Canoe restoration on the west coast

[Dan Lindberg]

Yes, it is a mess.
I usually take 3-4 days at 3-4 ft at a time. Once done with the stripper, then TPS and then Ke-Ka or similar.

 

[mmmalmberg]

Thanks Dan. Do you ever concern yourself with stripper remaining under the ribs? I'm slightly worried about possibly being detrimental over some period of time. Or maybe leaching into the canvas. If it's caustic, that wouldn't seem like a good thing...

 

[mmmalmberg]

Did a smaller section today, between thwarts. After the stripper sat 15 minutes, scrubbed it up with a brass brush, then covered it with sawdust and used a putty knife to work the slimey goo into the sawdust and remove it. After doing that pretty well, I brushed the area with paint thinner, covered that with sawdust and putty-knifed away whatever was left. THEN I flushed all the remaining sawdust with water.

This was much more reasonable. Also, comedy of errors, same time as I bought the stripper I dug out my old paint masks, went to a body shop and bought a new one as well as ordered cartridges for an old one in case I could get one of my sons to help out. Wore my new mask religiously yesterday. Today I happened to open the stripper before putting my mask on. To my surprise, it's absolutely odorless. Today I went maskless (I'm working outdoors in a breeze anyways...) Now I need to find something smelly to use my new masks for

 

[Dan Lindberg]

I never worried about it, I do spray the whole canoe with the hose, including under the ribs.

 

[monkitoucher]

I wouldn't:
Continually get things wet. The planking can start cupping on you. I do TSP and Te-Ka only after all of the stripping has been done.
Overuse or use wire brushes. They tend to gouge. I'll take a 4" putty knife and cut the sides off of it. This will give you a scraper that you can use to scrape the stripper off. Try to scrape with the grain always. That WRC is very very soft.
Sand, If you have to sand do it as a last resort to clean any spots of finish left on.

Don't worry about how much time it's taking you. It's going to take as long as it's going to take.

 

[Rollin Thurlow]

If your stripper is turning into a rubbery glob as you try to flush it clean with water, try using a heavy dose of dish washing detergent in the water as you scrub it. The stripper will wash right off without any problem!

 

[mmmalmberg]

I wouldn't:
Continually get things wet. The planking can start cupping on you. I do TSP and Te-Ka only after all of the stripping has been done.
Overuse or use wire brushes. They tend to gouge. I'll take a 4" putty knife and cut the sides off of it. This will give you a scraper that you can use to scrape the stripper off. Try to scrape with the grain always. That WRC is very very soft.
Sand, If you have to sand do it as a last resort to clean any spots of finish left on.

Don't worry about how much time it's taking you. It's going to take as long as it's going to take.

Thanks, yeah I have to balance between feeling like I'm not getting enough done and relaxing enough to enjoy it. Sawdust is working really well for binding up the rubbery glop. I am hosing out all the sawdust at the end, with the canoe upside down. This is just after I've brushed the whole thing with mineral oil and soaked that up also with sawdust, so I don't think it's absorbing too much water. I'll keep an eye on that though. I'm really loving the amount of color and age showing at this point so have been thinking of minimal sanding as needed to smooth out any raised grain and sawdust that's adhered, while avoiding revealing the ultimate lighter color of fresh wood beneath the surface.

 

[mmmalmberg]

What btw is the effect of the TSP on color etc.?

 

[MGC]

Very little in terms of appearance. It will help to clean up the film left by the stripper but it will not do much to restore the appearance of the wood. You need to follow with Teak-nu or something like it to really get things clean. It's amazing how much dirt and grime the Teak-nu removes even from a hull that looks pretty ready to varnish.
The hull you are working on would benefit from more stripper and bleaching. It will become very black looking if you varnish it now.
Here are a couple pictures of the same hull first stripped by someone who probably only used stripper and then after it was re-stripped, TSP'd and Teak-nu'd. Varnish will return it to it's proper golden color.

 

[Howie]

I use Dad's stripper. You may not be able to buy it locally, but I believe you can still mail order some. I bought some 4 gallons last year - and got it much cheaper than I used to get it for here. Here's one site I found:
https://store.southernpaintandsupply.com/dads-easy-spray-paint-stain-varnish-remover/

 

[mmmalmberg]

I use Dad's stripper. You may not be able to buy it locally, but I believe you can still mail order some. I bought some 4 gallons last year - and got it much cheaper than I used to get it for here. Here's one site I found:
https://store.southernpaintandsupply.com/dads-easy-spray-paint-stain-varnish-remover/

Thanks - of course not available in CA The stuff I'm using is ZAR http://www.ugl.com/ugl-brand/products/zar-paint-and-varnish-remover.php and it works fine. But it sure makes a sticky sludge! I think if I had hot soapy water it might wash out but I only have cold at the shop; sawdust is working well though.

 

[mmmalmberg]

Getting close to the tips but not quite. Maybe when I'm repairing the tips I'll have more access... I am, btw, going to go over the whole thing again lightly. Maybe with something that washes off better...

 

[mmmalmberg]

p.s. check out that nice vertical grain - all the planking is the same.

 

[Benson Gray]

p.s. check out that nice vertical grain - all the planking is the same.

This is one of the benefits of buying a whole railroad car full of red Western cedar at a time.

Benson