rennwerkes

I would have thought that the wood trim in these cars would be consistent throughout the interior. But my steering wheel and shift **** seem to be a lighter color than the trim in the dash and doors. Is this typical?

Solman

As with any REAL wood product, there will be variations. Also how the sun hits each piece can be reflected differently and can also effect how much each piece is "bleached" by the sun.

scdroptop

iTrader: (1)

If it REALLY bothers you, there are tons of shift ***** at great prices on eBay. The weather as well as our oils on our body, lotions, perfumes, creams, etc on our hands also have a big impact on that stuff too.

I picked up a spare on here a while back for $59 and was really pleased with it.

http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_trkparm...&_sop=16&_sc=1

I am a HUGE believer in Orange Glo for wood cleaners/shine/protectant. They make a green bottle for cleaning and clear bottle with orange liquid for shining.

rennwerkes

Sorry, it's just something that I'm used to. From my experience with German cars, I've never seen this before. Usually, even when the wood is affected by sun exposure, the grain and the original look would still match "a little". My steering wheel and **** on the SC almost look completely different from the trim.
Not a big deal, just wanted to see what other folk's experience was.

huy33

I know on my car I'll sometime see the shift **** as a dark gray instead of black when the top is down. It's probably because the sun is shinning on it fully as oppose to at a slant like on my dash. It's like direct vs indirect so I'll see it a difference in the color.

MDames2

iTrader: (1)

Although you probably do have some color variation in the wood stain, the biggest factor here may be lighting. I am in the lighting business. I can tell you that the angle and amount of light hitting an item has a tremendous influence on how the color looks to the eye. Just look at the color of the walls in your house at different times of day. The color changes throughout the day due to the change in light. Light hits the side panels and dash area at a very different angle, some direct and some indirect. The steering wheel and shift **** also get different angles and quantity of light.

rennwerkes

I've got to get you folks some pics of my interior.
It's definitely NOT lighting. LOL!
I'll try to post in a day or two.

robsvdp

The wood on my wheel and shifter is definitely a different wood from the paneling. My panels have a burl-ish kind of look, my wheel and shift **** have horizontal lines of grain -- almost like the wood was cut differently. Never bothered me though, both look good.

rennwerkes

Thanks for chiming in!
I thought I was losing my mind!
But your description is EXACTLY what mine is like.

JerryB

Hi renn,

Re: From my experience with German cars,

I drove a '97 BMW 840Ci ( which I consider the finest BMW ever made ) for over 6 yrs & we had a great dealer in NY state ( sorta like Sewell for us CL folks ). I had some of the wood trim crack & decided to replace the cracked item. The dealer said that they could not come close to ensuring that the replacement pieces would match. In fact, they said that even when they would order a complete wood interior replacement kit, they would never get matching pieces for all of the kit.

I eventually bought a kit for a different year & converted everything to black. Problem solved & looked great.

Just my thoughts & experience . . .

Jerry Baumchen

rennwerkes

Jerry,
You're absolutely right.
I know most cars with wood interior trim try build from the same part of the veneer so that you get that consistency of finish. But when it comes time to change out something the match will be difficult.
Maybe I need to cover everything in carbon fiber decals! LOL!