peasodos

iTrader: (1)

Took apart the center console in my 2013 Lexus GS 450h and found out all the bamboo pannels is abs plastic on the back side.
Do you think they fused a thin layer of real bamboo to a plastic backing?

RXGS

iTrader: (2)

It's wood, on a plastic backing. That's how every car is made with real wood.

rjm

I found out it's expensive to replace. I had an LS430 that had a cracked windshield. Had it replaced at Safelite and they dropped globs of glue on a 4 X 10" piece of wood trim by the glovebox. Lexus wanted $400 for that small piece of wood. It took a lawsuit to get Safelite to repair the damage they caused.

homerj227

Safelite is the worst...they cut wires to our backup camera while replacing a windshield last year and our insurance company had to cover the damage and go after Safelite. They were successful in getting Safelite to reimburse them b/c Safelite obviously does a lot of business w/ insurance companies.

er34

It's real bamboo bound to the plastic plate. Without the plastic how would you expect the panel pieces to snap into place?

#FirstWorldProblems

e60bmw

iTrader: (1)

For the LS430, I believe the wood all comes from the same tree to keep the grain patterns, at least on the UL.

UDel

Some high end makes like Rolls Royce and Bentley use actual large solid pieces of wood in their interiors or veneer glued on a piece of wood.

Most other makes just use a very thin sliver of stained wood veneer glued on a piece of plastic, not particularly impressive when you examine up close what it really is and it normally costs a fortune to replace.

peasodos

iTrader: (1)

Last night after I posted this, I search eBay and found an original bamboo steering wheel for my 450h, Seller accepted $400 with shipping included. So excited been searching the internet since February for one. Incredibly rare to find, basically have to wait for someone to total their car, insurance to auction it, eventually get parted out.





Someone else is selling an e300h wheel in bamboo for $100 with best offer option. The wheel is the same size and fits our cars, Unfortunately the bamboo is high gloss and would not match the satin finish in my car:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2013-2014-20...RYglC8&vxp=mtr

If anyone is interested in upgrading to a heated steering wheel PM me. I'll be selling mine in a couple weeks.
'

06ls430KTC

Real American Walnut wood in my 1988 Cadillac Fleetwood d'Elegance

RX469

iTrader: (1)

Wow. I'm surprised after those nice warm and fuzzy commercials of how easy it is to get your windshield repaired/replaced. Did you have to pay for your legal representation of your insurance company?

spoogenet

The backing and coatings aren't just for easy construction, they're also good to keep your wood looking good. The variety of environments cars must endure, including the rapid rates of temperature and humidity change, are quite tough on wood. Without help, it would expand/contract in ways inconsistent with other parts of the car and end up warping, cracking, etc.

peasodos

iTrader: (1)

Nice, but with the coating it looks like plastic from a distance.

I know manufactures like Mercedes have wood that's not sanded smooth like our cars and you can feel the wood grain.
I think the best looking wood finish is matte/satin finished open pour wood grain were you can feel the grain/pours.


Something like this feels more real

06ls430KTC

I think the picture makes it look that way because in person, there's no question. The later Fleetwoods did indeed look plastic due to the amount of clear coat and they were darker in color but '86-'88 looked the best.