I mightn't have been clear, or I might have misunderstood your quoted post.<br /><br />I was talking about using jarrah or red gum timber, not the stains. The stains are crappo and never reproduce the true wood colour, let alone the beauty of the real woods.
Yeah, just clear coat it.<br /><br />Sand it down to about 400, maybe 800 grit, and it should show the colour nicely with a tight grain that'll take a clear coat with no filler required to give a smooth finish.<br /><br />If you're unsure what it'll look like clear coated, you can get a rough idea by finishing the sanding and then wiping a rag wet with water over it.
If you're happy with it, why give a stuff what anyone else thinks? It's your motor. Only the purists who restore to factory specs are going to care.<br /><br />The decals on mine aren't factory or anything like what the factory was putting out at the time, and probably not before or since. Didn't alter the fact that it got a bit of positive attention on its first outing in new paint and decals over Easter from the ramp watchers. And if they didn't like it the could have got royally stuffed for all I care. I like it.
Talk about the ying and the yang! A hearty tanned extrovert from the sunny land Downunder and most likely a sickly pale PNW introvert from the land of perpetual clouds. That's a combo for ya!<br /><br />Tengals, keep up the good work. It's fun to follow a perfectionist. I'm anxious to see how the 'sacrelege' of your deck mod comes out. Will your new windshield now be a 3 panel?
