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I want to restore the wood grained dashboard of my 1941. I did a 33 Ford and it turned out great and hope to do the same job on this car as well. So, I went under the dash and looked carefully but I don't see any bolts holding it. Visited with my neighbor who works at a body shop and he says late 30s and early 40s were commonly welded on the body and they can not be removed. Anyone knows if this is the case for the Olds of this vintage? If that is the case, there is no way to restore the wood graining. Please comment. Thank you. Manuel
According to the 1941 Oldsmobile Master Parts List ;
Group 12.803 , COWL AND DASH ASSEMBLY .
It looks like your friend is right .
" Woodgraining " is really no dark art .
It consists of painting the article with a base coat . Then staining it with a rough brush . To give it the proper look .
Then finish with clear and sand and polish it .
Like this ;
According to the 1941 Oldsmobile Master Parts List ;
Group 12.803 , COWL AND DASH ASSEMBLY .....
Yes, the Olds Parts List states COWL AND DASH ASSEMBLY together, but could it be that they just list the 2 parts in one but they are not permanently joined together, welded? I could not verify elsewhere. Any one else can chime in? I doubt restorers have painted and woodgrained these dashes on the car. Too much hassle and will never be a really good job. Please comment. There must be some early 40s owner who has first hand experience on this issue. Thank you. Manuel
I have done one a 40 Chevy two-door sedan about 1/2 century ago, certainly no expert here. As I remember, I used a rather natural base color much lighter than the finished job and two different colors could be three of a heavy pigmented stains, One Quite a bit lighter than the other lightly layered over each other with a combination of tools(graining tools) and textured cloth (Burlap) and stiff brushes. These were oil base products and the time between coats is important . Too soon and you pull the layer beneath it away, too slow, and it's like you painted it a solid color. My advice is do some sample pieces with curves like a dashboard and window trim It's not really that hard, but I remember I made a bunch of mistakes till I got a technic figured out. I can't remember what clear I used, but I do remember that some clears darken quickly or start out quite amber and will change the finished look. Good luck...Tedd
Last edited by Tedd Thompson; Oct 17, 2021 at 05:00 PM.
Thank you for your comments Tedd. My question is about being able to remove the dash or not. If it is welded to the body it will be a lot more difficult. The specific steps for the woodgraining process don't concern me because I did one before and have the whole kit from a great company in Florida, Grain-It-Technologies, with tons of information for DIYs. Did you do your 1940 without removing the dashboard?
I was fortunate to speak with Curtis, the 1941 Technical Advisor at the National Antique Oldsmobile Club today. He assured me that the dashboard is removable. He says there are 3 large pan head screws hidden under the lower windshield garnish molding and there are 2 more, one on each end of the dash. He says it is really not a big job and he did two of them over the last years using the DIY kit for woodgraining that I mentioned before. I am encouraged and definitely this will be my Winter project.Manuel
