inverted chemical stripping

bradk

bradk

woodchuck
I have a W/C that was fairly recently recanvassed and otherwise restored by someone with obvious competence. The varnish has lifted, (bubbled), considerably on the planking only. Perhaps the intial coats were too viscous, or the planking too eager. The 'lifting' is so recent that the planking has not had a chance to significntly discolor under the blisters. The boat has been nearly properly maintained and stored, and is wonderful shape otherwise. The magnitude of the problem and the amount of varinsh over the blisters negates the thought of attacking each one of these blisters manually, therefore, I intend to:

A) Invert the boat and gingerly apply chemical stripper to the affected areas of the planking, avoiding the seams and ribs.
B) Mask off the ribs and whales and lightly blast the affected areas with a soda or corn medium. (realizing the surface left behind will be less than desireable)
C) ?

What happens when chemical stripper slinks its way between the seams and meets the canvas? The filler? If I am careful, and working upside down, can I get away with it?
 
Work quick

I stripped varnish on one canoe after a canvas-filler-paint job with no ill effects. The planking was tight on this canoe. I did small areas at a time with gel stripper, worked quickly, and let the gel work while the canoe was inverted.

I worried alot the whole time, especially when cleaning up the stripper residue, but noticed no problems with the filler or paint. Your mileage may vary. :eek:
 
I chemically stripped the interior of my canoe w/the original canvas intact. I used the same stripper on the outside too! I stripped multiple coats of stain varnish over the original finish. did not affect the canvas/filler.

When I was finished I applied two coats of boiled linseed oil thinned w/ turp. and put it away for the winter. The next spring I found (2) spots wherer the linseed soaked thru the filler leaving a stain but no other damage...

Your mileage may be significantly different.
 
I Had The Same Bubbling Problem After My First Refinishing Attempt On An Ot "hw". I Tried A Few Methods To Correct The Problem ("popping" The Bubbles W/ A Blade, Sanding, Revarnishing) This Went On For A Couple Of Years And Always Seemed To Occur After Using The Canoe ( Sometimes The Bubbles Would Vanish After Storage And Return After Its Next "bath"). I Finally Had An Old Timer Ask If I Had Used Urethane...i Had. He Said Stripping Was The Only Solution..he Believed That Urethane Over Spar Often Results In This Reaction. I Did Strip The Interior W/ Canvas On. I Tried To Be As "dry" As Possible, By Removing As Much "goo" Manually As Possible. RINSING W/ WET RAGS Etc. I Then Refinished W/ Spar Varnish Only. I Haven't Had A Bubble In 20 Years & Only Use Spar When Revarnishing.
Hope This Helps.
 
So this sounds to be a doable thing. If anyone has had a less than desireable experience, (relating to the canoe, not the laborer), applying these nasty,volatile, caustic, chemicals overhead, while squatting on the garage floor, and would like to talk me out of it, I'm open for conversation. Otherwise, I will begin explaining the procedure to my wife, who is far better suited for the job than I.
 
Brad,

I would try setting the canoe up just a tad over 90 degrees and the center of the hull at waist height. Mask off the lower half and strip the top half, wiping out frequently as you go. Get some dirt cheap kitchen trash bags and put your whole arm in wrapping the excess tight around your arm.

You won't have to get "under" the canoe while you strip and risk the obvious hazzards. I would try using "Dad's Sprayable" stripper and put it on with a brush. Dad's sprayable is much like a gel and after 15 minutes the old varnish would come off to bare wood with a plastic scraper. I've had better luck with Dad's than BIX or EZ on poly/oil based varnishes. No experience with old spar varnishes.

I did parts of my canoe this way and action of pulling the brush across the planks while the interior was vertical left a "heavy" edge at the plank seam. This seemed to help keep the stripper from crawling in between the planks.

Good luck,

DAve
 
DaveG is on the right path, set it, upright, on padded saw horses and the shape will allow you to lean it over. I used the cheap gelled stripper from Home Cheapo and had to strip most areas several times to get through all the finish, it won't soak through and you don't need to work like Michangelo.
 
Going to turn your wife into a stripper eh.Ive heard of such things. Let us all know how that plan works out OK.
 
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