Anyone hydrodipped wood trim?

[Theodore]

Hydrodipping wood trim?

I think we’ve settled on Woodgrain; now I’m looking at options to restore the wood trim. Am looking for something as close to original as possible. Wraps I’ve seen are not close, plus have seen comments about issues with corners looking bad, lifting, etc. Our trim is sun-damaged with loss of color along the top edges, especially on the tailgate.

Saw an article last night that mentioned hydro-dipping with a link to a local company to the poster that uses film from TWN Industries at https://watertransferprinting.com

Searching the forum, i've found a few references to people mentioning hydrodipping wood trim, but none posted results either way, or which direction they went. Given the risk of detaching without rivets, i'm concerned about the long-term stickiness of replacement trim without the rivets to support it. I'm not necessarily against replacement, 3 factors weigh in: 1) pricey; 2) haven't been able to get a sample, so it feels like a leap of faith; & 3) have had experience with replacement molding not sticking well for the long-term. Fact is, i have an 92 S-10 in the driveway that we had painted ~15 years ago &
replaced the black body-side molding with what appeared to be quality after-market molding. After about 7 years, it detached creating a mess & that was straight line installation - no curves.

Wondering if anyone has had a good experience with hydrodipping their wood trim?

To compare, here's a pic of ours:


Looking on the site, I found quite a few samples that look like they’d work. I like the WTP-528 Golden-Brown.

WTP-528 Golden-Brown Wood Grain
https://watertransferprinting.com/shop/ ... ood-grain/


WTP-223 Red Oak
https://watertransferprinting.com/shop/ ... 3-red-oak/


WTP-220 Light Brown Straight Grain
https://watertransferprinting.com/shop/ ... ght-grain/


WTP-212 Light Oak
https://watertransferprinting.com/shop/ ... light-oak/


WTP-176 Golden Brown Wood Grain
https://watertransferprinting.com/shop/ ... ood-grain/


WTP-309 Light Oak


WTP-386 Oak Wood Grain

[Stuka]

I have not done it myself, so I cannot comment on the process or the longevity of it. I have seen it done on videos. It looks like it may be tricky to do with long trim pieces.

I have seen a waggy where the owner had the trim painted. Added a nice outline around the wood grain. Though in this case the Jeep was charcoal, and the trim was a really dark grey.

Interested to see how it turns out for you. I think the hardest part may be removing all the old vinyl from the current trim.

[Yeller]

I’ve played with it and it was original developed for gun stocks so it’s fairly durable.

[90wagmi]

How would the wood trim over the wheel wells appear after hydrodipping? The woodgrain in the OEM trim follows the curve of the wheel well as if the “wood” was shaped in a steam box. Is it even possible for a skilled artisan to replicate that look with hydrodipping?

The Wagonmaster trim has a similar steam box appearance but like you I am also hesitant about the longevity of the stick on replacement trim without rivets. A lot of the woodgrain wrap jobs that I saw online lack the steam box appearance. When the day comes I would prefer keep my trim affixed with rivets but have been wondering how to replicate the steam box look and have it look good at the same time.

[Theodore]

How would the wood trim over the wheel wells appear after hydrodipping? The woodgrain in the OEM trim follows the curve of the wheel well as if the “wood” was shaped in a steam box. Is it even possible for a skilled artisan to replicate that look with hydrodipping?

The Wagonmaster trim has a similar steam box appearance but like you I am also hesitant about the longevity of the stick on replacement trim without rivets. A lot of the woodgrain wrap jobs that I saw online lack the steam box appearance. When the day comes I would prefer keep my trim affixed with rivets but have been wondering how to replicate the steam box look and have it look good at the same time.

Great point; was out with my father-in-law this afternoon looking at the grain & the bentwood effect. I’ve got samples on the way & am planning on having the conversation with the Hydrodipper; gotta say, I’m leaning heavily toward replacement. Also, I noticed WagonMaster has pictures on the trim purchase page showing the use of gorilla super glue at the corners - looks like that’s the secret.