I think it is Bill Cosby who says When you hit 50 and enter a room, the first you do is look for a place to sit down.

I can't wait to sit down, especially when all the details at the end of this restoration are complete.

Beaverton Auto Upholstery. Sterling work. The stitiching. The way things line up. The details. Excellent.

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Back on Post #791 about engraving the VIN plates, I've been looking for ways to do this. I looked this weekend for a set of metal stamping numbers with an I(phonetically 'eye'), or a hyphen to make one in combination with a san serif I, without luck. On mine, barely discernible, the dealer and date were rubber stamped. So I was going to have a rubber stamp made for that and seal it with clear, and only metal stamp the number. But Packard used a serif I(eye) for the numeral 1, so continuing to look, and today will check with stamp manufacturers.

But an engraver, if they can stamp the number, or a trophy shop, that's probably a better option than trying to find a metal stamp set with serifs. And I fear that once I had it, I wouldn't be able to resist stamping all kinds of other things with it.

But just thought I would mention that perhaps those plates you have were rubber stamped, and the ink wore off over years of wiping off the cowl. Maybe.

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Thanks again. Will watch and pay attention this time. Also looks like I already did my test part.

Joe

Thanks, Evan. I'm getting it straight now. The paint store also filled me in.

They didn't know what blending paper is. I explained. Thought it was some kind of netting, a screen. But now I know and what's better, I HAVE it! (I had it in the kit. I thought it was for sanding the primer.)

When you roll over it, does the design bleed through? Does it just soften the edge? What is the function really? Is there a video that shows "This is what it looks like if you DON'T use 320 sandpaper." "Here's what the edges look like when you do?"

I also got some Meguiars Mirror Glaze Cleaner/Polish, which they recommended for use after sanding the clear urethane with 2000.

Thanks for your help with this.

JDee and Evan,
I'm going to get more basecoat today. I have the can of basecoat I used on the moulding to take which has: Dupont ChromaBase Y(drip)238K SpectraMaster Yellow

On my original instructions, probably from a phone call, I have:
PPG DX330
PPG NCP271 (I believe these are the primer and hardener)

Sand with 320

Dupont ChromaBase Base Coat, House of Kolor SG-100, Slow reducer

3 Coats House of Kolor UFC-35 Clear (the urethane)

Wet sand with 2000 grit
Buff to gloss

So is Y_238K the same as House of Kolor SG100?

One thing I seem to be missing is "blending paper." Not sure how I could have misplaced it, but I'm not sure what it looks like. Is it something common I can find at a paint shop? On my kit list, it says "4 assorted sizes"... do you reuse the blending paper each time?

In the meantime, I'll try looking at the video again.

WET SANDING MOULDING IN THE SHOWER I never learned multi-tasking until I found myself living alone. I don't go from the bedroom directly to the garage without picking up and dropping off a load of laundry now.

So yes, took my windshield moulding into the shower with some wet/dry 1200 this morning. Will get some 2000 today as instructed, but I didn't do a perfect job of spraying the urethane last night and there were bumps to remove. Also when I closed the garage door something showed up in the radar and it reversed itself. One of the wire hangers I attached to the door caught the metal sawhorse and dumped the half-dry moulding on the floor. But I was in experiment mode, so not that concerned, and I've said all along Reserving Judgement until final result.

Well guess what? Result PDG. If the window rubber shows up today, I'll stop by the shop and see how harmonious the color is with the interior taupe, the blackhawk gray and the upholstery. But at this moment, as many mistakes as I made, as much as I lack technique at this point (none, but getting better), the process is very forgiving. I know I can do a good job of this moving forward.

As you may remember, the reason for starting with the window moulding was at the request of the glass company. I don't think they need it, but in the interest of not frustrating them, I'll have it there. Then when they are done I'll either touch it up or redo the moulding as it is or with the LS120 lighter color. A pint of basecoat is not enough anyway, so I'll need more...not enough for a beginner, at least.

Hats off to you JDee and Evan.

