Inside canoe refurbishment

[jaygolf]

I have read many of the threads regarding how to remove all varnish/lacquers from the inside of the canoes. I cannot remember if this option came up or not so I will ask.
Would it be possible to blast the interior with some sort of walnut hulls or other material specifically designed for such applications?

 

[Benson Gray]

Would it be possible to blast the interior with some sort of walnut hulls or other material specifically designed for such applications?

Yes, this is possible but cedar is so soft that you may not be happy with the results. It has been done but I don't know anyone who would consider doing it twice. I would encourage you to test it out on a discardable sample first.

Benson

 

[jaygolf]

I am not going against the experience. Thank you for the prompt answer, it appears I will be going the traditional route of remover/scraping.
Thanks again Benson.

 

[Michael Grace]

There's a reason the traditional approaches are still traditional. So often people try to reinvent some aspect (or all aspects!) of the process, despite good advice about tried and true approaches, even when people say they've compared options and came back to a traditional approach.

I'm currently stripping a 1922 cedar-canvas canoe that has been a bear to get fully clean, partly because the old multi-layered finish is very hard, far harder than the cedar underneath. Shell blasting enough to get the finish off would have been disastrous on the cedar.

 

[Benson Gray]

This topic has come up before as shown at the link below.

Benson

Post in thread 'Two unrelated questions.'

Feb 12, 2010

media blasting

In a word, DON'T DO IT. Once owned a beautiful Peterborough that the former owner had blasted, using walnut shell media if i remember - screwed the interior up and looked like driftwood. Glass, plastic, steel, nut shells, are all to aggressive at the psi you need to lift paint. It relieves the cedar like those house signs they make, with the raised wood and blasted backgrounds. Used to work for a blast company, if you dont believe me get some old cedar and give her a hit at about 60 or 70psi and you'll see the results. Soda will make an unbelievable mess, and doubt...

• Andre Cloutier