Eucalyptus wood dash seems to have faded

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Guy

New member
Joined
Jan 4, 2015
Messages
4
It may be my imagination, but it seems that our eucalyptus wood dash (Lodge interior - Canada) has faded along the edge next to the passenger seat. The fade demarkation line seems to fall right below the edge of the tinted portion of windshield, about 3 inches in from the front of the wood. We purchased our i3 last June and it is parked outside 24/7. Anyone else notice a change in dash colouration?
 
All natural wood darkens with time, the process depends on UV exposure, so it's natural that your will be split where tint starts/ends. The goo news - eventually with time it should even out (as in all will get the darker color, when enough UV reaches the masked area).
 
I seem to remember that the (expected) wood color change was described in the sales brochure...IOW, it's not a defect. Each one will change depending on the actual wood and the conditions.
 
Mine's the same - it has't darkened but, likeGuy's, faded lighter where the sun hits it through the screen.

I don't think it will even out - as the part in shade will never have equal UV exposure.

We'll be left with a clear demarcation line - which frankly looks a bit tacky in a new car.
 
Follow up to original post:

When I was in the local BMW dealer for the KLE replacement recall, we compared our faded dash wood with the dashes of new and other i3's in their lot. It was obviously and markedly different from the other i3s, with a distinctive faded area across the entire dash.

Pictures were taken and forwarded to BMW which agreed that the dash fading was excessive and, because of the unusual nature (i.e. - fading occurring in a band straight across the dash), should be replaced.

BMW could not answer why the dash faded in such an unusual way. I live in the North West where we receive less sunlight than other parts of the country.

New dash looks great!
 
If I'm not so sure I like the idea of the wood aging, or aging unevenly, what sort of care regimen should I adopt to keep the wood looking its best? Is it appropriate to use cleaning or polishing products on it that were designed for wood furniture?
 
ryandesign said:
If I'm not so sure I like the idea of the wood aging, or aging unevenly, what sort of care regimen should I adopt to keep the wood looking its best? Is it appropriate to use cleaning or polishing products on it that were designed for wood furniture?
It is just the nature of wood to age. The only way to keep it from aging is to keep it out of UV light, which is hard to do with the dash of a car. I tried to look up whether the wood should get lighter or darker, but BMW does not say which species of Eucalyptus they use.
 
NormanF said:
It is just the nature of wood to age. The only way to keep it from aging is to keep it out of UV light, which is hard to do with the dash of a car. I tried to look up whether the wood should get lighter or darker, but BMW does not say which species of Eucalyptus they use.
Not a problem here in Scotland! ;)
 
I'm more interested in what happens with the wood expanding and contracting with the changing humidity. Although I have a feeling it is a thin veneer of wood, not a thick piece.
 
jadnashuanh said:
GlasgowSi said:
Not a problem here in Scotland! ;)
Nobody in Scotland ever gets a sunburn? The wood will change colors. It may just take longer in areas where the UV index is lower, but it will still happen.

Nobody in Scotland ever got sunburn behind glass as most glass absorbs approx 90% of UV. It's quite possible that it is the visible light wavelengths which are causing changes to the appearance of the wood.

Bill
 
I got sunburned in Scotland, not behind glass though.

Unless you park the i3 in the sunshine, how is it going to get enough dose of UV? Most will be in carparks at work/shops/etc and in a garage/carport at home.
 
I'm going to try some "Formula 303" protectant spray on the wood. It's worked well as a UV block for vinyl and leather dash tops for me in the past.
 
I33t said:
I got sunburned in Scotland, not behind glass though.

Unless you park the i3 in the sunshine, how is it going to get enough dose of UV? Most will be in carparks at work/shops/etc and in a garage/carport at home.

Are the parking lots in Austraila covered? When I lived in Arizona I noticed that parking at the more high priced shops was under cover, is it the same there? Most places were just paved fields in front of the stores and around the malls though with no shade. It's the same in most of American Suburbia too: unless you are at home or you work in an urban area with a parking structure your car will sit in the sun.
 
American cherry wood also can change its appearance radically over time. My mother's coffee table eventually had a very distinct magazine sized light spot on it, and that was in the middle of the room with minimal light coming in from the windows...IOW, yes, wood, at least some varieties, will change its appearance based on exposure to light, almost regardless of how intense...more intense just speeds it up. I have some cherry furniture in my home as well, and while it took a fair number of years, is MUCH darker than when I bought it, where it was just a mild pinkish...it's now a much deeper red. Some antique stuff is almost black, and I'm not talking new stuff that was stained that way.
 
WoodlandHills said:
I33t said:
I got sunburned in Scotland, not behind glass though.

Unless you park the i3 in the sunshine, how is it going to get enough dose of UV? Most will be in carparks at work/shops/etc and in a garage/carport at home.

Are the parking lots in Austraila covered?

No, but a few are. A lot of shopping centres here have underground or multistorey car parks. Some have a bit of both. If you work in the city, you probably park in a multistorey park. Even if you park in a city street, the tall buildings give a lot of shade. In suburbia, it's not hard to park under a tree.

If you park in direct sun, why not put a window shade up to protect the interior. UV over time is destructive to more than wood.
 
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