Wood Grain

[fatherdevine]

I know there are many talented modelers here, so here is my problem! I am trying to use paint to replicate wood grain in a cars interior. I have tried testors wood with dry brushed rust paints, but I didn't like the way it turned out. I also tried mixing tamiya clear red, orange, and yellow hoping to make a clear "brown" to no avail. So I humble submit and ask the modeling gods "the secret" to creating wood grain. Thanks in advance for your help!

[wolfer]

HI while im gettin back into this stuff. i really dont know much but i have used 1 dark color then drybrushed chalk over it then dullcoat it worked for me JUST A THOUGHT good luck rob

[fatherdevine]

Thanks wolfer maybe I will give that a try!

[jbwelda]

heres a way to make pretty good looking "knotholes" in plastic that is done up like wood grain:

1. take your dremel or 1/8" or so drill bit and just grind down into the plastic in one spot to make a divot.

2. using a sharpie, put black ink down into that divot. apply and let dry for a minute a few times, maybe even,

with a fine point sharpie, make a "lagoon" sort of outline around the divot.

3. take a brush with some testors dullcote and working out from the divot that has been made black with sharpie, drag the brush with dullcoat on it outward from the divot. this should sort of smear the sharpie ink out of the divot, mixed with dullcoat. after doing this a couple times, take a larger flat brush and put a good amount of dullcoat on it and run it over it again. follow by drybrushing dullcoat and sharpie till it looks right.

the manipulation of the sharpie ink mixing with the dullcoat will make a pretty realistic knot hole. if it gets too messy just sand it down a bit and then do the sharpie/dullcoat thing again.

that brings me to how i simulate larger areas of wood and that is to build up some layers of different earth tones, brown, tan, even dark green, not being afraid of leaving brush marks, especially if they follow a lateral pattern. after that mess is dry i sand down through some layers while leaving other areas less sanded, then follow with the knotholes above, and finishing with an overall coat or two of dullcoat and then some dirt weathering.

but if youre doing fine work like real woodgrain in interiors my method might be too crude to get the result you need.

[VW Dave]

I figured I should recommend my favorite 'stupid easy' method....brown Sharpie marker. As interior panels aren't too big, it might be feasible.

My buddy Matt tried it on his '37 Ford truck's bed, and I say he got pretty decent results for nearly no effort:

The marker was used on bare plastic, and he reapplied it to some random areas to deepen the color.

[Gray Smith]

hmm now thats not a bad idea.....might have to try that....

[B_A_R]

FYI -- Microscale and other companies make woodgrain decals sheets in different hues.

Stuart

[fatherdevine]

Thanks, the sharpie idea sounds like the winner and it looks great in the picture. If all else fails then I will certainly use the microscale decals.

[Steve D.]

For those of you that just must make it themselves !!!!!!! , try this for some pretty realistic wood sheets . Start with a piece of Evergreen sheet styrene ( or Plastruct , or any other brand) usually sold in 6x12" sheets . Thickness depends on how "thick" you want the finished wood to be . Take a piece of extra coarse steel wool , which can be had fairly cheaply at any hardware store and use it to distress the plastic sheet . Of course be careful as steel wool can also do a number on skin . I always wear leather work gloves but I would think cloth work or garden gloves should be sufficient .

Use the steel wool along the legnth of the sheet , being fairly careful to maintain the flow of the "GRAIN" of the wood , gouge the plastic along its legnth . Remember , this is going to be the "woods grain" so what you are doing is putting tiny scratches in the plastic sheet .

Now the cool part , spray or air brush the sheet with a light tan or really light brown paint of your choosing , and let dry completely . When thoroughly dry make a wash of really dark brown and run it over the whole sheet , where it will settle into the scratches and produce a wood grain that is hard to beat . By manupilating the steel wool you can with practice make amazing knots and grain patterns .(burlwood ETC.)

One note , I will usually make my wash from a paint that will not react to the paint I used for my tan base color , ie I will use a water based acrylic over oil enamel or lacquer or vice-versa .

The sheet can then either be clear coated or cut up into strips to use as wood planks ( use the wash for the edges of your "planks" ) If using for a pick-up bed or the like , try polished brass rod or strips between the "planks" for a really cool custom look .

