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

"not a 32"....I'm using that! LOL

Greg Tuter out of Tulsa did mine. Not all of it is installed yet, but he did a superb job!

 

It's a hot water process where a transparent "decal" is floating on top, then you dip the part in it in a specific fashion. Once out the graphic or transparency is applied to every surface. I actually thought about doing it (horror of horrors!) but the cost of admission was a bit steep at the time, like 5 or 6 grand plus cost of the films. Here's a short vid:

 

I took airbrush classes from Mickey Harris and he taught us to woodgrain, but most of the actual woodgrain was done with a red scotchbrite pad lol

 

I didn't want to go the full woodgrain program, so I added so teak veneer that I used shellac on and hit it with steel wool to knock down the shine. Did this on my dash and doors, think it came out OK.

 

Not one car posted on this thread is a traditional hotrod. Just saying. Restorods or tiquers yes. What forum are we on again?

 

Oooookay
How about an example of HAMB worthiness?

 

Woodgraining is for old men Ha!

 

I made this dash way back about 1975. After I sold the car the new owner added holes for A/C. When I bought the car back I realized I could not stand it so I redid the dash to more of my liking. Tastes change. I like wood grain on some cars. It all depends on the car.

 

I spent about 6 months practicing before doing my dash using a Chrysler instrument panel

 

I didn't want to bore the crowd with the same old pic of my HAMB WORTHY 39 Ford std 2dr. But WTF here ya go...again. I did a vintage furniture style inlay in the glovebox door. The control bezels are burled walnut. The rest is a mix of the 37 and 39 grain patterns as used in Fords of those years.


The style of the V8 inlay is the earlier version, used because it would work as a proper focal point. I laid it out, then covered ½ of it, grained the right side twice, then did the whole just 1 more time to give the shadow effect of the early V8 logo. Once cleared I expect it to pop pretty well. HAMB worthy? Y'all can decide...

 

WOW that’s beautiful Highlander .
Dr Dave that’s a a very nice touch to Your A .
Russ great job . Your dash looks great.

 

Well as far as factory goes, the only "modern" car i've seen with it was my grandpa's 2003 Buick. But I tend to see the "woodgrain" dashes a lot at car shows, so even though it's been abandoned by the Big Three, it still seems to be fairly common in this world

 

I did faux finishing for a living for years and woodgraining was part of that, woodgraining in a residential setting much different than automotive work (tools, techniques and materials), it can be done but here is a company that sells the correct equipment that the auto manufacturers used back in the day complete with original grain colors and patterns.
https://woodgraining.com/

 

Wooden door garnish on a '34 Chevy with Hobby Lobby Cork Material panels

 

I wouldn't change mine for the world