Designer Trim in real wood veneer: how we make it

Printed wood look or real veneer?

Most CockpitDekor kits are printed: the wood grain is a high-resolution print under the dome – affordable, durable and available for thousands of models. For owners of premium cars who want the real material, we make Designer Trim parts from genuine wood veneer. No two sheets are identical, so every set is unique.

The veneer: real wood from fast-growing trees

We use SaRaiFo designer veneers from the German veneer specialist Designholz. SaRaiFo stands for “Save the Rainforest”: the veneers are made from rotary-cut veneer of fast-growing species such as ayous, poplar and lime. The wood is cleaned of defects, glued and pressed into a solid block and then sliced again into designer veneers. The result is real wood with exotic-looking patterns – from striped zebrano looks to burl and walnut – without cutting rare tropical trees.

The sheets are about 250 × 63 cm and very thin – well under a millimetre. On its own the veneer is so delicate that it is hard to handle.

SaRaiFo is our standard veneer. Designholz offers around 50 SaRaiFo decors – from maple, birch and oak looks to walnut, mahogany, teak, wenge, several Makassar variants, zebrano and even a multicoloured “Rainbow”. You are welcome to browse the full range yourself in the SaRaiFo veneer catalogue at Designholz and tell us which decor you would like for your car. More background on the material is on their SaRaiFo information page.

Why recomposed veneer – and when we use natural veneer

SaRaiFo is a recomposed veneer: real wood, but rebuilt from fast-growing trees into a uniform block. For our work its biggest advantage is the format. The sheets are thin, 2.5 m long and about 60 cm wide, so a whole sheet can be laminated onto double-sided tape quickly and evenly. That gives us one wide, stable sheet from which a complete set is laser-cut in one go.

Classic natural veneer, sliced straight from a single trunk, is also possible. It is usually sold in strips only about 20 cm wide, so it cannot be laminated as one large sheet: the parts have to be prepared individually, using special reels of double-sided tape. That takes considerably more work, and natural veneer itself costs somewhat more – for rare woods, much more. In return, its grain is richer and more alive than any recomposed decor. We make natural-veneer sets for cars such as Jaguar, Aston Martin and other luxury models.

How a Designer Trim Real Wood part is made

1. Laminating. The veneer is laminated onto 3M adhesive – 3M 468MP transfer tape (0.13 mm) or, where the surface needs a thicker layer, 3M VHB tape (0.5 mm). The fragile sheet becomes a firm sandwich that no longer breaks, splits or delaminates.
2. Laser cutting. The parts are cut with a wide-format laser exactly along the template drawings of your car. A complete set of up to about 60 × 90 cm is cut in a single pass.

   

3. Weeding and transfer. The finished parts are taken out of the sheet and laid on adhesive transfer tape, precisely as they will later sit in the car.
4. Vacuum table. The parts are fixed on a vacuum table so they lie perfectly flat.
5. Hand doming. Each part is covered by hand with a 3–4 mm layer of clear polyurethane. The resin flows to the edge and forms a rounded, drop-shaped dome.

   

The finished part is solid and up to about 4 mm thick. It looks pleasantly domed, and the clear polyurethane works like a lens: the structure of the wood comes alive and every single fibre is visible.

Flexible enough for curves

Thin veneer is surprisingly elastic. Laminated on 3M tape and covered with polyurethane – which stays slightly rubbery rather than brittle – the part keeps that flexibility. It follows rounded surfaces and bends without cracking, and the dome stays intact on the curve.

That makes real wood veneer ideal for:

• Door trims – the result is outstanding,
• window switch panels,
• the overhead console with the interior lights,
• the glovebox,
• the centre console.

A very strong automotive adhesive. 3M 468MP and 3M VHB are adhesives made for demanding applications such as cars. They grab on the slightest contact – a light touch positions the part, and once it is pressed down firmly it holds so strongly that it cannot simply be pulled off. That is why careful dry fitting matters; the steps are in our installation guide.

Why we show our know-how openly

This process is our know-how – but it is not a secret. We describe it step by step for three reasons:

• You should know what you are paying for. “Real wood” is often used loosely. Here you can see exactly which veneer we use, where it comes from and what happens to it before it reaches your car.
• You choose the material yourself. Because the supplier and the catalogue are public, you can pick your decor at your own pace instead of choosing from a few small photos.
• The real value is in the doing. Exact templates of each interior, clean laser settings for thin wood and an even, bubble-free dome of several millimetres take years of practice. Knowing the steps is the easy part.

If you are a craftsman or workshop and want to learn the process, contact us – we are happy to share our experience.

What you get

• Genuine wood veneer – every set is unique.
• Exact fit, cut to the template of your car.
• A thick, high-gloss polyurethane dome that protects the wood and does not yellow – the resin manufacturer guarantees at least 10 years without yellowing.
• Fitted like all our kits: over the existing surfaces, without dismantling the interior. See the installation guide.

For which cars?

Real wood veneer suits premium interiors particularly well – for example a Bentley or a high-end Mercedes-Benz – but we can make it for any vehicle for which a template exists. For Jaguar, Aston Martin and other luxury cars we also offer sets in natural veneer.

Price and ordering

Because the choice of veneers is very large and every part is made by hand, Designer Trim Real Wood is priced individually. Tell us your car and the veneer you like – a SaRaiFo decor from the catalogue or natural veneer, and we will send you an offer.

Vehicle manufacturer names are used only to identify compatible vehicles. 3M, 468MP and VHB are trademarks of 3M Company. SaRaiFo and Designholz are trademarks of their respective owner. Product images show example parts.