Well, I can confirm that the visibility of the woodgrain depends on the kind of protective cote they used:
If protecting wax (ceralacca) or a clear dope was used to protect the wood, the veneers is visible even from a long distance,
while if the wood was treated with a dope mixed with powder (a sort of putty) and then dyed the veneeer disappears and the result is a rather solid chocolate brown.
The restoration of the Balilla does not count here (I contributed to that restoration while in Turin), as it was more a renewal than a restoration/preservation.
I'm attaching some pictures of the SVA preserved at Vigna di Valle so that you can have an idea based on evidences
As for the Fokker wood wings, based on some high resolution photos that I inspected while in Vienna, I strongly support the idea that the wood veneer was visible under the dyed (green and red colourized dope), the way it is in the replicas built in vienna lately.
Hi nannolo!
In my life I came across restoration of the Ansaldo A.1 Balilla held in Bergamo, I remember well that woodgrain of the single wooden sheet that covering fuselage side disappeared under the coat of dark protective coating. When you stand up 2 metres away from the fuselage you can't see woodgrain.
So, in my opinion representing woodgrain in scale is a mistake. If you take "scaled" woodgrain (decals, etched etc.) and give them a 1:1 reality, I think there is no that kind of wood in nature.
On the other side, depends on the nature of the paint that mechanics used. Black crosses under red paint are visible, also in 1:1 you need 2/3 hands of paint to cover black with red. Albatros used a light combination of wood/protective covering so, and this will be my way if I will build one, no woodgrain visible under Jasta 11 red.
Sometimes I think that modelling was crossed with "artistic way of modelling" and visible woodgrains is one of the case. Of course, everyone of us can decide in freedom what "style" is good for his modelling, this is "my two cents".
Ciao!
Roberto