Woodgrain options

[Fury Pursuit]

In the photo studio with professional photographer Kirk Jones, (he's checking lighting not taking a photo) we had to mount the NOS wood grain to a piece of glass to make sure it was 100% flat. It worked perfectly, but the NOS piece was sacrificed in the process,...oh well, the only way to get enough of the correct OEM pattern and color was to do this..........................and then we cleaned up the imperfections and matched the grain on the computer..............and then we printed it on an new $80,000 printer and then made some extra..........

This process may be a little more than the average guy wants/needs,......but when only NOS/OEM will do,....this is what you do.

 

[78Brougham]

I liked the one on the left as appearing most original to me. The one on the right appears a bit deeper with a richer look. I'd probably go with that one IF it were mine

I agree with Dave... and to me the one on the right would really make the two contrasting colors of car pop!
As everyone else said, your surface prep will be key. And I feel you'll HAVE to take the mouldings off. Those mouldings will cover a multitude of sins from cutting, stretching and shrinkage during the install process.

 

[glennb49]

You have to get all the old vinyl and glue off! Use a heat gun to remove the vinyl, then 3M vinyl trim glue remover and dull putty knife to clean off the glue with out damaging the paint. Clean up the surface with laquior thinner to get all the glue off. Then if there is damage to the paint you will have to sand it out and prime the surface and repaint before applying the new wood grain. Some of the wood grain actually allowed the color underneath to show through and depending on the color will change the shade of the finished wood grain!

 

[Zymurgy]

I agree with Carmine about removing the trim too. If you are going to all this work go ahead and remove the trim. You may think you are saving time, but removing it will make it easier for everything else you are doing. You will have that extra "fudge" factor to that will be hidden under the trim. Good luck.

 

[CBODY67]

How ever it happens, it's not going to be "quick and easy". NOT to forget the integrity of the finish under the woodgrain decal are that might be damaged and need to be repair BEFORE the new woodgrain material is applied. In addition to removing the surrounding trim for best results. Might be best to save up the money and let a body shop worry with it? In the mean time, do what you can to preserve it. I believe that Meguiars has a wax for the newer body wrap materials?

Some of the 1980s woodgrain appliques were somewhat translucent, which did affect the ultimate look of the base color itself. Earlier versions, I suspect, did not do this as much as the later versions.

CBODY67

 

[commando1]

Fer gawdssakes, the trim has to come off.

 

[Mr C]

In summary:

1) Trim must come off.
2) Surface must be clean/ smooth.
3) Color of woodgrain is up to you.

 

[66MonacoWagon]

Finally started to tackle the woodgrain. I took the trim off the tailgate to do the small sections as a test for both how to remove the old woodgrain, and installation of the new woodgrain. I tried heat and adhesive remover to no avail, took to sandpaper and cutting/buffing the paint. Pics are the first attempt on the right.

 

[CBODY67]

ONCE you start, no turning back. Good that you started with the tailgate!

CBODY67

 

[imperigal]

Have you made any more progress? The small panel on the tailgate looked pretty good. Did you pick the color on the right?

 

[Fury Pursuit]

I have material...

 

[66MonacoWagon]

The summer (and chores) have taken precedent. I got both rear pieces done, but am not 100% happy. I thought I’d dwell in it for a while. I will need to sand the old decal, which will be a chore. I ordered 800/1200/1500 sanding disks but haven’t started as of yet.

 

[imperigal]

The summer (and chores) have taken precedent. I got both rear pieces done, but am not 100% happy. I thought I’d dwell in it for a while. I will need to sand the old decal, which will be a chore. I ordered 800/1200/1500 sanding disks but haven’t started as of yet.

Before you sand any more, I managed to revive my existing woodgrain...which looked worse than yours does! There's a thread about it...which I will attempt to find and paste

Refinishing Woodgrain on the 73 T&C

 

[66MonacoWagon]

I appreciate the note and have watched your thread. Unfortunately, I've got severe loss of the actual woodgrain, so there are very large patches that are just brown paint. I did try restoring a patch with the clear spray this spring, but it did not bring out any of the woodgrain detail. I've had a lot of folks at the car show tell me I should just leave it, it tells a good story as to how original the car an paint is. I'm debating at this point, and probably will wait until next spring to make the decision.

 

[imperigal]

Still a beautiful wagon you have there!