Can uneven coloring caused by sun through floor boards be removed?

Howie

Howie

Wooden Canoe Maniac
I stripped my latest (1937 Old Town Otca) the other day, and yesterday I used TSP-PF to clean and Messmer's Part A & B to clean & brighten the wood. This canoe came with a removable floor board, and as you can see from the pics the outline of the floor boards caused by sun aging is still visible.
IMG_20161026_081916838.jpgIMG_20161026_081934003.jpg
Anyone have a suggestion as to how to make the aging differences less noticeable? I already did some light sanding, but that was to remove some crunchy old varnish prior to cleaning. I could easily apply Messmer's Part B again, but if it didn't remove the difference the 1st time why would the 2nd application do so? I also have some Te-Ka I could try. I've also got a bottle of '30 Seconds Outdoor Cleaner' (from Collier, with sodium hypochlorite 5%) I could try, but I fear that could be too harsh.
Any thoughts? This is the 1st canoe I've restored with a floor board so I haven't come across this problem before. Perhaps I'm being too picky...?
 
I'm no expert as I am only on my first canoe restoration but I would think the discolouration is part of your canoes history and age as it shows it had a floorboard and I would be inclined to leave it and make a floorboard ( if you don't still have it) to bring it back to original but used condition.

Regards

Alick ( furniture maker restorer for many years just getting into canoes.)www.woodencanoes.uk
 
Yup. On the other hand there's the desire to restore a canoe to close to its original condition. And there's always knowledge for knowledge sake: if I learn how to blend in the shades I'll be a bit smarter regardless of what I do! Thanks for the reply!
 
The other obvious option is to simply put the floor rack back in to hide the stripes as Alick suggested. I believe that you can bleach out the color differences but then you will have lost all of the wonderful original golden patina. It's your canoe...

Benson
 
Craig Johnson said:
Expose it to the sun enough and it may eventually even out.
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Yes you could always make a box to fit the line where the board was that takes a UV suntan light inside and leave it on for days to see if it evens out the colour..
Just thinking inside the box!

Cheers Alick
 
Right! It's a 1937. So all I need do is move the floor board sideways 1 1/2" so the once shaded areas now see the sun and let it bask for 80 years. Genius!
 
Just leave that floorboard out and I expect the discoloration will not be noticeable after a while. I've had that on new book shelves and as soon as I expose the covered area to light they begin to blend with the rest. Can't say how long. I've never made a study of it since it doesn't bother me.
 
Howie said:
Right! It's a 1937. So all I need do is move the floor board sideways 1 1/2" so the once shaded areas now see the sun and let it bask for 80 years. Genius!
Click to expand...

I was only partially kidding. I don't know for sure but I assume that when wood is is exposed to sunlight it does not continue to darken forever. I have some 100 year year old cherry that isn't any darker than 20 year old cherry. I believe that long exposure to intense sunlight might eventually even it out. Of course most of our wooden canoes spend most of their time out of direct sunlight. My experience has been that bleaching will not help. let us know if you find something that helps. good luck.
 
I like that - it is interesting... And it does make sense. And can't hurt. Of course I have no objective way to determine if it improves things, but hey - it's worth a try. Being in upstate NY we're not usually blessed with an abundance of sunshine - especially at this time of year. But I'll need to strip, clean & bleach the floor boards soon before we're snowed in. Might as well leave it in the canoe positioned a bit askew while it dries. Not that a few days will make a difference...
 
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