Woodgraining

mrtexas

mrtexas

Well-known member
I just finished several pieces of woodgraining for my 49 woodie inside trim. It is curly maple. Turned out nice. Not quite as easy as they demo on their website but OK.

You can see the plate with the woodgrain etched on it and the rubber roller that is used to pick up the pattern and transfer it to the trim. The basecoat looked way different before I put the ink on it but I like the result. The kit cost around $500. Two more steps remaining, applying toner ink and then clear coating.

I bought the spray cans of basecoat from grainit.com but ended up buying some dupont chromabase in a quart can and used that. Interesting that grainit.com wanted $2,000 to grain just the dash...

basecoat only


the tools of the trade

mostly finished product
 
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$2k to do a dash is not out of line IMHO when you factor in all of the time to do one. 'All' encompasses media stripping the metal, making any necessary repairs, body working, priming, sanding, basing, graining, clearing, sanding, clearing, polishing, AND cleaning up the mess. It also ensures enough time for correcting minor imperfections so that future observers cannot find flaws or nitpick their work. My point is I have seen many hobbyists do their own work that satisfied themselves however if that work had been performed by someone else, they would not be satisfied. Having enough budget corrects that little issue! ;)
 
BRENT in 10-uh-C said:
$2k to do a dash is not out of line IMHO when you factor in all of the time to do one. 'All' encompasses media stripping the metal, making any necessary repairs, body working, priming, sanding, basing, graining, clearing, sanding, clearing, polishing, AND cleaning up the mess. It also ensures enough time for correcting minor imperfections so that future observers cannot find flaws or nitpick their work. My point is I have seen many hobbyists do their own work that satisfied themselves however if that work had been performed by someone else, they would not be satisfied. Having enough budget corrects that little issue! ;)
Click to expand...

I agree. However I decided the cost of trying was cheap enough for me to try it myself. So far so good. I posted this as an encouragement for others to try. It is not out of the range of difficulty for the average car enthusiast to get a good job done.

Yes it is a lot of labor and technique. I might consider having someone do it locally if I knew someone in the Houston area that did it. It would be difficult to ship all the large trim pieces of a 49 woodie particularly the rear window trim that is 5+ feet long for someone out of town. Cost of paint is about $300 as dupont chromabase basecoat $125/quart or spray cans $30 each from grainit must be used with the grainit ink, the clear from SPI and toolkit from grainit is around $400 or so. Then there is the uncertainty of base color etc.... The grainit web site makes it look like a job I could do. I have lots of time as I am retired. I've started with the easy pieces like window trim. Dash will be more difficult. I had my dash for 36 woodie done by water immersion method. Turned out good enough for me and way less expensive than hand done method.

I've seen some amateur hand done graining jobs I wasn't impressed with and didn't go that route. The grainit equipment is similar to the technique originally done by Ford and seemed to me to be worth a try as I wouldn't attempt the artistic hand done method as I'm no artist.

I decided the cost of trying was cheap enough for me to try it myself. So far so good. I posted this as an encouragement for others to try who may not know about the grainit technique. It is not out of the range of difficulty for the average car enthusiast to get a good job done.

Here is a shot of my 36 dash done by water film transfer of grain. Nice but not perfect.
https://sites.google.com/site/mrtexascitrus/home/woodgraining
 
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They neglected to wood grain the chrome plated waterfall I sent them. ​
Here is their reply as to why they wouldn't do it:
"We did not do the chrome piece because we were concerned that when blasting
the chrome off we would also being taking it off the raise areas. We could
have just base coated and printed right over the chrome but could not
guarantee it would stay. Please let us know if there questions."

I'm surprised that the home kit costs so much. I think your 36 dash looks good and I understand the reply the company gave for not doing the chrome. Makes sense to me. So, did the original chrome waterfall have woodgrain on it? If so, that wouldn't make sense to me.

Your 49 parts look great.:)
 
Tom Wesenberg said:
They neglected to wood grain the chrome plated waterfall I sent them. ​
Here is their reply as to why they wouldn't do it:
"We did not do the chrome piece because we were concerned that when blasting
the chrome off we would also being taking it off the raise areas. We could
have just base coated and printed right over the chrome but could not
guarantee it would stay. Please let us know if there questions."

I'm surprised that the home kit costs so much. I think your 36 dash looks good and I understand the reply the company gave for not doing the chrome. Makes sense to me. So, did the original chrome waterfall have woodgrain on it? If so, that wouldn't make sense to me.

Your 49 parts look great.:)
Click to expand...

Tom is asking about the 36 dash I had hydro dip woodgrained. The original 36 waterfall had brown paint smeared on it on the unraised portion instead of woodgrain. I don't think Ford actually woodgrained it. The original dash still had the woodgrain on it and was very nice under the waterfall. I could woodgrain the waterfall myself but it looks good enough all chrome plated and I seldom or never show my car to anyone who would know the difference.

The cost is in the large 10 x 24 plate $250 and the large 4 x 6 roller $150. You really need the larger tools to do a good job.
 
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