Original wood effect on Mk1 Ruby dashboard...

[andrew34ruby]

I opted not to do wood grain, but when I was intending woodgrain I looked at 'wrapping' but doubted the durability. Screws through the 'wrap' sounded dodgy.

The other traditional way is to scumble it. My grandad used to do this around 1900 and I've done a bit in the past. You just paint it a dull yellow or creamy colour, then when dry you brush scumble of, it's a darker, brownish colour and quit thick. Then use combs, brushes etc to stroke a wood grain on the surface. Finish with varnish.

[John Mason]

For my two pennyworth my MK1 March 1935 Ruby has the double facia dash and I didn’t realise that’s how it came from the factory until I read this thread.
.When I got the car both the tops of the door panels and the dash had a wood effect finish that was peeling off. At the time I thought it had been put on by a previous owner as it had the appearance of old sticky back plastic that with age had split and was peeling off beyond repair. After reading this thread I realise it could have been the original finish or a 1950s way of trying to make it look original. I will never know which. It was beyond repair so it had to come off.

John Mason.

[Ruairidh Dunford]

I think you had what can be seen in my photo above, beneath the handle, it has a very plastic-like appearance John.

Somebody, somewhere, will still have that in tact and I would very much like to see it please.

[GK5268]

Both my & my Uncle's Mk I's have the dashboard covers (1934 & 1936 respectively).

Underneath the patent plate on my car was a painted wood-grain finish, sort of darkish oak, unfortunately, I do not have a photo (that I can find), was not an inspring finish.

A link to the Cornwall website, my find was similar to this:

http://www.austin7.org/Technical%20Articles/Woodgrain/

When the time came to do mine, I did not feel competent to do a wood-grain paint-effect finish so I opted to do a vinyl-wrap finish mine using a wood-effective 3M as an economical and effective representation of an original type paint-effective, clearly not the same as the factory finish (and not like my original, which I thought was dreary), but fools most people looking at the car - the factory was fake & so is this!

I bought the 3M to do both cars, patience is needed to get a good fit, the 3M needs to be heated to follow the curves & contours - Uncle's now has a painted colour dash & door cappings...

   
Mine with the vinyl-wrap before fitting to my car 2014 - lots of different wood-effects are available



   
Dash of a supposedly "original" car (was for sale in NI about 10 years ago)



   
From an early Mk I, fairly unmolested car taken about 10 years ago, what the paint finish was is hard to tell...

[Ruairidh Dunford]

Very helpful and I now recall your original post on this Gary - thank you.

[Bruce Nicholls]

Lots of kit available if you feel like a go though.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_osaca...e&_sacat=0

[Mike Costigan]

Looking at that photo of the Northern Ireland car, I reckon that finish was screen-printed onto the flat sheet before the panel was pressed, so it's unlikely you will be able to reproduce it exactly. It looks like Gary has used a walnut wrap - I suggest you want to be looking at a dark oak or maybe rosewood finish to get your dark brown look.

[Nigel Ricardo]

In which case mine is Walnut not Mahogony as I used the 3M reference number Gary posted several years ago on the old forum

[Mike Costigan]

Lots to choose from, this is just one chart:


   

[Jamie]

I am not sure whether it adds anything helpful, but my 1935 Mk 1 Ruby has a painted dashboard and a separate, detachable fascia.

Jamie.