Hello all. Has anyone ever used or heard of using a PSA (pressure sensitive adhesive) 10 mil real wood veneer on the side of a early mid 60’s wagon. I have a 63 Merc Colony Park that I want to do something different with. So instead of painting wood grain or using vinyl wrap on the side, I would like to use real wood. I’ve talked to a distributor and he says it may work, but has never heard of the product used this way. I am painting the wood grain on the fiberglass moldings though. Thanks!
Welcome aboard! Don't think I've seen what you've described, although done properly I think it could be cool. How does it hold up to the elements, or is that an issue (won't be driven in inclement weather, stored in a garage)?
Good idea, if it works Im looking to replace my woodgrain and dont really know what to do. I was thinking air brush but I dont know. Good idea they make glue for anything now. Good luck and thanks for the idea.
Really great idea from an appearance perspective. It will take quite a bit of maintenance, which is why they went to Dy-Noc in the first place. You would have to be very careful about sun, rain, and every other weather, except possibly night time. The other thing is, refinishing it could be problematic down the road, since the veneer is so thin. I think it would be easier in the long run to use paint for some special effect. I'm thinking the 3-D flames or ghost flames in a colour to blend with the main body, or special wood grain effect with pain, again colour keyed to the body of the car. There are all sorts of neat options that are easy to maintain.
Must be a Colony Park thing because I've been looking at the same thing to redo my 78 Colony Park. I had concerns about how it would hold up too and then a friend of mine showed me his boat which was veneered with it and then buried in some good marine grade clearcoat. I think if the same methods are used it could be durable and interesting. Keep us posted if you move forward with it, I probably wont get do the wood grain projects until next spring.
I agree with all of your suggestions, thanks. Although I'd love to make it a "quasi-woody" with veneer, I'll probably use vinyl wood grain for the sides. Thought about painting it (wood grain or old school scallop graphics), but it will be driven way more (quasi daily driver) than my blown big block 64 Impala SS as my wife an I have a 2 year old (and stroller, toys, etc. that needs to be hauled to car shows), although he loves the Impala. Because stuff happens, I don't want to run the risk of ruining hours of paint work--if you've painted wood grain you know what I mean. Maybe in the future I'll veener it, when I have more time to screw with it. But I still worry about the different rates in expansion/contraction between the metal and wood...would be a shame if it separates and pulls the clear!
That's my biggest concern as well but all the boat guys keep assuring me it's not an issue, I don't see how it's not an issue.
The veener supplier I talked to says they use 3M PSA, which is similar to trim adhesive, so it should stick to paint (i'm using epoxy primer/sealer). The supplier said it might not be a problem using veneer in the interior, but heat/cold mixed with vibration could cause a problem for exterior use. He's seen dashes crack and separate though too.
I think the real issue is where you have complex curves on the body that the veneer just can't follow. On relatively flat, gentle curves, it should be doable.
No worries on my Merc, its a slab sided beast. I'm pretty sure Im gonna go for it (cant do anything until spring when it's warmer though) Going to use a caramel colored bamboo veneer to go with the beach/tiki theme we are going with.
The side panel is fairly flat (convexes a bit, but is a gentle curve) except where the panel meets the top plane of the car (between side windows and side panel). At this point, the side panel curves rather tightly to meet the top plane between side windows and side panel. This is so the fiberglass “wood” trim cover the original side vinyl. Please ee the attached artistic rendering of my wagon--the top "wood" trim area is what I'm talking about. The Veneer will have to form to this curve most of the way up so the trim can cover it. Thanks for all of your comments. They’ve helped my decision.
