DIY Woodgrain

[Stewart]

Greetings from a one time owner of a 1953 V8 Commander hardtop. I
bought it used in '55 and had it until I seriously wrecked it in '59.
Mine was white with a red roof and I called it "Red Raymond". We all
named our cars in those days.

I have a post on rec.autos.antique about making your own woodgrain. I
am not in business, not selling anything, I am simply providing
information about a method I developed to easily and cheaply create
woodgrain.

Click on this link and then on my DIY Woodgrain post.

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.autos.antique?lnk=lr&hl=en

If anyone here is interested in this, I will post a link to more
information and answer any questions.

Stewart

[S2BAKER]

Hi Stewart. I'd be interested in learning more about this process. Do
you think it could be used on a dashboard that's already installed in a
car? Thanks -Will

[Stewart Schooley]

S2BAKER wrote:
> Hi Stewart. I'd be interested in learning more about this process. Do
> you think it could be used on a dashboard that's already installed in a
> car? Thanks -Will
>
>

Will,

Check out this site for more information about the woodgrain. The
acrylic transfer method isn't on there yet, but I can post it after I
send this.

http://pages.cthome.net/ptf/photofin/photofinish.html

Look it over and let me know what questions you have. After you have a
full understanding of the method, we can talk about how you specifically
want to use it.

Stewart

[Stewart Schooley]

Here is info about the acrylic transfer method;

Acrylic Transfer

The process is simple. Glue a print face down and soak the paper with
water and rub it off. This leaves the ink trapped in the glue. The image
will be reversed, so print a reverse image to transfer.

Use an acrylic glue [Minwax's Polycrylic, you can find it in any
hardware store]and transfer the image to a surface painted with
acrylic paint. The painted surface should be smooth and free of nubs.

Best method
First paint the cabinet a lighter wood color [almost always yellow]
using acrylic paint, then transfer a print that has the grainlines only
and use toners to get the final color. Use color copier prints for
lighter brown woodgrains and black and white laser prints for dark
woodgrains.

If you have an error with this method you only have to touch up
grainlines. Fine point markers will do the job.

Full color transfer
The problem with this is that even if you have only one small error you
need a full color touch up for that area.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Note - This method will not work with ink jet printers.

I worked on this method as a way to duplicate the faux woodgrain on some
metal cabinet radios. It also works well on wood cabinets..

The steps in this method are;

!- Get a print from a laser copier.

2- Give the print face an even coat of Minwax's Polycrylic. Allow to dry
for at least 8 hours.

3- When you are ready to transfer;

Evenly dampen the back of the paper with a damp rag. Not wet, just damp
enough so that the paper is a little limp.
Put an even coat of Polycrylic on the radio and place the print face
down on the wet Polycrylic. Smooth it out with the damp rag and with
your fingers. Don't be rough or you will start taking paper off.

4- Have a couple damp rags handy to wipe off the Polcrylic that is
squeezed out the edges. Wipe away from the print and turn the rags after
each wipe. Keep as much of the Polycrylic off the paper as you can. When
it looks smooth, roll it with one of those small wooden wheels used to
roll wallpaper seams to squeegee the paper and force out the excess
Polycrylic. Wipe the roller after each roll.

You MUST be sure that there are no air bubbles. No air bubbles means you
will get a perfect transfer.
Allow it to dry at least 12 hours.

5- Soak the paper with COLD WATER. Put a wet rag on the paper and let
it sit there for 10 minutes or more. Use your fingers and a piece of
toweling to remove the paper. The paper you use is very important. More
about that later.

Stewart

.

[John Poulos]

Here's what I use for GT Hawk dashes. It's the stuff they used on
station wagons years ago.

http://www.stripeman.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=Graphics&Category_Code=WGD

--
JP/Maryland
Studebaker On the Net http://stude.com
My Ebay items:http://www.stude.com/EBAY/
64 GT Hawk
64 Wagonaire
64 Commander 2 dr
63 R2 4 speed GT Hawk
63 Avanti R1
63 Daytona convert
63 Lark 2 door
63 Lark 2 door #2
62 Lark 2 door
60 Hawk
59 3E truck
52 Starlight
52 Starliner
51 Commander

[Stewart Schooley]

John Poulos wrote:
> Here's what I use for GT Hawk dashes. It's the stuff they used on
> station wagons years ago.
>
> http://www.stripeman.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=Graphics&Category_Code=WGD
>

John,

Here is another site about doing woodgrain;

http://woodgraining.com/videos/

The guy who runs the site has posted on antique radio forums, so I guess
it is fair for me to post my info on car forums. Jdee does nice work,
but I see the cost as prohibitive.

I see the advantage to my method being that it is inexpensive, with a
little practice is easy to learn, and allows you to make all kinds of
grain patterns in the color of your choice.

Stewart