Canvas wrinkles!

[Howie]

I recanvassed and mudded a 16' Old Town, and today to my dismay I notice that wrinkles have appeared! I swear they weren't there when I applied the mud - honestly! Any ideas why they appeared? The canoe sat for about a week before I put the mud on - and it got much colder after I mudded. Would that have played a factor? And a more important question: any way of getting rid of the wrinkles save for redoing the whole project.

 

[Rollin Thurlow]

If you haven't trimmed the canvas yet, and assuming the filler is not cured yet, you can pull the tacks from the area and repull the canvas, only pull tighter! Remove the tacks from one rib at a time. You may only gain a fraction of an inch but it can make a huge difference.(or it may not)!

 

[Howie]

The wrinkles travel vertically, so to get rid of 'em I'd have to pull from the stem area. And of course this area is all tacked & trimmed. And add to this that the mud has likely 'set'. I'm really bummed. I just put an add on Craig's List to see if anybody would want it as is. Grrr.....

 

[Mark Adams]

I'd give it a little time. The first time I did a shellac bottom, I painted, then wet sanded, I got water on the unpainted portion, and the next day, I had wrinkles all over the bottom of the canoe. They faded out after a couple of weeks, and all is still good on the canoe.

 

[mccloud]

Howie, Your description of 'vertical wrinkles' sounds something like the problem I had, but not under the same circumstances. Do a search in these forums using 'peculiar filler cracking' as the search term to find my question. I posted a photo. In my case the filler had completely cured and had been sanded and primed before the vertical cracks appeared. I let the canoe sit and watched the cracks grow longer over several months. I say cracks, but they were really bludges only 1/4" wide but up to 12" long, with a crack running down the top. It was as if the entire canoe had shrunk in length by an inch, causing the hard filler to be pulled together until it had no place to go except upward! Eventually I agressively sanded all the cracks, then applied 4 - 5 coats of high fill primer until everything was smooth. I can't tell you the final outcome as the boat hasn't been painted yet. Tom McCloud

 

[Gil Cramer]

If it is not possible to pull the wrinkles out, let the filler dry 2 months until the weather warms; wet the inside thoroughly with warm water; and let it dry upside down in the sun. Who knows, it might work, and it certainly won't cost much.