I am getting ready to replace the woodgrain on my '66 Country Squire. There wasn't any paint behind the old woodgrain. Would this need to be painted before applying new woodgrain? Or would a good primer and sealer be sufficient? It appears that it didn't come with paint from the factory. Opinions?
Paint behind woodgrain I would paint it if possible. If you've gone so far as to strip the old woodgrain off, why not? If you have a small tear in the woodgrain, then the underlying steel is protected from corrosion and it looks as expected. Phil Lingle
Professor, I would paint/seal any metal as we now are not using a factory product for replacement , who really is aware of what sealing agents may have been there from original manufacture.
I was told a good epoxy primer could go down first. Then it would sprayed with a sealer to prevent any moisture from penetrating the primer and reaching the metal.
That sound good to me. Just make sure it's smooth and completely dry before applying the vinyl. The film is thinner than the original stuff and will show sanding scratches, tiny dust specks and orange peel underneath and nothing can be done about it once it's applied so prep is really important.
When we removed the original woodgrain from our 67 squire, there was a dark brown flat primer painted from the factory. You could see how it was masked to only go where the decal was applied. Its very interesting that yours was bare metal. Who knows but it may have been a friday on the line... I am amazed that they could even build these Squires on the line. I dont know how they did it with all the tiny trim parts, including the decal that went on the squires.
My thoughts exactly on the 69 Squire. What a ton of work adding the trim components. Then there are all the grille components. What a chore for an assembly line! Phil
I don't guess I made it clear. The metal behind my woodgrain was not bare. Like your car, it had a sort of primer from the factory. I actually thought it would have beeen painted the same color as the car.
Paint behind Woodgrain As cars were considered far more disposable back then, I can see why they may have only used a primer-like paint under the woodgrain. Even so, the vinyls are a reasonably good moisture barrier (if not torn or scratched through). Not a great moisture barrier, but maybe good enough back then to get you through 5 years before you would buy another vehicle. My 69 squire appears to be painted behind the woodgrain. I'll know more when I remove the vinyl soon. Phil
Woodgrain for Wagons I would paint before applying decals. The original decals on my 1963 Squire were semi-transparent. Ford painted the panels under the dark decals an ugly medium brown. It kind of looks like primer but it's not. Yours may have been the same way. I'm not sure what years they did that. With the newer technology you wouldn't need to paint it brown because it won't show through. You may want to paint it brown in case of stone chips. As for redoing the trim or the dark vinyl goes, I will recommend T/A Truck Painting & Graphics Website: ta-graphics.com Brandon tagraphics@sbcglobal.net 262-691-1410 Brandon did a lot of work trying to match my 1963 Ford Country Squire wood grain -- both the dark vinyl and the light trim. It looks fantastic! Seeing this man work makes me think that he can do almost any kind of wood that you would like. Tell him John with the '63 Squire recommended him.
And to guarantee a good seal from the vinyl, you'll need one of those hand-held rollers the car wrap guys use. Then, make sure the car is warmed up when you apply it, so the vinyl softens during application.
Does anyone know where or how to find the paint code (or something close) for the brown paint that was used behind the woodgrain on my '66 Squire?
