Protecting Decal

I am in the sanding phase on my 16' Old Town Canoe. Should I try to save the old decal on the bow deck or sand over it. Is is posible to get new decals?

Dave

If the decal looks like one shown at http://woodencanoe.org/catalog/index.php?cPath=95&osCsid=2e55f16a9d90c3574d6c21a24be10707 then replacements are available. I usually prefer original decals to replacements as shown at http://forums.wcha.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=6392&d=1225896293 for example. Can you supply a picture?

Benson

Best of both worlds for Decal Protection

Hi Dave,
Benson has great resources as I always watch for his input.
We are restoring a 1946 Old Town 13' sailing canoe. The deck's decal is in terrific shape yet the varnish (as the remainder of canoe) was stripped/sanded and new varnish is next step. In the interest of saving history, we have removed the 1946 deck, ducplicated it (oak) and will order new decal for the new deck (color appropriate).
As for the original deck? It is being put in a shadow box with a portion of the original canvas and paddle for display. Yes, we gotta have it both ways! Enjoy your restoration as you preserve history. b.a.hart in MI

Some people can do an amazing job of removing varnish while preserving a decal. The first image below shows the faint shadow of an early Old Town decal under many coats of grime etc. Rollin Thurlow was able to remove the junk and preserve most of the remaining decal as shown in the second image. It is still far short of the example shown in the third image but that decal was lost completely during the restoration process. Hopefully someone will find a better example of this decal some day and share a clear picture of it here.

Benson