creating wood panel look

I am working on this post.   There are actually a couple ways to do the paint part for this.  This is what I have found to be the cleanest.  

the other way is to just use brush strokes ande a very thin coat of paint to create grain running in different directions on each board.

How I made a sheet of aluminum laminate look like wood fencing or paneling:

A combination of things... It's on 3mm aluminum composite, 24"x24". I made the grooves by cutting through the first layer of alum and bent it back to open the surface. Then while bent back I sanded the edges of the opening so when it was flattened out a groove would remain. Then I painted it with two coats of Retique it, which is like a paint that contains microscopic wood particles. When the second coat was still wet I used a "graining" tool to create the patterns. Worked out pretty well with no practice. I had anticipated staining it but the light color works for a BQ I'm working on. Should be finished in a few days. 

Score a line parallel to the first edge, in this photo it's about 4" from the edge.  You are going to score all the "boards" before you do any bending.

Using a t-square or a straight edge, score the surface at the chosen mark.

Then repeat the cut until the black foam internal  material starts to show.

When you are cutting the aluminum you will feel a rough sensation. When you are thru to the foam core the cutting becomes smooth.  You don't have to cut very deep in this step.

Moving your panel to a sharp edge on your bench, apply pressure to cause the aluminum to START to bend.  Don't bend it very much.

First bend just enough to open the panel at the knife score.

Then sand the opening to create the groove between the "virtual" boards in the panel.

Repeat the process to cut a groove between each of your desired "boards.

Now you need to be careful that the panel doesn't get bent or folded at any of the grooves.  I epoxied 4" wide strips of the aluminum across the back of the panel. 

This is the panel with one coat of 

retique.

This is after the first coat of  Retique where I ran my knife down both sides of each groove to remove built-up paint.

Then I used a grain pattern tool (from big box store) and while the second coat of paint was wet I dragged the tool down each panel and it created the grain appearance.  Take a look at the retique website for more detail on application.  I'll add detail later. 

Thanks for bearing with me!