Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) Cracked Dashboard

That loks like a very nice veneer.

Do you want to stain it?

What kind of wood is it?

It's not veneer. Solid ribbon grain mahogany that I won't be staining. I'll seal it with a penetrating epoxy then a marine gloss varnish.

Have you ever used the AwlGrip varnish? A lot of the sportfish guys use it. The grain fills nicely and it has terrific UV stabilization. Too complicated for me...I just use plain Pettit Captain's varnish with some 400 between coats.

I have used AwlWood finish with excellent results, but this job isn't big enough to justify the cost of $100+/qt. Here's a tug boat name board with it. The finish lasts like no other that I have ever used, not needing refinishing for 5 years with continuous exposure on the boats. Really not necessary for the dash board...

Have you considered using a satin finish for a couple of the final coats? You might be happy you did if you're driving West on a sunny morning.

The quarter sawn grain on this piece of mahogany is beautiful and I really want it to pop. I doubt that glare will be a problem but, if it does, I'll hit it with some 1200 grit, or 0000 steel wool and wax it.

There was a wood supplier in Annapolis that had some gorgeous pieces of ribbon stripe mahogany. He also had a stock of teak that varnished up with a figure that looked exactly like a high-quality quilted maple. It was stunning. The boatbuilder I was working for at the time used it on the toerail of custom cold-molded sportfisherman. The most amazing piece of teak I've ever seen.

I remember that there was a wood supplier on West Street in Annapolis that carried some beautiful stuff, the name of the place escapes me. It was 30+ years ago. Who did you work for?

Exotic Hardwoods. South African guy. He wound up moving to a shop off of Route 50 near the barbecue shack close to the Bay Bridge. I worked as a subcontractor (electrical) for Weaver Boat Works in Deale, MD (about 13 boats) and for F&S Boatworks in Bear, DE (about 4 boats). I did some stuff with Larry Belkov as well.

Small world. Yes, we bought a load of teak from him for a big project replacing the handrails on a couple of the Cape May-Lewes ferry boats back in the 90s. Still have some offcuts of that 12/4 teak in the rack. Not familiar with Weaver or F&S, but I spoke with Larry on a few occasions. I'm one of the builders of PRIDE of BALTIMORE II and I ran the restoration and maintenance of USS CONSTELLATION in Baltimore for 20 years.