3 ms·

Fake wood grain is one of the enduring mysteries, not only is it gross, tacky and objectively uglier than real wood, its not even any cheaper!

by throwaway2048 7y ago

rypskar 7y ago
I would guess it last longer, since it is a dead material. Wood shrinks and expands with humidity so can't be so tightly fitted
mc32 7y ago
I think the deal with a lot of those materials is that at the time they were seen as “new” and “modern” and “synthetic”. Kind of like when aluminum became a du jour metal and things traditionally made from other metals suddenly had to be made with aluminum —nowadays we think of aluminum as cheap and disposable (depending on application), but for s time it was the “Titanium” of its day, and the same for those other materials.
- mikestew 7y ago
  I was a kid in the 70s, but even at that tender age I thought the synthetic substitutes looked like shit. They didn’t look “new and modern”, they looked cheap and like someone was trying to make do with the economical alternative. So don’t be fooled by the brochures. We weren’t.
  - mc32 7y ago
    They didn’t have to appeal to everyone. I don’t think it’s much different from the novelty of “clear acrylic” telephones. What I really don’t get is how anyone would want this station wagons with the fake wood paneling and obtrusive fake trim on things like the Chevy fleetmaster. But I think it’s just one of those incomprehensible fads.
- smacktoward 7y ago
  Every generation has its periodic romances with novel materials. I suspect our great-grandchildren will look back on the 2010s' fondness for Alcantara with the same puzzled confusion as we look back on '70s fake wood and vinyl.
sokoloff 7y ago
Though it's not cheaper on a materials basis, it may very well be cheaper on a fully-installed basis on an automated assembly line.
Spooky23 7y ago
Our parents/grandparents had wood grain, we have recycled plastic “performance” T-shirts that sell for $125.

Fake wood grain is one of the enduring mysteries, not only is it gross, tacky and objectively uglier than real wood, its not even any cheaper!

rypskar 7y ago

I would guess it last longer, since it is a dead material. Wood shrinks and expands with humidity so can't be so tightly fitted

mc32 7y ago

I think the deal with a lot of those materials is that at the time they were seen as “new” and “modern” and “synthetic”. Kind of like when aluminum became a du jour metal and things traditionally made from other metals suddenly had to be made with aluminum —nowadays we think of aluminum as cheap and disposable (depending on application), but for s time it was the “Titanium” of its day, and the same for those other materials.

mikestew 7y ago
I was a kid in the 70s, but even at that tender age I thought the synthetic substitutes looked like shit. They didn’t look “new and modern”, they looked cheap and like someone was trying to make do with the economical alternative. So don’t be fooled by the brochures. We weren’t.
- mc32 7y ago
  They didn’t have to appeal to everyone. I don’t think it’s much different from the novelty of “clear acrylic” telephones. What I really don’t get is how anyone would want this station wagons with the fake wood paneling and obtrusive fake trim on things like the Chevy fleetmaster. But I think it’s just one of those incomprehensible fads.
smacktoward 7y ago
Every generation has its periodic romances with novel materials. I suspect our great-grandchildren will look back on the 2010s' fondness for Alcantara with the same puzzled confusion as we look back on '70s fake wood and vinyl.

sokoloff 7y ago

Though it's not cheaper on a materials basis, it may very well be cheaper on a fully-installed basis on an automated assembly line.

Spooky23 7y ago

Our parents/grandparents had wood grain, we have recycled plastic “performance” T-shirts that sell for $125.