessary a 1913 player piano that had two coats of white french provincial paint on it. Until the latest movers got a hold of it, it looked great. The veneering process is pretty easy if you take some time and have a LOT of patience. Having said that, doing a curved piece of wood like a window surround adds a whole ‘nother level of complexity!

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I agree with Bob and Melanie Coates. I had a master furniture maker repair and restore the interior window reveals for my 1942 Packard 180 seven passenger. Part of the veneer, which was a special design, was missing on certain sections. The new veneer perfectly matched the old.

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Hi Richard,

Use birds eye maple in the raised center portions and Circassian walnut on the outer lower portions. Both are available from veneer suppliers. I’d recommend a gloss finish but, not to the level of a urethane gloss.

Happy Motoring,

Rick

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I agree on the gloss, maybe it’s not semi-gloss but it should be super high gloss either….

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Please do not use a high gloss polyurethane finish on the wood work. It makes it look like fake plastic woodgrain, like modern cars.. You might as well repair the wood work with woodgrain Formica.

The finish used in the 30’s was similar to a spray lacquer furniture finish that is available today, use the flat or semi gloss finish.. if it’s too flat, just wax it a bit, the flattening compound in the top coat will get glossier with rubbing and waxing.

Too much gloss is not only not authentic, it’s unattractive.

Veneer work is tedious but fairly simple to do, if you have loose veneer, a hypodermic needle with modern ‘white glue’ [woodworking glue, NOT urethane glue]. If a very small hole is carefully drilled under the veneer, the glue can be injected underneath the loose pieces.. I’ve done a lot of veneer repair on antique clocks and furniture, it’s just time consuming.

Greg L

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Thank you everyone for the suggestions. I have veneer on one of the pieces but it is not in good enough condition to repair. It does show that I have birds eye maple on the entire piece. My plan is to remove all the veneer and replace the entire length with new birds eye maple. I have a fellow here who can do this work. I’m a bit confused by Rick’s statement that it should be part birds eye and part Circassian walnut. The original I have does not look to be that way ??

Rich

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I’ve done considerable research on this veneer subject and am coming up with the correct veneer for my application looks to be Maple Burl, not Birds Eye Maple. There is a slight difference and in making a comparison to the original still on my sills, mine appears to have been Burl…..This is a slight distinction that I wish I could confirm from factory documents, but

do not have such available. Unless there is some great up roar from the rest of you, I’m going to order Maple Burl and install it …..

Thanks again for all the help…..photos to follow……

Rich

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Rick was talking about the base piece, on my car there was a base piece that formed a border around the slightly raised veneer portion. The visible part of the base piece around the edges was maybe a half inch or so, and was of a different wood than the veneer…

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