1914 Firewall Finish

[sdbraverman]

I have a new unfinished cherry veneer firewall for my 1914. I bought some spar urethane to finish it, but I am wondering if I should give it a coat or two of cherry stain first. Looking at photos of other 14s, the firewall colors are all over the place. What is "authentic?"

[Rich Eagle]

You may have already seen these:
http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/708324/803315.html
http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/331880/369280.html
http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/50 ... 1230344663

[TWrenn]

Steve, I'm too lazy to click on Rich's links...but I'm willing to bet one or more will mention what I'm gonna mention...
get some Cherry stain from Laurel Mountain Forge. By and large, most consensus is it is as close to the original cherry stain
from "the day" I have it on two of my cars, eventually the '11 will "get the treatment", but not for a while. One little bottle
will do the job, and you WON'T need two coats either! Top the wood off with 4-6 coats of Polyurethane of your choice (satin or gloss), and you'll have a high end looking firewall.

[TRDxB2]

Some resent discussion suggest
Pratt & Lambert's Cherry Bark discontinued
https://mtfca.com/phpBB3/search.php?key ... mit=Search
Another one by TWrenn » Sat Jan 30, 2021 6:43 pm
I don't remember anything about MinWax stain, but I do know, and a huge consensus is, that Laural Mountain Forge Cherry stain is as close to original as about you can get. https://mtfca.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php? ... TT#p143284

[sdbraverman]

Thanks. i just placed an order for stain from Laurel Mountain Forge.

[Allan]

I can't imagine the factory messing with coats of stain before varnishing the firewalls. If you have cherry wood veneer, then you have cherry colour, and that will vary because timber varies. Old time varnishes are likely to have darkened the finish more than the clear urethanes available today, so that may be why some choose to apply cherry stain to cherrywood. I would be interested to know how colourfast any stains will be when applied to external surfaces subject to ultraviolet light. The non stained firewall on my chocolate van is considerably lighter on the outside than the inside, and this is quite noticeable underneath any brass fittings I may remove to polish.

Allan from down under.

[Bud Delong]

The color changes with the sun. New is almost bright red and old is blond!! Bud.

[Original Smith]

I think the original stain was water based, and you mixed the powder with water? I just used the Pratt & Lambert on a coil box, and ever though it is beautiful, I believe the Laurel Mountain Forge is closer to the original.

[Rich Bingham]

I believe you're right Larry. In the main, oil based stains depend on suspended pigment for their color. More efficient, powerful stains are water or alcohol soluble colorants. Personally I have never seen raw cherry wood with a remarkable color. In the day, the '13 and '14 cars were often referred to as "the red board Fords" indicating that the color was remarkable.

[R.V.Anderson]

Larry is right; LMF Cherry is closer to the original, but being alcohol based it is not as lightfast as the Pratt & Lambert oil based stain, making it, in my experience, a better choice for the firewall which will get a lot of sun. LMF Cherry is probably OK for wooden coilboxes though, as long as you keep the top up.

[It's Bill]

FWIW, I just went through this and experimented with both P&L cherry bark and LMF cherry stain. They are both great products, and in my humble opinion there is not a dime's worth of difference between the two if they are brought to the same level of color saturation. They do look different when in the bottle and can, but are very close after application - again with multiple coats. If anything, the LMF is slightly more red, the other is slightly less so. RV brings up a good point regarding color fastness, but the LMF website claims that their product withstands exposure to sunlight when used as guns took finishes. Who knows? To do a dash and coilbox, it would be wise to get 2 bottles of the LMF, you don't want to skimp. Cheers, Bill

[Brian D]

Just completed my 14 firewall, I was able to locate an unopen quart of P&L Cherry Bark Stain. Used very little.
I'll bring to Luray if anyone wants it $10.
I'd be afraid to ship.

SOLD

[sdbraverman]

Nex question: My original firewall is slotted at the steering column hole like Brian's, but the new firewall is not, requiring me to disassemble the steering column to put it back together. Which is correct?

[It's Bill]

Steven, if you wind up not cutting the slot, the only tricky thing you need to remove from the column is the little timing lever. The pitman arm needs to come off and then the column mountin bracket will just slide off which lets you pass the column through the firewall hole. I removed the timing lever at the workbench by carefully drilling out the pin which holds it in place, and then drilling and tapping the hole to accept a small screw to replace the pin. I used a button head screw that is tightened with a small Allen wrench. It looks for all the world like a rivet after it is in place. Cheers, Bill

[TWrenn]

Steve, if it aint too late, cut the slot in it! It'll look more "natural", plus, just makes it sooo much easier with that
column, you never know when you may have to take it out again down the road. Just my thoughts. Happy Easter!

[TWrenn]

LMF website claims that their product withstands exposure to sunlight when used as guns took finishes. Who knows?

Well, all I know is, my firewall in the picture was the first summer for it, it's been 5 years now, 8,000 miles later, and the firewall still looks identical. Trust me, it's gotten LOTS of sun on it! So I would say LMF is correct, it'll hold up under the sun. Just sayin!

[Bud Delong]

I don't know what was used on mine or when but when i removed a plaque on the dash it was a very bright red under it. I can only speak for the last 25 years but now my dash is blond?? Bud.

[sdbraverman]

Steve, if it aint too late, cut the slot in it! It'll look more "natural", plus, just makes it sooo much easier with that
column, you never know when you may have to take it out again down the road. Just my thoughts. Happy Easter!

Did they ever have the slot from the factory, or was that a later "fix?"

[jiminbartow]

That looks exactly like the stain that I applied to my Reginaphone Music Box when I restored it in 1982. It is coated in 6 coats of hand rubbed lacquer. The formula for the stain is 3 parts red mahogany and 1 part brown mahogany stain. Water based aniline stain is the best stain to use, as it gives a beautiful 3 dimensional appearance to the different levels of the wood grain. It comes in powdered form and each packet of powder is mixed with one quart of hot water. It can be obtained from Constantine’s (www.Constantines.com). You can apply it full strength for a darker color, or add water for a lighter color. Let it dry, then wipe with mineral spirits to see what it will look like coated with varnish or polyurethane. Jim Patrick

PS. As it was so long ago, the formula could be 3 parts brown magogany to 1 part red mahogany. Easy to make a small batch of both and try it on a scrap piece of cherry wood.

[Allan]

Others are waiting on the report re the slot in the firewall. Original or a later 'fix'?

Allan from down under.

[DanTreace]

According to John Regan post May 28, 2014:



“The steering column slot was factory item starting during 1912 year and continuing through 1914.”

[TWrenn]

Thanks Dan! I'm way behind on my posting!!
Fighting with a dying wash machine and the fun of researching a better new one!

[Brian D]

The Firewall had the slot in 13 & 14 however in 15 did not have cut out.