dark wood delamination

[MT2thDOC]

I recently purchased a peach of a 2001 996 Carrera Cab. Only minor issue is the dark wood trim on the back speakers has "delaminated" and the vent covers (driver and passenger) on the far sides of the dash have cracked. The rest of the trim work is just fine. Is this a "normal" issue and any ideas on repair vs. replace.

[baloo]

I'm having the same problem with my 02 996 Targa. Been thinking about getting a kit from Ebay. Have you checked any of them out?

[MT2thDOC]

baloo, I have looked, but the underlying parts are too seriously cracked to do anything but replace. I thought about removing them, using some cold cure acrylic to repair, then try and remount. I'll probably try the "repair" with clear acrylic as replacement is very expensive. I don't care for the kits because I feel it will always look like a "sticker", with peeling corers, etc. Let me know if you try, I'd like to see the results.
P.S. my center console just cracked behind the parking brake!!!! Grrrrrrrr..... another replacement!

[baloo]

My console cracked and broke off by the window switches.
It appears that the eBay items are similarly made (i.e., they look like plastic formed pieces with wood grain, just like Porsche's) -- and not just a wood decal.

[75Carrera]

my 2002 Turbo has the burl wood trim. It is all cracked in one place or another. I have been researching various remedies and pretty much come up blank (at least very affordably)
A suggestion came to me from a friend who does a lot of restoration work. glue or repair to rejoin the broken sections, dry and lightly sand and apply (or have applied) a carbon fiber (faux) film. Less money and a nice looking style. What do you think? Still considering options....

[baloo]

Originally Posted by 75Carrera

A suggestion came to me from a friend who does a lot of restoration work. glue or repair to rejoin the broken sections, dry and lightly sand and apply (or have applied) a carbon fiber (faux) film. Less money and a nice looking style. What do you think? Still considering options....

I just have low expectations that the restoration work would be satisfactory. Highly doubt it, HOWEVER, I guess it's worth a try. Worst case, you can rip it off and replace it with one of these kits, maybe (check out the video).
19 Pieces Wood Dash Trim Kit Porsche 911 02 04 MIMO 0716B | eBay


Again, I have no experience with the product, so maybe it's all hype. It is one of the more expensive ones on eBay. My personal experience with eBay is that often the very same product is offered by several sellers at drastically different prices -- even though they're all the exact same product. May be this case; maybe not. It's one of the disadvantages of buying on the Internet, huh.

One of us going to give it a try?

[75Carrera]

I ordered the kit. Considering the very high cost of professional removal, replacement bits and installation the cost of the kit is certainly worth a try. Obviously this is not a car to downgrade with shoddy crap. However if the carbon fibre look is clean, fills to all edges and is durable, it would save us some major cash to spend in more rewarding areas.
I wonder if anyone here has actually ordered these kits and how they feel about the resulting finish?.?

Maintaining the presentation of a car like this paramount to maintaining it's value. Details matter to the purests amount us.

Stay tuned...

[baloo]

Did you order carbon fiber look or wood grain?
Which company did you order from?
Thanks.

[75Carrera]

baloo... I ordered from "robkuhn917x" on EBay... an AZ seller at 59.99... we'll see.

I'm an '02 996 TT and can't/won't compromise on the final appearance. They do stand behind the product and pledge to make good on any issue...

I ordered the Carbon-Fiber look. The wood grain in the car presently is a little too Las Vegas for me anyway.

[baloo]

Yikes, I think I once got the hood release lever onlay from this guy -- or something similar to those same pictures. I couldn't use it because it was so cheap looking. It was essentially Contact decals -- although laser cut -- like one puts in the bottoms of kitchen drawers, etc. He reimbursed my money. I hope this is not your case, because you will be dissatisfied.

[75Carrera]

I will see what comes. You may be right. Most of these type fixes are one kind of film or another. The fitment and appearance are everything. If not a near perfect remedy they will be going back. Not looking for cheap. Expectations are not real high but have to at least see if this is a way to cover the issue with the cracks without having to replace it all with factory bits. $$$ Certainly not going to accept anything anyone would spot easily or see as a bad bandaid. Not for this car!

[baloo]

I need to get a few other priorities on the Targa straight before I take on the interior wood. But, I plan to try this one on eBay ( 19 Pieces Wood Dash Trim Kit Porsche 911 02 04 MIMO 0716B | eBay )

I looked at the video, which shows the pieces to be thick and not decals. It would require removal of the existing Porsche pieces. I actually only need to replace three pieces -- the surrounds around the left and right AC vents, and the piece around the window switches.

