Rose Wood

Technical Information and Restoration Parts for the 928

Custom Wood Panels

After visiting DEVEK day and seeing so many nice cars often with the same Dove Gray interior I figured that is was a moral imperative to do something different. After all what is the sense of having a custom convertible if it is not different. Being a former Jag owner the concept of wood as an accent to an interior creates a certain charm.

The next question was what part of the interior could be improved with wood accents. Probably the ugliest combination with the gray and black interior is the use of gray inserts on the black door panels. The other target are the inserts on the center console - but that comes later.

The first task was to pick a wood to use. I had considered Black Walnut, but if you are going to the effort why not use something interesting. So reviewing the selections at the lumber yard I settled on a nice piece of Rose Wood.

I bought a one by eight piece of rose wood. Since one inch thick is too thick for panels and given the cost of the wood I decided to have the wood re-sawn. As a result I ended up with enough wood to do two or more cars. With a quarter quarter inch piece I used the original panel as a template and used a jig saw to cut out a slightly larger panel. Using a sander and a router with a quarter round over bit I fit the panel to the door.

There are some advantages of using wood instead of the cardboard and vinyl / leather factory panel. The wood does not bend so there is no need for the normal upholstery clips. The trim around the door handle is enough to hold the panel in place. I added some Velcro as an extra measure.

Rose wood looks pretty nice on its own, but to bring the color our I use some Mahogany stain and followed the sealer with a pray coat of automotive clear coat. This seemed like the best choice for UV and weather protection.