Woodgrain Thoughts

[Silverdome]

Please look at my first attempts at woodgraining some trim on my P15 business coupe.

Contstructive criticism,suggestions and compliments welcome.

I used Krylon Khaki as a base color and Minwax Classic Grey 271 for the grain. There is no clear on it yet, I'm just experimenting.

 

[Silverdome]

[Silverdome]

[Bingster]

That looks great!  How did you do the grain?

[Mortimer452]

Definitely interested in hearing some advice/input on this.  My dash is in dire need of some attention.

[Silverdome]

6 hours ago, Bingster said:

That looks great!  How did you do the grain?

Thanks, I used a 1-1/2" wide natural bristle brush and applied a coat of the Minwax woodstain on the whole part. Next I shook out the brush and went around the part again then shook out the brush again. I repeated that process until enough of the stain was removed and I had the desired effect.

I'm going to try a sponge for my next piece but it will be a few days before that happens. I let the Krylon spray paint dry for three days before applying the stain. The next piece will be my rear window trim.

[The Oil Soup]

The colors and technique you used lend a sort of barnwood look to the pieces. I do wood graining in my work but it is done on mostly flat objects ( doors, molding ) and the tools used would not work well on compound curves. Here is a resource that has the tools to do automotive trim. Good luck! http://woodgraining.com/

[40plyguy]

Wonder if a gloss polyeurethane  (oil base) would richen the color a little? I've never used poly on metal and not sure how it would work but it sure does wonders on wood. Just a thought.....................

[Silverdome]

15 hours ago, 40plyguy said:

Wonder if a gloss polyeurethane  (oil base) would richen the color a little? I've never used poly on metal and not sure how it would work but it sure does wonders on wood. Just a thought.....................

I don't think it will change the color because the steel won't soak in the poly but it should give it some depth which may lend to some highlights. When I put some clear on it we'll find out.

[desoto1939]

I have used the wood graining kit from the grain-it company. The home DIY kit works well and the process is very easy do do. They have the base coats and top oat and the appropriate graining plate for the various cars. Simple process to put the graining effect onthe metal trim pieces.

 

Rich Hartung

desoto1939@aol.com

[ropaul]

It looks great. Nice work.

[LazyK]

does anyone have a photo of the grain pattern and color that was used on a 51 plymouth cranbrook. I'm thinking about having my dash hydro dipped ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrographics_(printing) ) and would like to find a pattern close to the original.

[Silverdome]

I have four more pictures to upload, so please be patient.

These were done with a sponge that you will see in the fourth picture that I contoured to fit the trim piece.

Instead of shaking out the sponge between I swiped it on a piece of cardboard to swab off the excess stain.

Please tell me your opinions. I still have not clear coated them, maybe this weekend.

[Silverdome]

[Silverdome]

[Silverdome]

This last one shows the supplies I'm using. I prepared the surface with what I could afford making sure of cleanliness and adhesion. I have to depend on the weather and my environment to get a good finish. I don't have a paint booth or environmental controls. So I guess you could say this is the poor mans way to woodgrain. I will keep practicing and hopefully get better at each attempt.

Edited September 21, 2017 by Silverdome

[desoto1939]

Here is an example of the wood graining that I did while using the kit from Grain-it company.  They have a metalplate willall of the various wood grains and then the appropriate base colors and then the top coats. The graining is applied with a soft rubber roller and is a simple process to do. This is an example of curly maple that was used on the 39 Desoto.

Rich Hartung

desoto1939@aol.comu

Edited September 21, 2017 by desoto1939

[Silverdome]

Rich that is a very nice looking piece.

[desoto1939]

7 hours ago, Silverdome said:

Rich that is a very nice looking piece.

this was done with the grainit kit for the homeowner. It is simple to do and if the graining is not what you like then you just wipe it off and then do another pass.  Also the owner of grain it stated that the wood graining does not have to be perfect becasue wood is not perfect in the graining when you really look at it. So I quess that makes alot of sence when you do it yourself approach. Also for the driver cars this is a great product and is the same that the guys that do it for 2-5 thousand for a car.

Rich Hartung

[Veemoney]

I used a gold metallic as my base coat that I had from a car I had painted. Used a sponge and minwax stain to get my pattern. let it dry for a few days and cleared it with polyurethane

[Silverdome]

Can you get a close up picture of the grain? It looks interesting. What was your technique on the graining?

[belvedere666]

Started a similar woodgraining approach but I abandoned it becuse the wood stain was too thick. I felt like all the clear coat in the world wouldn't smooth it out. I tried sanding it with a super fine paper but it either stripped the stain off or still held the texture. I couldn't find a happy medium.

i may still try again. I have an extra dash that's out of the car.

i can't remember what color I used for the base coat, but I know it was a rustoleum color and there's a light gray primer under that.

[Bingster]

I'm going to have to do the same graining and plan to use Grain-It like Rich.  I have to do my window molding and dash. I have a spare window molding that will be my test piece as I go along.  In fact, I have the base color I ordered from Grain-It that been sitting for awhile and I plan to shoot it in the next few weeks.

[Veemoney]

Silver, your gray looks very good and is similar for some factory finishes I have seen once clear coated. I attached a factory woodgrain finish from a console I have as an example and then the close-up you requested. last picture is the sponge for the pattern and the product I used. If I did it again I would use a darker base color than the gold to start with. I did not practice but on the part if you don't like it you wipe it off and start again. I used 3-4 coats of clear and I mixed in some stain in the clear so with each coat it becomes deeper and more subtle. Hope this helps. Also it is smooth after the first coat of clear from what I recall.

[Mortimer452]

SilverDome I think that looks great, nice job.  Now you've got me itching to try this on my dash, the old rusty look just isn't doing it for me.