I've used this technique on some 37 Ford pick-ups I built a while back , and I can say it stands the test of time !

HOPE THIS HELPS..... Take care and see you around the clubhouse ,

Steve D.

[jbwelda]

that sounds like a winner steve and i especially want to try some planking with the brass trim!

thanks!

[cruz]

WOW Steve!!!! I will be giving that a try

[Lyle Willits]

Many years ago, I learned something about woodgraining, by accident. Wood is NOT brown,,,,,,wood IS yellow with various shades of browns in it. Even the darker woods like mahogany or cherrywood have a light colored base with dark browns and red-browns in it. I always start woodgraining by painting the piece yellow or a medium to light tan. Then, with various shades of darker colors, you paint in the grains with a small brush and a light touch. I generally use water-based acrylic, i.e. Polly Scale paints. After you are happy with the look of the "wood", apply a few clear coats to bring the "wood" to life. Club members know that my moto is "Nothing looks more like wood than paint." I haven't tried Steve's method of scratching the plastic with steel wool, but that sounds like a great idea.

[Mike]

Here's the interior on my 69 Daytona. I base color Testors acryl "wood". After that I (mostly - some bristles still wet) dry brush with Tamiya nato brown using a ratty old brush so the grain is random. This is the result I get using the technique on the dash, center console, steering wheel and shifter. I hope this helps you.

[Andy Wyatt]

this is what I got the first time I tried Lyle's method (thanks again Lyle!)

[fatherdevine]

Thanks to all of you guys for the wonderful suggestions.

[Olle F]

Lots of great advice here, I might have to save this thread to my hard drive for reference. Here is another one (for darker woods like mahogany etc) that I haven't tried, but I have seen it used on 1:1 cars and you should be able to replicate it in 1:25 as well:

Brush or spray the base color. Take a piece of plexiglass and set it on fire. This will generate a black, "greasy" smoke. Hold your work piece at a safe distance over the burning plexiglass and let the smoke blacken it. Then use a stiff brush to create the wood grain in the smoke deposits, and airbrush some clear coat to protect it when you're done. I have also seen people use an acetylene torch (using acetylene only) on 1:1 cars to create a burly wood pattern.

[kustombuilder1]

I've got a unique way of doing it too. What I do, is start with a very light tan, or almond color Krylon enamel. After the color is solid, I let it cure until almost no smell is left in the paint. Then, I take some craft acrylic, usually something around a cocoa, or chocolate color, and dry brush the molded-in highlights of the woodgrain.

After several hours of letting the acrylic dry, I take actual MinWax stain for real wood, and apply it over the entire surface very lightly on the first coat.. I let this dry about 4 hours, and if it's not dark enough I give it another one. The solvents in the actual wood stain are cool enough they wont lift the enamel. Here's the result.:

[sak]

Have you try mebbe to take popsicle sticks and apply a one-step wood stain. Mebbe not practical for interior but I know it looks good for the bed of a truck.

[yenkosc]

Or another way that you can do it is just to use real wood. I hav done it many times using wood for dashes in old farm trucks and the wood in the bed. All you have to do is stain it before you put it in. You can usually find sheets of thin wood at hobby stores.

[carrucha]

Good tips everyone! Thanks!

carrucha

[MR BIGGS]

What I used on mine was the Model Masters decal woodgrain set, you get both shade's of wood and it looks like the real thing knots and all.

Good luck

Anthony R.

[Merkur XR4Ti]

I just got a woodgrain "decal" sheet from the Modelhaus, which they say should be used much like BMF. It's sticky on the back, not a water-slide decal, so you apply and trim just like BMF. I'll try it out and let you guys know how it works.

[santeras]

I generally just paint any woodgrain myself, as someone else said - it takes some practice but it's worth persevering just for the sense of satisfaction afterward!

For "standard" interior wood I use a dark Brown base (Humbrol Service Brown) then mix in some Flat White and paint some grain on with a small (read: tiny) brush. Then paint more grains over that with the original brown whilst its all still wet, this "blends" the grains you painted. For lighter woods just use differing shades of Brown or lighten the base colour with some flat pale yellow/sand for the lighter grains. If you want knotty wood simply add a few "blobs" of colour and paint the fine grains around them. The pic below is a GTX console I did recently...