Wood graining (revisited )

[bobbycoke]

gerald, if it looks as nice in person as the picture, your artist is a true artist it is a beautiful walnut finish.

[Brad in Germany]

Here is a link to a video clip showing the woodgraining artist applying the woodgrain to the dash rail of our 1930 Cabriolet (68-B) using the roller method:

http://s244.photobucket.com/albums/g...rioletDash.mp4

Fordially,
Brad in Germany

[kenparker]

Did my homework. The Graining Plate I use is #002 Stipple Mahogany. The color of Base Coat that came with my kit was the more brown of the choices. They offer sevearal choices but the only color thayt had that day at the Workshop was the brown. The color I had mixed at hte local PPG supplier matched the middlw color in the chart. #GBC MH2. I could have ordered the color from GIT but it was faster to have it done locally.

If I were starting from scratch and attempting to woodgrain my parts I would buy one of the kits rather than try to piecemeal the components of a kit. The video was worth it weight in gold - and I was a commercial artist and screenprinter for 35 years.

[jkcrosson]

Thanks Ken

[TinCup]

Ken what size roller did you use? Do you still have the paint code you used as a base? I have found that the PPG75083 that Vince Falter recommends mixes up being just a little darker than Rustoleum Red Oxide Primer. I have painted them side by side and it's amazing how close they are. Even the guys at English color who mixed it for me were surprised. I also had the the color MH2 mixed up using the dupont color code and it's awfully red.

[Richard Wilson]

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I recently did the woodgrain on my Victoria project. I was lucky enough to have a friend let me borrow a Grain-It Stipple Mahogany plate, a corner rocker and 5 inch roller. (Thanks Mike!) The roller method is a good alternative for a "non-artistic" restorer and I would recomend the Grain-It kit for the "do it yourselfer".

I kind of did my woodgraining on the cheap. After testing four different brand Red Oxide Acrylic Lacquer Primer Surfacers, I found that one made by Axis was a perfect match to the MARC/MAFCA Mahogany paint chip when dry. It was $20.63 for a quart. This was followed by rolling on the Grain-It Mahogany ink with a small five inch roller using their fifteen inch grain plate. After letting the ink dry for two days I sprayed six coats of Dupli-Color Paint Shop Gloss Clear Coat Lacquer bought at O'Reilly Auto Parts for $26.68 a quart. So for less than $50 and about 20 hours work (sandblast, weld up extra holes, prime, grain and clear) I was able to woodgrain a complete set of Victoria mouldings and trims. While not 100% show perfect, they do look pretty much like the Ford graining IMO.

As with most things, using the plate/roller method is much more difficult for a first timer than the video's on the Grain-It web site would have you think. Blending the end/start lines from the small roller's grain pattern is the hardest part and took most of the time to accomplish. I am sure that with practice this would become easier. Also, I double rolled my mouldings to get a closer match to my perception of the original Ford grain that was on my mouldings.

[TinCup]

I have been practicing with a borrowed roller from Grain it as well. Apparently someone before me used something to clean the roller that left it sticky. It's ok as long as it has ink on it but cleaning between applications is harder. It's the 2x3 roller.
No it isn't as easy as the videos demonstrate but it's also not something that can't be learned. Stopping and starting are a bit tricky. I also found out yesterday that the temp you work in makes a big difference. It was high 80's here yesterday and the ink wasn't as easy to work with. It's much cooler today so I will be working on a few test pieces.

[Tinbasher]

Thanks for the original pictures guys. I'm going to grain the mouldings for the 30 coupe I'm working on. It nice to have something right to go by.

J.Poole