Bobac455

My 1970 Cutlass needs a new plastic (chromed) bezel and of course new vinyl woodgrain. My question is how to stick the woodgrain to the plastic? The Parts Place in Illinois told me to get some spray glue and apply it carefully. I've used spray glue before and this vinyl is so thin I'm afraid I will ruin it by going too fast to beat the glue drying on me. Has anyone figured out a way to apply the vinly so you have time to smooth out the bubbles? I'm guessing I will have to mask off the gauge holes from the spray glue as well. What a pain. Is there a special product for this? Is there another way to do this?

jeffreyalman

I would think that you do it the same as laying formica.... only smaller scale:

apply the contact cement carefully to both surfaces, then lay pencils or something similar down 1st, then the vinyl. the contact cement will only stick to itself so you can position the vinyl and then remove the pencils 1 at a time as you smooth

if that does not work, I have a guy that I work with that redid the woodgrain on my steering wheel that is an experienced furniture refinisher and will do side jobs, if interested, let me know

his work (all corners were worn to silver)

Bobac455

Thanks Jeffrey. I thought about contact cement but it is thick and I'm not sure I can spread it evenly enough (same thickness everywhere on both surfaces that I don't wind up with lumps underneath that need to be flattened out. You know how contact cement works. Once it touches the other contact cement, you can't move it. Your idea of using pencils though is great. Perhaps if I use spray cement and the pencil trick, I can do a good job. Thanks

jeffreyalman

yeah probably the spray, as uncontrollable as it is would be easier than trying to spread that thick stuff with a brush

probably even this would work (I love this stuff)

Allan R

Actually the dash bezel woodgrain comes with it's own adhesive on the back so I don't know why they would tell you to glue it with something else. If you're replacing the bezel itself with a re-chromed plastic part, you may as well spring for the replacement wood grain-it comes pre cut and is a simple peel and paste.

The spray that Jeffrey is mentioning is really good stuff, but like he says it has a wide dispersal area. I found that you don't want to get this stuff on your fingers either, or you'll need a solvent to get it off.

70Post

The woodgrain is applied to a metal backer on the '70 cars. The metal backer piece is then glued to the plastic. Those vendors are apparently clueless or they are trying to sell you a less-than-complete setup.

Thus...there's no "trying to beat the glue and get the thin vinyl to stick to the plastic" deal here.

You need to get a good used woodgrain WITH THE FACTORY METAL BACKING PIECE. Then you can put the new woodgrain onto the metal piece at your own leisure.

Or---you can buy the vinyl already attached to a new metal piece from H&H Restorations of another place. But==sometimes the repros aren't cut correctly for the large guage holes in the bezel and you end up having to clearance them somewhat. That's why I suggest finding a good used ORIGINAL METAL PIECE if you can buy the vinyl separately.

Allan R

Patton,
Is that only for the 70 cars? I know that the dash woodgrain on the lower panel has a metal backer. Is it something like that? I have a replacement for my 72 gage cluster but it doesn't have a metal backing. I noticed that H&H changed a bit on their web page. Do they sell the same products as Fusicks, OPG and Parts Place?

70Post

Allan--I don't know 100%. I have a couple '70 metal-backed original "burled wood" woodgrain inserts I found over the years on '70 cars, in addition to the originals from my cars (I'm not vying to sell one here).

>1970: Definitely yes...any Cutlass, 442, etc that had the burled wood insert in the guage bezel had the metal backer. These are EXTREMELY COMMON and original poster here should be able to find one. Same thickness metal as the lower dash bezel piece...same woodgrain also.

>1971/2: I just don't know for sure. I have a woodgrain piece from a '71/2 upper guage bezel and I found it YEARS ago on a salvage car most likely. It isn't attached to a metal backer piece which leads me to believe Olds may have changed things after 1970 on this. Still, I can't be 100% sure as I got this piece MANY, MANY years ago and just can't remember the "details".

STILL---back to the original question----There is no reason he should have to worry about this as the '70's have the metal backer.

