curve. His process for creating these panels is different than that of
Chrysler Corp., which originally glued the veneer to the flat metal panels
and, after the glue dried, stamped the panels to shape. Bickford credits
this process with premature failure, so he has the panel shaped, then
applies the veneer.
To start, Bickford places the veneer panel, which is cut slightly larger
than the metal panel, on top of the metal panel and inserts the
components into a vacuum press for 24 hours. By doing so, he slowly
introduces the wood veneer to the compound shape it will need to adopt
from the metal panel, thus preventing wrinkles in the veneer. The veneer
and metal panel are not yet glued together in this step.
After the veneer has begun to take the shape of the curved metal
panel, Bickford removes the veneer and metal panel from the vacuum
press and prepares the metal panel for the epoxy that will bind the metal
panel and veneer. A 36-grit blue sanding disk is spun over the already-
shaped metal panel to rough its surface to help the epoxy adhere.
Once the panel has been sanded to an appropriate texture, Bickford
applies acetone to remove grease, silica from the disk and any other
contaminants that could prevent epoxy from adhering to the metal
panel. Three acetone rinses are liberally applied to ensure a clean
surface.
Acetone is liberally poured onto the steel panel three times to
eliminate any contaminants from the panel’s surface. The presence
of any contaminants can prevent the epoxy from adhering.