Hi all!

I lucked out and found a set of the Volvo wood trim in a wrecked 93 240 classic last weekend. I'm in the process of refinishing it using the same technique as the last set (sand with increasingly fine grits (up to 2000) of coated abrasives, with final wet sanding using Watco Danish oil finish).

This latest set had a little more of the original finish remaining--along with some dark, sticky stains (old Coca Cola? Hershey's syrup?) that have been a little difficult. Anyways, the remains of the original finish looked like it started out as a clear varnish that was then exposed to high levels of UV for about 20 years. What hadn't flaked off had turned amber-colored . . . . It reminded me very much of a south-facing wooden front door that I had to refinish once.

BTW, the first set (in my bride's '83 245GL-V8) still looks good after almost a year. The new set will go in my DD, a 91 245 (LH3.1 and 5-spd).

All the best,

Steve A-

Well I just finished using a paint remover(wash after)and sanding it. The wood looks great,I decided to just stain it with Minwax wood finish clear,it stains and seals so I didn't use a clear coat.I like the way the wood looks this way.I will have to see how it holds up.

Hi!

I scored a complete set of the trim at the wrecking yard last year. It was in rough shape with the finish flaking off. As near as I can tell it was unstained, but with a clear coating of some type that was flaking off.

I refinished the trim by carefully removing the chrome bits, and carefully hand sanding with successively finer grades of sand-paper (coated abrasives for you purists), starting with 600 and moving up to 2000. Once I had it smooth, I rubbed on a clear Danish Oil finish (Watco brand) and wet-sanded with the 2000-grit again. I'll see if I can snap a picture later.

Hope this helps!

Steve A-

Thanks for your replies. I went to The Wood Database and found out that Bubinga has a close resemblance to Redwood.It has stunning grain figures such as flamed,pommele and waterfall,which make this wood unique.

My thought is to sand it and just put a seal on it.I will let you know how it turns out.

I sanded the set I have and stained it with Minwax golden oak. The wood was extremely hard. Looks great now. Didn't use any poly.

Hi dobber13,

FYI.

http://www.volvogue.com/Expected_soon_at_Volvogue.php

My impression was that no stain was used at all - that the natural color of the wood showed - but I have not seen it in person.

I suggest going to the hardware store and finding whatever stain you like best, because you will never (realistically) match the original stain (if it was stained). If it was indeed stained from the factory, I would expect Volvo used a custom shade.

If the wood was unstained originally, you could possibly sand down the trim past the stain, then finish with tung oil or another traditional hand-rubbed finish to bring out the natural color of the wood. This may not be feasible if the wood was open-grained and the stain penetrated deeply.

My local IKEA sells stain for matching their furniture. I like the idea of using a Swedish stain, if I had to use one.

Just my rambling thoughts.

Bubinga wood. Hard to figure the color as most of the ones I've seen are faded from the sun. You could look into bleeching it then just put some poly over it, no stain. Do be careful before you do anything as you don't want to loosen that Sweedish finger joint.