Instead of burying the info in the prior topic, I thought I would start this fresh.

As an alternative to using a heat gun or grinding the woodgrain off your console, I have found a much, much easier solution where manual labor is not required.

Go to your local hardware store and buy some acetone. Take your metal pieces from your console and soak for 15 minutes. Remove pieces from acetone and woodgrain will simply fall off like a snake shedding its skin. During the 15 minutes you can fill the time with other pressing activities such as drinking a beer.

Work smarter, not harder I always say. It doesn't hurt to have a background in polymers either. I just did this experiment in the lab 5 minutes ago on the endcap of my spare console. The 15 minutes was generous as I had other business to attend to, so it could have been shorter.

On a serious side note, some things to keep in mind:

1. Acetone or other ketones should be chosen. Other solvents such as OMS, IPA, xylene or even gas will not work. I tried a few. The acetone works best to swell the vinyl coating.

2. If you go this route, absolutely do not put other plastic parts of your beloved firebird in contact with the solvent if you plan on using them again. Metal only!

3. Obviously, use in a well ventilated area away from ignition sources. Acetone is pretty volatile and evaporates quickly.