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Thanks, Evan,
Here's what I have
Mottled Aspen plate
7175S 1 quart Basemaker Mid-Temp
1 pint of Chromabase YS238 (marked on can and on Grain-It invoice) Spectra Master

I have Light Brown Walnut Ink GC-4 and
Carpathian Elm Ink GC-3 (which you sent no charge to help get the color right)

So I will need new base coat paint LS-120, is that Lesonol instead of chromabase?

And Driftwood ink.

Now I'm going to suggest something contrary to the point of this entire discussion. I'm going to urethane the windshield moulding I woodgrained the other night. If it looks fabulous, and is harmonious with the rest of the interior, I may stay with it. If it looks like I need to do the whole thing over anyway, then I'd like to exchange by 2 inks for the Driftwood and I'll get the LS-120 basecoat paint and start over. I did some more sanding on the rest of the moulding, so I am priming them again tonight, so no big loss here.

I will keep you posted and when I set up to continue woodgraining, I'll send pix of my set up so you can advise.

Thanks, This is very helpful,
Joe

Very helpful, Evan and JDee.
My car was sold on announcement day, August 18 or 20, 1939. The original was identical to the black and white photo of the woman in the hat. The original dashboard was modified by the chauffeur of the original owner to install an instrument where the radio would go. A hole was cut in it. The mottled chocolate plastic was badly corroded except for a few knobs, probably from UV exposure. It's a convertible after all.

I had a 120 dash and had it painted a solid color and used that for years. No woodgrain.

My friend Vaughn found a complete 160 dash with excellent beige plastic. This apparently came from a car after the change to Sapele Mahogany. BUT TO ME it looked like the original woodgrain I remembered from 1960, so I thought that's what I should match. I remember calling about what to do after sending the picture of the replacement dash. As a result, my kit has a Mottled Aspen plate, which is correct for my car, Carpathian Elm and Light Walnut inks. Maybe I have two inks because we weren't sure at the time, so you sent an alternative.

Tonight I'll check the basecoat color. It should be LS120, I see that now, but I suspect I have YS227 instead. And I should have Driftwood ink instead of the other two.

Thanks so much for clearing this up. If I ever get to be a judge, I'll be dangerous.

JDee, That's cool, but it's the plastic for the 180s, not the 160s. The 160s have a few pieces of fluted plastic and of course the knobs and handles. I guess the mottled version didn't hold up well. Mine certainly didn't so I switched to plain on my 160. The dash in the photo of the woman with the hat is a 160 dash.
Now I've got to get back to work.

Joe

OD,
Be careful what you wish for. My only sibling lives in Maryland.

As far as getting it right, I ordered my wool carpet from SMS Fabrics. It is an amazing place. 40 years of accumulating fabrics from upholstery shops and distributors all over the country and Europe. They duplicate fabrics exactly, any pattern, and stamp out those 50s door panels that mix brocade fabric with silver thread, mylar and vinyl. Plus a huge library of original fabrics and interior combinations. Questions I have about the woodgrain are answered by people who have been supplying the hobby like this for decades. The nuances are fascinating. To find a supplier who knows this stuff and can put their finger on it or reproduce it like the plastic from Yesterday's Radio or Door Sills,well, I hope someone is handing this info down.

I'm really not a stickler for authenticity. It's just that I have limited funds and if I do it, and someone points out how incorrect it is because I didn't check it out or find a resource like SMS for fabrics, for instance, I can't afford to do it over. And knowing the right resources sometimes saves money and time. Like my trunk. The place that repaired it didn't know you could buy a new pan for a lot less than fixing my rusted out one.

Plus I really, really like the script hubcaps and was thrilled when Kanter decided to reproduce them. You see them in all the announcement pictures of 40s and the publicity photos, Rory Calhoun or whoever standing by his new 40 Packard with script hubcaps. As a creator and protector of brands, I can appreciate why the dealers didn't like that script on top of the hexagon. But I've always liked it and designed those boards in the 70s for us to display our cars that have the radiator shape and the script through the hexagon at the top. Several regions picked up on it.
Joe