Burl Woodgraining

Planojc

Well-known member
Starting to woodgrain the dash and trim on a 39 Ford Std. Any tips out there on how to get a Burl effect on the dash without buying a roler kit? I get somewhat a burle look by using plastic wrap, various brushes, but would like your idea's on how to improve the burle look. Thanks, JC
 
I woodgrained the dash on my '36 woodie using artists acrylic paints over a base coat of red primer. I used a mix of rag, brushes, hand towel and wool, but tried to copy from nature. Get a piece of the wood grain you want to copy or get a photo of it and practice replicating what you see.
Colin
 
There is a fellow in San Antonio that does all variations of woodgrain with a transfer film process. It is beautiful stuff. I did my car decades ago and it still looks like crap. I need to get him to work on mine. PM if interested. I have NO connection with him. Just saw him at swaps.
 
If you use a gel stain to do the graining, you can use a natural sponge, rag, plastic wrap in combinations to get the effect that you want.

If you want to have it done, there is a company in the suburbs of Chicago that has a unique process for graining. Here is a link to their site.

http://mmcustomfinishing.com/Site/Home.html

IMHO their work is superior to the roller method and the price is competitive.
 
This really depends upon the type of burl effect you are looking for. It would be best to get a copy of an image that you can use as a guide. The best advice I can give you is to use as many different surfaces and tools as you have available, including airbrushes, sponges, steel wool pads and stencils. It's an art and you may or may not be an artist, if you try to do a very detailed burl it might beat you, I'd practice it on a junk door or something first. Don't get discouraged if the first one is not great, practice a bit.
 
Its your choice what pattern you go with but 39 had a straight grain .here is a picture of a stock un molested 38 that is closer in colour .the other is a 36 one that I have played with .You can use the wrap for Burl but make sure the base colour is in 2 k so the top one doesn't melt it
 

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When I first saw pictures of the 39 dash, I thought it was a burl, but in the 38-39 book it is called cross grain. For those of you who want a burl look like the 34, a sea sponge with lot's of holes works perfect. Now I need to work on the cross grain pattern. Thanks for all the input. JC
 
When I first saw pictures of the 39 dash, I thought it was a burl, but in the 38-39 book it is called cross grain. For those of you who want a burl look like the 34, a sea sponge with lot's of holes works perfect. Now I need to work on the cross grain pattern. Thanks for all the input. JC

I'm about to do my 34.
Got any pics of the sponge technique?

Cheers!
 
Savvy, go to www.woodgraining.com and enter the site. Click on patterns on the left, then Ford, then 34 Ford. This will give you the look to try and duplicate. I bought my sponge at Harbor Freight, the real kind that was plucked from the ocean, and picked out the one with the most hole variations. After your base coat, I used red oxide primmer, Just dab the sponge in the black pant and then on your dash. You will be able to see the burl come alive after just a few dabs. Note; be carefull what you clean the sponge up with. It may dissolve it. I used water base paint, so that was not a problem. JC
 
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