I love the faux wood grain look on cars that are still original, but mine has seen too much outdoor weather and now that greenish wood grain color is rusty looking. Is there a technique for replacing that look, or do I need to strip it and paint it to look good again? I like the original look enough that I would be willing to take the time and energy to make it look original, but have no clue on how to go about doing it. Or even where to start!
There is q technique for painting on the woodgrain finish. I have never done it, but I have seen videos of it being done, on TV in one of those car shows,
and I think you can probably find something on youtube. It doesn't look very difficult. Good luck
Interesting thing on this subject ,I know you can redo the wood grain effects on the dash in your restoration efforts. However somehow the factory did it before stamping. I have a book showing the dash being stamped in the factory and clearly it has the wood grain pattern as it is being put in the press. I think the book is "The men who built Hudson"
Yes, I think it was printed on the flat metal before the metal was put through a series of operations to give it the dashboard shape. At least that's how they did it on the StepDowns. Today, of course, we don't have that option.
One option is to purchase a pre-printed woodgrain vinyl, very thin, and carefully apply it. 3M "Di-Noc" has been used for years and comes in a number of woodgrains. It can be formed around curves with a heat gun. Here's a video by a company that applies it on dashboards: [url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUfzpRvfs3I ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUfzpRvfs3I[/url]
Normally, nowadays, the graining is applied as a liquid by hand. There are kits you can buy, even rubber rollers with grain patterns printed on them which you can roll across the dashboard. Or just "wing it" (as I did) applying a basecoat and then one or two graining coats, using combs, paint brushes, cloth -- whatever works. The basecoat is in one type of paint (like lacquer, let's say), and the grain coats are in (for instance) oil base paint. So if you're unhappy you just wipe off the grain coat with a rag soaked in mineral spirits, and start again. The basecoat stays on. When you're done and happy with your work, seal it with a glossy clear coat (like urethane) which will give it that factory shine. You may be surprised at how good a job you can do!
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