Removing resin from interior

Vik65

New Member
Hello all, brand new member here. I’ve got a 1946 old town project that I’ve taken on and at one point in this canoes life an owner has applied fiberglass resin to the interior and then painted over the resin. The resin isn’t on too thick but paint remover just turns it a little gummy and I tried the blue bear soy gel and nothing seems to cut thru the resin. Some of the ribs were not flush with the planking when this resin was applied because the resin has filled in that gap and there is a thin layer of underneath these ribs. Is there any other product I haven’t tried that will remove this resin without making a gummed up mess?
 

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There are some chemical strippers that will attack resins to some extent, though I am not aware of anything that will do it to the point that it becomes at all easy to remove. The best means to get rid of it would seem to be softening it as much as possible with a heat gun, then scraping off what will come off, followed by sanding. Not a task for the faint hearted.
 
If a customer brought the canoe to me, I would advise him to sell it as a decorator and find a better restoration candidate. If it were a family heirloom, I would take it to a professional stripper. Pros can still use methylene chloride based strippers which will likely remove polyester resin. Have him test a spot to make sure the resin will soften before having the entire canoe stripped. It will be expensive to have it stripped, probably over $800.
 
I just did a penn yan with a heat gun, what a rotten job:(. If you get most of it off and blend the colors with a thicker stain like Cabot's ,not too much just in spots. then use a satin or matte varnish it does come out with a nice old antique looking finish.
 
Patience has never been one of my virtues. Every time I use a heat gun , the wood gets burnt. Gremlins do it I'm sure. For some reason something always starts burning.
 
Gremlins do it I'm sure. For some reason something always starts burning.

Many years ago the Old Town Canoe Company would burn off old paint before repainting the outside of a canvas canoe. The same gremlins caused one too many flaming canvases. They decided to stop burning paint and would only paint canoes that they had recanvassed first.

Benson
 
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Patience has never been one of my virtues. Every time I use a heat gun , the wood gets burnt. Gremlins do it I'm sure. For some reason something always starts burning.

There are only two kinds of canoe shops. Those that have burnt, and those that are yet to burn.
 
Thanks fellas,
So I’ve found that if I scrape off the majority of the paint and resin and then use a heat gun on the remaining resin it will raise it up and it turns very brittle and sands off much easier. Tedious but it’s going to work out
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Just have to chime in here... This looks like a good opportunity to build character and develop patience. And yes, canoe builders often define their work by the terms, 'before' or 'after' the fire. Or pre-fire/post-fire. I've only had one fire. It was minor and resulted from singeing the canvas. I don't singe canvas anymore. =-}
 
wear a respirator when using that heat gun. And how many of us heat our shops with a wood stove, be careful, though nothing starts a fire in the stove better than a piece of ceder. ;)
 
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