H&H--It's likely that Fusick sell some of H&H's stuff anyway. Parts Place...I think they probably had their own made over in Taiwan with the other stuff they make. Parts Place tends to make stuff on their own vs. buying wholesale from other vendore and then retailing it. Another example...H&H makes those brushed aluminum faceplate inserts for the AC and Heater Control chrome bezels in the lower dash. Parts Place makes their own version rather than buying it from H&H like some others may do.

H&H should be thought of as a small, specialized vendor....not a full line vendor that carries all the stuff you need to restore your Olds like Fusick, PPlace, etc. H&H was sort of the first people to just specialize in things like console and dash pieces. First, they came out with things like console insert woodgrains, etc. Then they expanded into other dash and console related items. As a specialist, I suspect they also wholesale to some of the larger, full line vendors. I remember when they started and people were pretty excited...especially since the woodgrains, before H&H, were pretty crappy in terms of really matching the original stuff. They definitely filled a void with their products as the detail was a lot better so the stuff got a lot of attention.

That's sort of the "evolution" of this whole repro parts business anyway. WAY BACK (in the 80's)......a lot of the stuff was marginal lookiing and didn't match up well to the original stuff in terms of looks and a lot of times, quality. That's the "first generation" repro stuff....but hey, they had to get the businesses started somehow and manufacturing costs were probably A LOT more prohibitive relative to today. I remember a buddy placing an order with Year One...did everything he was supposed to do...and the stuff just never showed up. Complete "radio silence".

I remember getting a call from a buddy here way back then. He had "THE WOODGRAIN STUFF!!!". We both are 1970 nuts anyway and he was really fired up to have obtained this "woodgrain". He gave me some and it was like we were in some sort of "blackmarket" operation to get this stuff!! Looking back (I think I still have it) at it the stuff was garbage compared to today. It was basically that cheap smooth paper with a burled wood pattern on it. I think we used something similar back in the '70's in junior high in our industrial arts class where one project was to build a small "section" of a house (about 4-5' long exterior walls, siding, and YES, I think we used that same cheap-*** paper that had woodgrain printed on it)
But, this stuff we had for the cars was SPECIAL...because it at least had the BURLED WALNUT pattern. WOOO HOOOO!!!

Again--a forewarning on the REPRO metal backers with vinyl for '70 cars---I have put these on factory (not repro) bezels and they required some filing of the metal holes for the guages to get them to fit into the FACTORY BEZEL.

Thus---if he can buy just the vinyl "burled walnut" looking piece and is using a FACTORY bezel, then he should probably find a factory metal backer.

Bobac455

Thanks everyone. I should have mentioned I've already bought the plastic bezel and vinyl woodgrain from the Parts Place. The vinyl definitely does not have a peel and stick backing. As I look at it up against the original bezel, the color is a shade darker but it fits their Taiwan piece perfectly. I noticed the woodgrain on the original (the bezel has "Made in USA" molded in on the back) is metal backed. Unfortunately the original bezel is trashed as far as the chrome goes and the metal backed woodgrain is coming up in a couple of places. It appears the metal backing is warped somehow. I may have to start over and find the metal backed woodgrain.
Thanks for the tips on The Parts Place. I can see from their bezel that it is thiner, more cheaply made and not an exact duplicate. I hadn't known about H&H or Fusick so that gives me more options.

By the way, I also have a spray can of Elmers Glue and mine specifically states that it is not recommended for vinyl or automotive headliners. That being said, mine does not say "multi purpose" on the label so it may be a lesser bonding glue.

stevengerard

I just replaced the chrome plastic bezel on my car and remounted the original metal backed wood grain. As you would suspect the original piece isn't perfect either - the holes for the gauges were stamped a little off center on my piece but that's how it came so I am ok with it. I used a pretty this adhesive

Allan R

Not sure, but that may be a result of aging. My experience with vinyl decals is they fade over time. Ever took an escutcheon plate off the woodgrain on the dash? Where the sun don't shine is the original color of the vinyl. I wouldn't dismiss the burlwood you got from PP too quickly as being the wrong shade. Good to hear it is a perfect fit; that's a quality control feature that speaks well of their production process.

Bobac455

I can't seem to find a web site URL for H&H . Does anyone have it? Thanks

Allan R

Yup, here ya go: http://www.hhclassicauto.com/