Art & Inspiration Is wood graining a thing of the past?

I remember it was popular with the restoration crowd and hot rodders alike that wanted to retain the look of a wooden dash.

I vividly remember my pal Deuce Roadster sending his 3 window dash to someone in California to have his professionally wood grained and it turned out nice. HRP

 

@zzrodney Built a Packard coupe last year (not posted here), he had the dash hydrodipped for a wood look.

 

Some info here from the Barn
https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=331094

 

Maybe, but when I considered a yellow color interior and brownish upholstery, it made sense to me. After watching a number of you tubes on the topic, I took a chance. Not impossible to make what I thought a decent run at it. Requires time and patience, things I often have in short supply. Also takes a lot of bench/ table space to do all the related parts: window trim, glove box door, header etc.

Above is a picture of work in progress as it still needs to be polished out.

 

Works For Me And I Am A Thing From The Past....

 

When I restored my 32 Hupmobile I bought a book on wood graining and did it myself. No pictures, but it turned out great.

 

Yup...totally a thing of the past...but I did it anyway. Thanks to Youtube, the real trick is the bunched up plastic bag used to create the burled wood effect.

 

When I built my deuce delivery a few years ago there was always a wood grain vendor next to me for several years at the Pueblo NSRA show. He did some really neat stuff so I gave him a try. He did my dash, door garnishs, and A pillar moldings in a burled finish. Cool thing about his work it was with real wood veneer not paint. Not cheap but it sure looked good.

 

For non stock cars it seems to have peaked back in the Resto Rod era. It seemed to follow almost a cookie cutter approach especially with Deuce closed cars: black (or very dark maroon, blue, or green) paint, chrome spoke wheels, etched glass, gray mohair interior, wood grained dash and garnishes, chromed out SBC...
Truly beautiful but ran its course.

 

There is a guy on the Fordbarn model A forum that can to do wood graining but I don't remember his name. He is in Tacoma, Wa.

 

My '28 when I bought it......still like this, so far. I was thinking to trade with someone who wanted the woodgrain look if I can't live with it, since it would be a shame to sand it off.

 

Both my Buicks came with wood grained dash and window moldings. Plan to go back that way. One car already professionally done.

 

Congrats to those who did their own. Looks fantastic.

 

View attachment 5850786 My daughter did this 20 yrs ago for Father’s Day. For the 37 coupe.

 

yes i think it is a thing of the past. i hope it is, i never liked it.

 

...not if you got one of these

 

I painted the dashboard in my '39 Chev "desert sand" as a basis to wood grain it. But I just never did it, and it's still just desert sand color, which doesn't match anything on my car. Maybe some winter I'll finish it?

 

There's a man who posts regularly on the SPI user forum who is a custom painter. He's pretty much stopped doing any regular paint work and now does woodgrain for a yacht builder. They have used teak in the past for trim but he says that it has to be refinished every 2 or 3 years at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars. Now they mold fiberglass in the shape of the trim and Jim woodgrains it for them. Beautiful work

 

I been doing it for a minute give or take a decade. I've done a few rod jobs, but restoration is the main market. I included a before and after on a senior Packard steering wheel.

 

WOW... nice work

 

Deuce Roadster probably sent his dash to Bob Kennedy, he was famous for his wood graining in Calif. Bob is the father of the Kennedy brothers located in Pomona, Calif. His work was exceptional and last I heard he had retired.
The colors in HotRodPrimers photos are absolutely beautiful.

 

I should've said I do free hand with paint brushes. No rollers or transfers. I use a "secret" medium to get my effects.

 

Nice work, Highlander!

 

I do love woodgrain,,,,real or fake,,but we're now in a world of some PUNKs who think CARBONFIBER is the cooliest look ,or rust n crap

Painted some,for buddys,and made some for real.
Here's two hotrod dashs,I did with real wood.

My 28A roadster dash header,and my son Lance's 23T flame wood dash. Lance hunted about a month for just the right grain wood,that would match the flame art,an kind of go around the Speed-O, I made him.

 

There's a fellow in the SDC that does fabulous 'graining work. Get to see it at at each stude nats, & usually at the yearly June South Bend meet.
Marcus...

 

When I did mine I painted a reddish base coat, and used darker paste type printers ink with a paint brush and rags. Doing swirls with a brush and smudge them with cheese cloth. Then after the ink dried lots of clear coats. This technique was from a book I bought. It looked awesome.

 

IS WOOD GRAINING A THING OF THE PAST?
Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by HOTRODPRIMER, Today at 2:44 AM.

....."things of the past"..... isn't that sort of what we are, and what we are all about?.....

 

How come Ford owners dump shit on Chevs because they're full of wood and then pay money to put wood in their Fords?

 

Yes sir, I believe that was the man that did Randy's dash. HRP

 

Yessir. It's a thing of the past.
And I love it.
Mohair upholstery, too.
And wooden floor boards.
And rubber mats.
And vacuum powered wipers.
And and and...
Sorry. I get carried away.
Certainly in original vintage cars. But also for an early style hot rod that might've had mainly just its drivetrain modified.