Repairs to 1958 Wood Interior

[mello mike]

I'm going to keep the original interior in my '58 Overlander, which is in pretty good shape, overall. There are a few small areas on the curbside bed, however, that need repair (see pics). Where can I buy this thin wood to reface the bedframe? And for those who have worked with this era of wood, what kind of wood is in the interior? I have little to no experience with woodworking, so any help or tips would be appreciated.

[bredlo]

That's definitely called a veneer, and isn't found at the big box home stores. You need a really good lumberyard with a wide variety. Somebody else will chime in shortly with your particular species.

[bwaysteve]

Mike,Try veneersupplies.com

[bwaysteve]

Mike,The veneer is applied by leveling the area by sanding,clean the surface with light sanding to rough up,lay on the veneer overlapping the edges slightly with a contact cement,roll out with roller to get out the air bubbles.When dry you can file or rout the edges flush.Lightly sand with 600 or higher sandpaper ,clean with a tack rag and apply the finish of your choice.I plan to use Tung oil or Watco on mine as poly or shellac tend to yellow over time.TKasten did his 65 with mahogany red Watco and I think he has some pics posted.

[bwaysteve]

PS That looks like white oak.

[mello mike]

Thanks for the responses, Brad and Steve. I wonder if I'd be better off replacing all of the Veneer on this bed or doing a spot repair? What do you guys think? Just an FYI, I plan on sanding and lightly staining all of the Veneer in the Overlander.

[bwaysteve]

I have some 2x3 in. tears in the veneer so I will have to level with wood filler cut out evenly and drop in a patch.Then try to match the rest with stain ,then finish.See how this goes before replacing the whole sheet.It probably won't match perfectly,but we'll see.If you do the whole sheet it gives you the chance to get a really nice figued piece.In your case 1/4 sawn oak pattern with maybe some worm holes(that are not holes but ( imperfections in the wood) that stain out a little differently

[vswingfield]

The finish is pickled oak. A Google Search will give you lots of info about this finish. Airstream has been particularly fond of pickled finishes, the paneling in my Trade Wind is pickled. Pickling involves a pastel paint, usually and in this case white, applied thinly to let most of the grain show though. I'm not a fan of pickled finished, but at least it is thin and sands off. Then you can stain or finish clear as you like.

As far as trying to do a spot repair, that would be almost impossible. The older veneers had different grain than what is usually available today. Patching in a spot would only call attention to the difference.

The advice about the veneer is correct. However, the top layer that has broken off in your photos is not the same kind of veneer, but plywood that has delaminated. I have some of that myself. Plywood is made of layers of veneer with a good layer as the finished one. You will need to get thin plywood and apply your own veneer to replace the panels that have delaminated.

[Shacksman]

Originally Posted by mello mike

I'm going to keep the original interior in my '58 Overlander, which is in pretty good shape, overall. There are a few small areas on the curbside bed, however, that need repair (see pics). Where can I buy this thin wood to reface the bedframe? And for those who have worked with this era of wood, what kind of wood is in the interior? I have little to no experience with woodworking, so any help or tips would be appreciated.

I hade a 58 with that same finish. It was a complete paint job, done to look like oak. Try a little stripper on it and all the white comes off and leaves birch or mahogany base wood.

[Ganaraska]

I would try to keep as much of the original material as possible for originality's sake.
A spot repair with veneer or thin plywood should be all that is necessary then match the color with stain or paint.

You may have to experiment with some different mixtures of paints on scrap pieces to get a good color match. For the best match let the paint dry completely or dry it with a heat gun and compare under natural sunlight as well as artificial light, colors look different depending on the lighting.Get the best match you can then when you apply the paint blend it in by rubbing or smearing the paint into the surrounding area.

If you don't want to do it yourself any good paint store will have a computer matching machine that will analyse your color and provide the formula for a perfect color match. All you need to do is bring in a specimen of the old panel.

There is an art to it but if you take your time it will be so close no one will notice it.

There are some good videos on Youtube about repairing cabinets. Mobiltec or Canned Ham Productions has done a lot of trailer restoration videos. There is one series on restoring a 1958 Deville trailer that has several videos on cabinet repair around episode #15.

[mello mike]

Thanks, guys, for the excellent tips. Fixing this shouldn't be too hard, just need to get the right wood/veneer to repair the finish.

[BB 55 Bubble]

Local Cabinet shop may help with the addition of the veneer to the cabinet face. My local shop did on mine.