1940 Buick 51

September 2023 - Woodgraining dash and window trim

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I bought an excellent DIY faux woodgrain painting kit from Grain-It Technologies. I contacted them and they happened to have the exact burl walnut pattern for a 1940 Buick from taking photos of a good example from another customer. I was able to obtain a customized kit specific for 1940 Buick to reproduce the faux woodgrain finish on mine. I watched their helpful tutorial videos and was able to successfully recreate the original faux woodgrain finish on the dashboard and window trim on this Buick.

Following the established "art" that was common in the 1920s to 1950s, the general process for faux woodgraining metal is as follows:

  1. Strip the dash and trim to bare metal. Sand with 220 grit and then wipe off with a wax/grease remover.
  2. Apply a standard Rustoleum automotive primer enamel from a rattle spray can to the bare metal surfaces. Allow to dry.
  3. Apply Carapathan Elm basecoat color from a rattle spray can provided in kit. Allow to dry.
  4. Add Carapathan Elm graining compound to etched steel plate provided in kit, spread around with squeegee and then transfer to provided silicone roller.
  5. Roll the transferred pattern from the plate onto the dash or trim surface.
  6. Use provided sandpaper and magnet to mask off pattern before rolling on a new overlapping pattern. I found that this pattern is easy to overlap a little without any masking and just go back with a small paint brush to blend. Repeat the process until the entire surface is grained, and allow to dry for 24 hours.
  7. Take a paper towel and dab in the provided Carpathan Elm toner compound and then lightly dab and very gently wipe over the grained surface. Allow to dry for 24 hours.
  8. Apply any standard automotive clear coat enamel from a rattle spray can.
I have recorded a video of the entire process being done to the 1940 Buick dashboard. This dashboard is generally the same for all 1940 Buicks and not model specific. The graining step for the entire dash took me about 2 hours.

The front and rear window trim were also fully woodgrained. The trim around the door windows were only woodgrained in the lower portion below the stainless trim division bar as seen in the following photos. This matches how the factory painted the pieces.


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