I have wanted a woodgrain interior in my coupe for years. It originally had a woodgrain dash, but sometime in the '60s, my Dad had painted over it. I had gotten a woodgraining kit from JDee (my woodgraining hero) a couple years ago, and I have been putting off doing it because... well I didn't want to screw it up. Things started off well though... The parts of the kit The victims. I had already laid down my red oxide and random copper pearl washes to bring out the shimmer that real mahogany has. It's faint, but you can see it when it's wet. place the ink on the plate and squeege it across...
Then roll the roller across the plate to pick up the image. First pass The mask for the next pass. You place it down and hold it down with magnets. Damn, that is bitchin!
Here you can make out the copper underpainting and also in the next pic. Now the hard part. How the hell am I going to do all those compound curves? Ok... Now the mask...
Things take a turn for the worse. I can't get all the way across. Now what? And I can't get close enough to the waterfall area. You're right, that does look like shit... I tried to take the little tiny piece for doing corners to fill that edge in. It didn't work.
Well now I'm screwed. So per the video, I tried to do the other side and rolled across the plate shortways and rolled it on the dash shortways. Not bad. But it is impossible to line up the grain doing that way. And is obviously not the right way to do such a seam. Sigh...
Screw it. It's ruined. Time to clean up. Luckily the ink is water soluable... All clean. Well I got 2 woodgrain glove box doors out of the deal. It looks kick ass. No wonder it is such an art. It's freakin HARD to do. So, JDee, do I need bigger rollers, or what? How the hell do you do the intricate shapes of a '36 dash??
That's why I'm going with a single-color dash in my Terraplane. The PO had done the dash OK, but did not do the glovebox doors at all...so, it was impossible to match everything up without pulling the dash (like yours) and redoing the whole thing.
I looked at that kit and really considered trying it on my 3W coupe dash ... but I decided to just get a fellow to do it ... who knew how. I would like to try the kit ... maybe next time.
I've often wondered how uneven surfaces got printed , then I saw a printer that used something like smurff ball , a soft rubber/foam ball . The ball was imprinted with the pattern , the same as your roller but comformed to unevensurface as you rolled over it . Too cool . Mystery solved !!
Jim Evans has a guy who did his dash and it turned out pretty damn cool... And Deuce Roadster's guy is phenominal! Damn that is cool Deuce!
Chad, I bet if you call Bob Kennedy in Whitter, Cal. he would give you some tips. He's in the V-8 club and has been doing it for years. I can look up the number if sombody doesn't post it. It also works better if you wear shoes, ha ha. Mike
Nice shot at it DJango. What you ran into is exactly why I've always put off trying this. Keep at it, maybe you'll figure it out. Perhaps, like mentioned, a little freehand drybrushing, feathered up to the edge. OR(!), maybe after you roll out a length of pattern, you could "artfully" eradicate a random amount from the end to freehand, dry brush off of. That way you aren't continuing from a distinct defined ending of the rolled pattern. Did that even make sense?
Does this mean you're part of a splinter faction? That glove box door looked great but I can see the rest of it will be a trial and error game. Keep us posted. I'd like to redo the dash in my Packard so I'll be curious as to how you make out. Oh yeah, congrats to you and the Mrs. on the soon to be new arrival!!
Bob Kennedy did mine ... Bob Kennedy ... his number is 562-693-8739 The down side to having someone do it for you is that you DO NOT learn anything. I am at the point with my 32 3W where I did not have the time to LEARN how to try and woodgrain.
I don't think you will ever get it, so package up the kit and send it to me. I will dispose of it properly and eco-friendly like. It not all that bad when you can wash it off and start over. You'll figure it out for sure. Actually I like where you butted the ends together and it looked kinda like planking.
Great looking glove box door! Keep at it. Back in the seventies I worked in an office furniture manufacturing paint shop. Off in a side room and old (90!!) year old woodgrainer grained desks and file cabinets. I've been kicking myself for thirty years at not learning his art from him. But, there's no lost art that can't be relearned. Good luck.
While rollers and celluloid transfers work, they look like rollers and celluloid transfers. They repeat, are difficult at times to conform to certain shapes (the problem you're having), and while the copper underbase is a good move toward realism you'll still have a roller-grained dash panel. In my teens I did a fair amount of research on techniques used by the OEMs and their suppliers. Modern Metal products, Penninsular Slate, and another company which I can't recall all offered several ways and grains for the OEMs. Some of the Ford designs were also under copyright. Hand applied artistic grains were used extensively in many cars. Most burl grains were celluloids or photo transfers. You need to practice on a panel. Roll out your grain to the height you need around the center detail that's giving you trouble. Take a brush and pallet out the right consistancy to drag some grain. Don't overload the brush. Do it light, do it multiple applications. What you want to practice brushing is a copy of the roller pattern. Pick up the rolled pattern while it's still wet and BE PATIENT. Drag it up and around. Make it the way it looks from the roller. Once you feel ready do the corners 1st. Then roll out the rest. It's a process man. It take a kool head and a good mood. If you become frustrated walk away. Have a beer, burn one, get a hummer, whatever it takes to get "settled in" to make it come from the brush. I hope it makes as much sense to you as it does in my head. Good luck with it. Don't give up.
If you are looking for someone with experiance you may want to try some old radio repair shops, quite a few of the antique radios were fuax woodgrain tin cases. Tad
Well put,.. "It's a process man". The up side you can make your own pattern to fill in the gaps & rises... You seem stoked on what ' turned out right ' . Since your this far along -- to soon give up. But it's gettin there..soon you'll post on the Friday nite art event. -41-
The kits from Grain It Technologies work very well, but larger pieces will require practice. I find using a lot of pressure helps on curves,the roller will distort and conform to the surface.Watch the video again,their "rocking and rolling" method works excellently. No doubt JDee has a lot more tricks to making their stuff perfect. Brown Pearl in clear looks good over woodgrain.
I saw a tech on this decades(?) ago and the guy used feathers, ends of wine corks, all sorts of things to do patterns for various woods. The graining was done with a powder in solution, then cleared over when dry. One of those practice, practice, practice til you're nearly dead things. The 3w dash Kennedy Snr. did is absolutely beautiful.
My Dad ( who died in 1978) used sponges, paint brushes rags etc. to do wood graining ,experiment and practice, if its worth doing its not easy.
all wood has flaws remember wood graining that looks perfect is fake natural has flaws..except in rolls royces your own finger tips (un gloved0 dragged accross those curves will look like grain too remember finger paintin?
I saw a whole deal on PBS years ago and it involved a 1/4 round rubber printing plate with a handle and the rubber part had half round bevels as a relief in the face. You took that and drug the die or stain across the piece swaying a little and rolling/sliding the printer. Then they used a long bristled slap(?) brush that gave the wood a fine grain look. Then tinted varnishes to add depth. It was quite the process but had an unbelievably realistic appearance.
though i doubt it would help you too much i learned there are some companies that are actually taking there patterns and printing them on water where the ink floats. then they dip the part in the water and the pattern covers everything. i know a lot of military stuff is getting it done but car companies are using it too. pretty cool what you got so far! good luck
Thanks for the encouragement guys! I've seen that water tank process on tv. I think they were doing camoflauge with it and it was unbelievable. Ok, Highlander I'll give the brushwork a try. At least my garden hose gives me a nice safe "command Z" that I am used to. Hahahaha!
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