16 foot Skowhegan

[DavidK]

I picked up this 16 foot Skowhegan canoe today. It has "invisible sponsons" that bring it out to about 4o inches wide. I can't find a serial number on the stems. The decal is intact but hard to read under the old varnish.

Questions:
Is there somewhere else I should look for a number? Would the number tell me anything? I know the Skowhegan records are gone.

The varnish has a funky bumpy texture I want to call "alligator skin." I've never seen an alligator in real life. Not even sure they are bumpy like that. What do you guys call it? More importantly, what do I do about it? Light sanding and fresh varnish? Heat gun and total refresh?

The canvas is intact and no evidence of sagging, but lots of hairline cracking. Is there a filler primer I can use to reseal and protect what's there?

Thanks for any info and suggestions. -David

 

[Benson Gray]

Congratulations, this looks like a fun canoe. The serial numbers on a Skowhegan are often on the inside stem, up under those long decks. See https://www.wcha.org/forums/index.php?threads/791/ for more details. The bad news is that there are no known records available for Skowhegan so the number won't tell you much. The bumpy varnish not unusual. It is probably the result of spending too much time in a hot storage area. You can often reduce it with alcohol or a varnish remover. Most restorers will simply remove it completely and start over. A good water test may be your next step. If it doesn't leak too badly then you can use it while deciding how to proceed. A new coat of paint will often help with small leaks. If it leaks badly then a new canvas is typically the best solution. Attempts to repair a canvas that is past the useful life are usually frustrating and not very effective. Good luck and keep us posted,

Benson

 

[DavidK]

Thanks Benson. Very helpful, as always. : )

 

[DavidK]

Any suggestions on how to clean the old varnish off this decal without ruining it?
View attachment 52084

 

[MGC]

If I am not mistaken, Benson Grey recently mentioned that Rollin was able to rescue a precious old decal for him by carefully cleaning it with rubbing alcohol (?)
You should try searching this site for that post or perhaps consider sending a PM to Benson. Benson is really good at follow-up.
Or.....give the Maine menace a call.

As and aside, I recall looking at a very original Skowhegan within the last few years and I seem to recall that the finish on that boat looked exactly like yours.
This is a picture of the decal that the owner allowed me to have.
It would be interesting to see if Restor A Finish would do anything. For the price of a can it might be worth trying.

 

[Michael Grace]

David - Your best bet on the finish is chemistry rather than heat. You'll probably find that acetone or denatured alcohol will dissolve the lumpy finish and clean up the decal. Test in a hidden area to see how it works. On the decal, be very careful and go a little at a time with whatever you apply in case it might damage the decal. Acetone and denatured alcohol are available in big box stores. Fingernail polish remover is acetone. Denatured alcohol is just ethanol with added ingredients like acetone, methanol, benzene, isopropanol (rubbing alcohol) to make it toxic (not drinkable). Acetone and denatured alcohol are far cheaper than furniture refinishing products like Formby's Furniture Refinisher (which is mostly acetone, toluene and methanol) and Howard Restore-a-Finish (which is "petroleum distillates" with acetone and isopropanol). Just test a few products to see what works best. Note that instructions for the commercial furniture refinishing products say to apply with a cloth or steel wool. Avoid the steel wool or you may end up with black spots wherever bits of the steel wool get left in your finish.

I cleaned up a nice Lakefield racing canoe that had this same kind of lumpy finish. The canoe was in perfect mint condition other than the finish. Both acetone and denatured alcohol worked, and the canoe was stunning after smoothing out that old bumpy finish. There was a reason for cleaning up this canoe but otherwise I would have just left it alone. It was so beautiful just as it was (and to me, so is yours).

 

[DavidK]

Thank you, Michael, for your suggestion. Just as you say, I've been reluctant to start heating and scraping because I don''t want to scrape away the old patina. It's too lumpy to ignore. I'll experiment with some acetone.

 

[DavidK]

Thanks for your imput, MGC. I can't find the thread you mentioned but I get the concept. Nice decal. Here's one from a Jiffy Canoe Bracket.

 

[Benson Gray]

See https://www.wcha.org/forums/index.php?threads/18215/#post-94578 for a description of how Rollin rescued a decal on a canoe for me. I don't know the exact process that was used. He checks in here occasionally and may offer more details.

Benson

 

[DavidK]

Thanks Benson. It was helpful to read that discussion.

 

[Rollin Thurlow]

For Benson's boat all I did was very gently wipe the decal with denature alcohol on a cotton ball and try to stop before the alcohol started to effect the decal. I would wash off the alcohol almost as fast as I put it on, checking each time that it hadn't got into the decal yet.
As for the "alligator skin" I would call it " Time for chemical stripping". BUT using the chemical stripper on the inside of the canoe can cause real problems for the canvas. Some of the stripper will get between the planking seams, soak thru the canvas and blister the paint. I would not strip the inside until you were ready to recanvas.

 

[MGC]

all I did was very gently wipe the decal with denature alcohol on a cotton ball and try to stop before the alcohol started to effect the decal. I would wash off the alcohol almost as fast as I put it on, checking each time that it hadn't got into the decal yet.

You neglected to mention the most critical detail, holding your tongue just right and that it took you 40 plus years to learn that trick.

 

[DavidK]

As for the "alligator skin" I would call it " Time for chemical stripping". BUT using the chemical stripper on the inside of the canoe can cause real problems for the canvas. Some of the stripper will get between the planking seams, soak thru the canvas and blister the paint. I would not strip the inside until you were ready to recanvas.

Sounds like good advice, Rollin, thank you. I tried rubbing down the deck with generous amounts of acetone but I didn't get much effect.