Re: 1941 Packard Woodgraining - Take 1

Posted by Highlander160 On 2013/5/30 20:39:36

My applications are done in an artists method. I look at the pattern, some real wood like it, I "paint a picture" of it on the parts. So far, so good I think. That Clipper I posted was a 41. The original grain was a burled walnut with a straight grain on the main windows. My color is indeed more "fresh" and closer to what was never exposed to sunlight. One consideration seldom given to this whole topic, and that's the original substrates. They were cellulose lacquers and varnishes. If you were to hold up a glass jar of that stuff into some bright light it looks like beer. Very gold in it's make up and when exposed to UV rays it went green. To look at something 40, 50, 60, hell even 80 years later, can we really expect that it remained colorfast? Of course not.

Roger, the term "butt walnut" is in the Packard parts book as the grain listed for some of their parts. In later years it simply said walnut burl, and frankly even a butt walnut is a form of burl as well. The Butt Walnut was also used in some 32-3-4 Packards but it's rarely seen. From a veneer standpoint, the butt walnut looks as though it's taken from "the side of" the knots rather than across their faces. It's a handsome alternative to the usual burl. Lastly, the burl is walnut, the straight grain is the Packard "Carpathian Elm", not the other way around as is so commonly stated. Again, that according to the 30s parts book, not history book written post-Packard. As I said, I've been doing this since 1973 and developed my process over time. One of my brushes is over 40yrs old. I'm 3rd generation at this and will soon be advertising the craft to my fellow Packard owners. If you think YOU guys are picky, y'all ought to deal with early Ford guys! Just sayin...