So, if they can match the wood grain and color, I would just replace these 3. Don't want to mess fixing something that doesn't need fixing.

I hope your carbon fiber turns out satisfactory. Never know -- it might be something more advanced than what I bought (about 2 years ago).

[MT2thDOC]

I'm really looking forward to seeing the replacements. Pricing the replacement parts makes me seriously about at least trying a repair.

[75Carrera]

We'll see what happens. Certainly no help from Porsche! I've been looking everywhere even the dismantlers. This kit is at least a reasonable attempt (I hope) my wood , actually think it's wood looking plastic, is cracked and even broken in places. Repair and or replace? Not an easy answer.
All the "kits" look like film or wrap material. So far no take outs from the yards.

[75Carrera]

I received the kit I ordered on EBAY for 59.99 (free shipping). It arrived on time and the seller was very nice and informative. He stands behind his product. Anyway, once I got it out and considered the damaged bits on my car (cracked and broken in several places) I contacted the seller and explained the condition of the bits I needed to cover. He responded immediately and told me the kit would not work on bits that damaged. He said to send it back and refunded my money to PAYPAL before I could send it back. It goes back today with me thank you note.
I looked closer at the kit from Mimousa and it is an actual "fixed" piece with beveled edges. At $153 it's well worth a shake.
Next is to consider what finish trim to use. My interior is Savanna Biege with the light Maple burl wood trim. I really don't care for that finish at all. BUT WHAT TO CHANGE IT TO? That's the next thing to decide on.
I like carbon fibre look (for $40 more they offer real CF) but can't quite visualise what that will look like with my interior color. Their examples don't really show my combination. Does anyone know where I can see that combo on a 996? OR what would you think of various finishes to replace the fancy wood look? OR should it, best, be kept as the same color and style?
More to come...

[75Carrera]

Okay... I've discarded the film/sticker approach. To be fair, if your interior bits are in good kit, and you have the skills to apply the stuff properly, the look would be perfectly acceptable. Mine are not and my skills are iffy with the application.
I removed the two door pocket doors by pulling the pin in the forward hinge. Then tip the lid down and in and pull it loose from the aft mount. Now, flip it over and remove all those damned little screws holding the mounting base to the lid. With those out (now we're talking only about what I did, so FYI only) anyway I attempted to loosen and separate the laminate from the mounting base using a scalpel. When I cut the glue it allowed me to slowly pry the laminate loose. It was already broken so I ended up trashing the laminate wood bits. Kinda felt good! That leaves you with a beautiful surface to cover with leather or vinyl depending on taste. At least that's the way I'm going.

I'm going to post another item to ask if anyone knows the leather codes? I need to order the leather. I have Savanna Beige leather. The upholstery guy is not too sure how to order the material without having the exact leather color code. Not the option code. The Porsche book some shops use has the colors and codes for side by side comparison and ordering.

I picked up the correct A/C vents on EBAY for $75 bucks.
I glued the little chip in the console back in using contact cement and painter's tape to secure it in place while drying. Perfect. Same with some lifting portions of the windscreen molding.

Replacements through Porsche or any dismantiler can get very pricey. Not as difficult as i thought it might be fir sure. So far so good...
Donny

[baloo]

Thanks for the details Donny.
Some of my factory laminates are lifting up from their attachments, but one of them (by the window switches) had a piece cracked out and lost by the previous owner. So I'll have to either remove entirely and not replace, OR try one of the aftermarket kits (but not decals).

I believe I also have the Savanna Beige leather interior, so I'd be interested to see how your covering looks when you finish.

[75Carrera]

Sure, I will send you some pictures when it's complete. I had a piece chipped out of my console but found it had slid down under the hole it left. Tweezed it out and use contact cement to replace it. Taped it down until dry with blue painter's tape. Had to use a hair dried to take the buckle out of some areas but it worked really well.

[baloo]

I'll try the hair dryer tactic to maybe re-attach the corners that are lifting around the side AC vents.

[75Carrera]

Shrinkage is an issue very difficult to fix. My door pocket lids are back from the upholstery shop and look really good. They are a bit lighter since the rest of the leather is 11 years old. I'm good with it. Eventually I hope to rid the car of all this #@*& wood trim. Shame on Porsche... Terrible laminate and certainly no easy fix.
I used a hot hair dryer on high for about 2 minutes (held about 3" off the subject surface). It did soften the material enough to allow the contact cement to hold it when dry.
BTW: What part of the planet are you on? I'm in Northern AZ, USA.