Advice on stripping paint, new finish

[1935Packard]

My '35 1207 coupe roadster has a 1970s-era cosmetic restoration. When they did the resto back in '78, they took the interior surfaces that were wood or wood grain and just painted them the body color instead of actually restoring them back to the way they were. (I imagine them listening to the Doobie Brothers while doing this for some reason -- must be the year. Ah, the 70s.)

Anyway, I was thinking of stripping the paint and trying to go back to the original finish. I was particularly interested in doing this for the wood on the doors, as the paint there isn't in very good condition (and it's not near the part that should be woodgrain, which will be pretty costly to redo). Do you all have any particular ideas on how to go about it? Any particular finishes to use (or to avoid) to get as close as I can to the original look and finish? The car is a driver and I want to keep it a driver, but I do want to bring it back to as close as I can to the original look. Any help would be much appreciated.

[Guest imported_Speedster]

If they are Real wood, then there was probably a good reason they painted over them. (Poor condition) So if you take off the paint and find filled or discolored wood then you may have to repaint or replace them.

So first you need to remove them and determine the condition by looking at the back side. You may also be able to determine what the original paint was if they are metal, by looking at back side.

I have 2 '37s, both have metal garnish-moldings, one was painted wood-grain originally, but I think the other was painted a solid color.

For removing paint from metal parts, media-blasting is the fastest. Any type of chemical stripping is messy and takes a lot more time and work, but would be best for wood.

[tbirdman]

If you do the wood graining yourself it's not that expensive. You can buy woodgraining kits at Grain It. Then you can do wood graining for your friends!

Or youcan do what some people do to keep down cost, use wood grained contact paper

[Dave Mitchell]

The door trim on a 12 should be real wood, and in 35 was a clear straight grain, looks like a light mahogany or walnut in my car, and has silver inlay strips. In general the 12s used wood on the doors which was an upgrade over the wood grained metal moldings on the Super/Standard 8s. You should be able to use chemical striper to take off the paint and see what you have under there and proceed as you would with fine furniture refinishing. Be careful of the inlay as it is easy to dislodge them. I can send you photos of my sedan trim if it helps you. The dash on a 35 12 is very plain straight grain woodgrain on the metal dash board, much plainer than what was used in an 8, perhaps done to match the door trim. Dave Mitchell packard12s@hotmail.com

[1935Packard]

Thanks, Dave, I sent you an e-mail.

Well, so far, so good -- I took off one of the door moldings and stripped it, revealing what looks like a very nice mahogany. In very good shape, too. Unfortunately there is no inlay; I don't know if it was removed or if the wood is a replacement with just a groove cut into the wood where the inlay was.

[Guest imported_Speedster]

Dave, do you know what type metal the inlay was made from? Was it a silver alloy or something else?

[Guest imported_Speedster]

I've been checking around and someone local, that has a '36, says that he thinks the inlay is actually German-silver, which is an alloy of Zink, Copper, and Nickel.

That seems logical, since that's what was used to plate nearly all interior hardware, before WW2, and exterior parts before '29.

No one does German-silver plating in the USA anymore, altho it's still done in the UK and in Europe. You can buy it in blocks in the US tho.

[1935Packard]

Thanks, Speedster. I've been sanding down and prepping the wood, and i was actually wondering if i was going to bother with the inlay; seems like a big hassle. But I appreciate the info.

[Guest 1928Packard526]

Don't be afraid to work pieces of solid "German Silver" to fashion your inlays. I have no knowledge of how intricate your inlays might be, but I have some experience in working with the material. The alloy is mostly copper and just about as easy to work. It polishes up to have an appearance indistinguishable from good nickel plating.

I used it to fashion a cowl band from flat stock for my '28 Packard when no original or substitute could be found. I wrote a piece which appeared in "Skinned Knuckles" (Vol.30-No.4, Nov.2005, pg. 23) about just that project.

Because the copper content is so high in "German Silver", it will work harden just like pure copper, but is also easily annealed to restore its workability. I don't think that would be a serious problem with objects as small as an inlay.

Raw flat stock in several thicknesses is available from Restoration Supply Co. of Escondido CA, for one.