What's the best way to apply wood grain siding?

Discussion in 'Woodgrain' started by customcruiserfan, May 14, 2014.

  1. customcruiserfan

    customcruiserfan Well-Known Member

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    Looking for knowledgable input on the best way to apply wood grain siding to a 71-76 GM B body wagon? The 3M wood grain I have is in two continuous 23-foot pieces, plus the separate wood grain piece for the tailgate. As I see it, I have two options for my restoration project and am unsure of the best option for creating a seamless wood grain wrap that matches the way GM did it back in the day.

    Option 1: I could have the wood grain applied to the entire side of a vehicle, then cut around doors and fender openings to create an uninterrupted pattern. This is how most vehicle wraps are performed. Done this way, my wagon would have an unbroken wood grain pattern around the entire vehicle. But it won't allow for a quarter-inch wrap around door openings as is typical of the original GM process (see pic).

    Option 2: The other option is for the vehicle wrap to be done in sections, allowing the quarter-inch wrap around openings, but this process breaks the wood grain pattern and creates an uneven match.

    So at 3 a.m., I'm wondering, What's the better option for creating an authentic wood grain restoration?
     

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  2. Krash Kadillak

    Krash Kadillak Well-Known Member

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    NOT speaking from experience here.....

    Seems to me the best option would be to apply one panel at a time, starting from an end. You have to allow for at least 1/4 - 1/2" wrap around for the edges, so there's no getting around that. You 'lose' a bit of the pattern continuity, but with only 1/2" - 1" gone, it shouldn't be all that noticeable.

    I just did a Google search for 'Di-Noc application tricks' and got quite a few responses - instructions and some videos.

    Good luck!

    Marshall

    P.S: Just had a thought which could help (don't know for sure). I was thinking that the actual process of cutting the shape of the panel out of the woodgrain roll might be problematic. Might be a good idea to have some stiff art paper to cut a pattern out. Do patterns for each panel on a side, Flip them over for the other side.
     
  3. customcruiserfan

    customcruiserfan Well-Known Member

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    Thanks, KK. Good input. Especially the template idea.
     
  4. ModelT1

    ModelT1 Still Lost in the 50's

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    What's the best way to apply wood grain siding?

    Ooops. I was about to tell you how I did the wood grain vinyl siding on our last house. But if you need to remove those galvanized nails it would leave lots of nasty holes. :slap:
     
  5. customcruiserfan

    customcruiserfan Well-Known Member

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    Marshall,

    Thought I'd post a couple of pics of the wood grain siding on my Olds. It turns out the GM pattern was actually very forgiving of the 1/4-1/2" wrap around, just as you thought. The continuity seems pretty good, or at least not as compromised as I feared it might be. The other side gets done later in the week.

    Thanks for your input! :2_thumbs_up_-_anima
     

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  6. Dewey Satellite

    Dewey Satellite New Member

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    Looks great!! (y)
     
  7. 90merc

    90merc Well-Known Member

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    ccfan, I have to ask where you sourced your woodgrain. It looks a lot like the correct pattern/color to match the original for your model and year. Looks great!
     
  8. mashaffer

    mashaffer New Member

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    A bit darker than original on my Colony but I bet it would look pretty good compared the the shards hanging on right now. :) Nice job. Also interested in what you used and from whence.

    mike
     
  9. customcruiserfan

    customcruiserfan Well-Known Member

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    I bought a 24"x80" piece of the original wood grain (year correct for Olds and Pontiac), mounted it, had it digitally photographed, then had a graphic artist clean up the image, find the repeatable pattern and extend it to the length of the car. Finding a print shop was a challenge, as was getting the color close to the original (everything came out with a green, somewhat milky tint, which was not at all the same as the original 3M translucent di-noc that allowed the car's color to come subtlely through the grain). So the color comes pretty close.
     
    Last edited: Jun 1, 2014
  10. 90merc

    90merc Well-Known Member

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    Thanks for the update. They did a really nice job! I have original Chevy di-noc from 1970 that I have had scanned into files in case I ever decide to re-wood. I have not had any of it printed yet, but would like to print a small sample at some point to get an idea of what it would look like on the wagon.
     

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