VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Body - Sheet Metal, Paint & Wood 1937 Window Garnish Paint Tips

I would like to repaint the faux wood finish on my 1937 Business Coupe and would like to hear of any painting tips others may have learned while refinishing their window garnish trim. My trim paint is not a 'wood grain' finish but more of a basic brown base with black 'grain' effects. I assume this was done using a paint brush with very coarse bristles.
Any tips or recommended websites is much appreciated!

My best guess is that a prior owner has refinished the trim using a technique like you have described. Based on everything I have seen on 1937 Chevy cars the original trim finish was a rolled on woodgrain pattern.

I expect that a search on "woodgraining" will give you quite a bit of information about this process.

This company advertises in G&D. They will sell you the materials to do the work yourself or they will refinish the trim for you.

http://www.woodgraining.com/

Painting window or door interior trim is one secret to freshening up a room with little cost or effort.

You might have existing trim that has become beaten-up, dinged, and discolored over the years. Or, as part of a remodeling project, you might have installed trim that is primed but unpainted.

In either case, the painting process is about the same.

http://www.hempshield.net

I think yours is like my 1936 but the black so called wood grain run in a slightly different direction, (take a look at photos of your model, mine run across, I think yours are lengthwise,) but the process is the same. First I sanded mine, as it was rust without paint at all. Next, I taped, blue masking tape, the area that faces the interior of the car the part that gets the wood grain. (The one inch or so that will be painted wood grained.) I spray painted semi-gloss black paint on the part that will face the body and on the "curve" that faces the window and upholstery. As soon as possible remove the tape and let dry. Next, I taped the black painted part using blue masking tape. Then sprayed two colors of brown paint at the same time (as I could not get the brown I liked; I made my own color to match the other original [faded] brown moldings in the car). As soon as possible remove masking tape. Next, I used a Chicken Feather, not the quill end but the soft end. I thinned (like what goes in an old ink pen) black paint. I dipped the thinned black paint onto the soft end of the feather and gently applied the wood like grains over the brown paint. I strongly suggest that you take several practice runs on scrap metal parts first so as to get your correct thinned black mix just right before trying on the real thing. Also, the correct pressure on the feather. It is a light touch. It is just not that hard to do as I found out. Good luck and practice.