To Strip Or Not To Strip?

[shelldrake]

Hello Everyone,

I just purchased Canoeguy's Old Town 15' 50 # and I am in the strategizing mode. It will need a couple of new planks, at least two new ribs and new canvas. The rails, decks, stems and keel all appear solid.

I am trying to decide if the interior should be stripped. The varnish is quite thin, but not peeling, and there are no bare spots. I am willing to embark on the stripping process, but I'm not sure if it is necessary.

I have attempted to attach a couple of images to this message...hope it worked.

Any and all opinions are welcome.

Thanks very much.

 

[Mark Adams]

Twere it me, I'd strip it. You'll be replacing ribs and planking anyway, might as well go all the way and strip it down to bare wood and get a good buildup of varnish. I'd be hesitant to layer new varnish on top of the old anyway.

My .02 ( .005 after government taxes)

 

[michaelrandrews]

Strip Away

I had good success adding the new wood before I striped the canoe and used the wet stripping residue to smear into the new wood. This helped blend the new wood into the old. Came out very close you would have a hard time picking the old from the new.

 

[shelldrake]

Stripping

Thanks very much for your replies. Looks like I will be stripping this weekend!

 

[Brian DeRose]

Go all the way

I'm in the same canoe (boat) your in. I just bought a Molitar 17'.
i believe if you are going to be in it deep you might as well go into it depper. This is my first canoe project, I,m going to do it rite the first time. Some times the long way around is the shortest route. Good luck on your restoration. Here are a few pictures of my project.

Brian

 

[davelanthier]

I disagree!

I used to strip all my vintage restorations only to have people ask me where I bought the new canoe. Think of it like an old piece of furniture. If the factory varnish is good why would you want to remove the old patina that took years to form? Further, it is easier to stain and match replaced new wood to old when the original finish is still intact. Just soap and water wash the interior. While the interior is wet that is what it will look like with new varnish. Once dry give it a light but thorough sanding and 2 coats of varnish. A lot less work with superior results.

 

[ColinRowntree]

In for a penny, in for a pound. I would take the extra time to strip it down to wood, sand it (a lot), and then build it up with as many coats of varnish as you have time for. The downside of this is sanding the plank interiors with the grain between the ribs, but put some good music or talk radio on and think of it as a character building exercise.

Where the big challenge will hit is stripping, sanding and varnish multi-coating under the decks at each end. This would be a very good time to have an 8 year old son or nephew to crawl in there and do that part of it, but i've done it a several times and it's hard but doable with some patience and Ben Gay Cream on hand afterwards.

As for the totally inaccessible areas (at the very end of the planking and bottom of the deck at the stems), I just do my best to get it sanded and do just a few coats of varnish up there. As the paint crew foreman at the Cosby Boat Yard on Cape Cod always told me when a was a grunt worker there in the 1980s:
"Fly like a butterfly, sting like a bee, but you sure don't varnish what the owner can't see".

 

[David Satter]

So.. I do this for a living (a modest living) When a customer hears the extra cost of striping the old varnish, a lot of times it's a no don't strip. Unless it's peeling or in really bad shape we leave it and clean , sometimes light sanding and a fresh coat. If it was my personal canoe and I planned on keeping it I might strip it down.

 

[MGC]

I restore canoes "recreationally". It is not a business for me.
There are boats that I buy and sell without major work. These boats are generally newer ones (60 years or less) that only need what amounts to standard maintenance. I consider standard maintenance to include varnish, canvas and paint. If the interior is good and original these boats are the ones that I might consider refreshing without stripping.
Canoes that I have plans to keep that require a canvas that do not have a pristine original interior get stripped and then revarnished as part of my restoration process.
Many years ago, I made the mistake (hindsight is 20/20 as they say) of leaving an "original" finish in a Morris I recanvased. I say original but it was from a previous restoration. I pre-sanded it and put a few coats of varnish on it. It looked great...until a few years later when the varnish started to bubble. Regular use exposed the problem with putting new varnish over old varnish without knowing what was previously used.
I now lean towards stripping if the canvas is off. It removes any doubt about integrity, and it is also easier to color and wood match with a fresh interior.
Having said that, these are choices so do what makes sense to you.

 

[John Sand]

I haven't restored a canoe, but I have owned and repaired many wooden boats. My practice is to leave finishes that aren't failing.

 

[dtdcanoes]

I bet a comprehensive description of A FAILED SYSTEM would help here as it is the real key to the issue. Me, I strip, as I have never had a canoe that had a varnish issue that did not need several other things at issue. But I typically get the very much older boats to help.
Have fun in any event. Dave

 

[Dan Miller]

Just pointing out that the OP posted their question 15 years ago. I expect the canoe has been finished by now…. Or burned.

 

[John Sand]

That's far from certain.

 

[shelldrake]

Got a kick out of this......yup, I stripped and re-canvassed it along with several others and built an Atkinson Traveler since my original post 15 years ago.

Still have the 50 lb Old Town.

 

[ColinRowntree]

Here in New Hampshire, after 3 weeks of stripping off the thick ancient gray paint and sanding the interior of my 1936 Old Town, the first coat of varnish has begun. Once I get 6 coats of varnish on and paint the topsides deep green, target date for launch is May 1. Wish me luck!

 

[Worth Gretter]

Wow, that bare wood looks good! But we all know the effort it took to get there!