Surface decorated wooden article and process of forming same

Claim 1

IN A WOODEN ARTICLE COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF SUBSTANTIALLY CONTINUOUS WOOD FIBERS WHICH ARE GENERALLY PARALLEL TO EACH OTHER AND TO THE DECORATED OUTSIDE SURFACE OF THE ARTICLE, AN IMPROVED DECORAED MOLDED SURFACE FORMED OF A SURFACE LAYER OF DENSIFIED AND DEFORMED BUT SUBSTANTIALLY UNBROKEN FIBERS OF AND INTEGRAL WITH THE WOODEN ARTICLE BONDED ONLY BY THOSE RESINOUS BINDERS NATURALLY PRESENT IN THE WOODEN ARTICLE, SAID MOLDED SURFACE BEING DEFINED BY PERMANENTLY DENSIFIED AND DEFORMED AREAS THAT ARE LOCKED IN BY SAID NATURALLY PRESENT RESINOUS BINDERS WHICH HAVE BEEN MODIFIED BY HEATING AT A TEMPERATURE IN THE RANGE BETWEEN 570* AND 620*F. TO RENDER THE SAME STABLE IN SHAPE AND DIMENSIONS DURING EXTENDED EXPOSURE TO MOISTURE AND ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS, SAID STABILITY IN SHAPE AND DIMENSIONS BEING SUCH THAT NO DISCERNIBLE DIFFERENCE OCCURS AS A RESULT OF SUBJECTING THE ARTICLE TO A SEVERE WEATHER TEST, THE SURFACE FIBERS BEING DENSER AND CLOSER TOGETHER THAN THE FIBERS IN THE NONDECORATED PORTION OF THE ARTICLE, SAID SURFACE FIBERS REMAINING SUBSTANTIALLY UNBROKEN AND GENERALLY FOLLOWING THE CONTOURS OF THE DECORATED SURFACE, THE FIBERS AT GREATER DISTANCES BENEATH THE DECORATED MOLDED SURFACE THAN THE DEPTH OF ANY DEPRESSION THEREIN BEING SUBSTANTIALLY UNDISTORTED AND GENERALLY PARALLEL TO EACH OTHER AND TO THE OUTSIDE SURFACE OF THE WOODEN ARTICLE.