I have searched , and read the forum to find how to get that dark, aged, mahagony hue my canoe had before I stripped it. Can I use the double boiled linseed, shellac, then varnish? What brand shellac and varnish? The only thing I see is disagreement on what to use. At least there is light at the end of the tunnel as far as the stripping.
New Old finish
- Thread starter Albert
- Start date
pklonowski
Unrepentant Canoeist
I think a lot of the disagreement is due to people wanting different appearances when it's all done. I'll suggest taking a bunch of scraps of the same species, and trying different oil/stain/varnish/glaze combinations, and see what you like best. Experiment! Remember to do all the sanding on the test pieces just as you do on the actual boat parts, as surface prep is critical.
Post pictures! We like pictures!
Post pictures! We like pictures!
MGC
Scrapmaker
Albert,
Paul's advice is spot on.
Here is a "recipe" that Denis uses on BN's.
http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?6667-Morris-Stain-Formula&highlight=morris+stain
There are picture in the link that will let you see what color this results in.
Most canoes were finished with straight varnish. several builders (JH) used shellack as a base and BN colored the woods to a mahogany color.
In the Adks. I have located lot's of boats with a darker walnut stain.
Paul's advice is spot on.
Here is a "recipe" that Denis uses on BN's.
http://forums.wcha.org/showthread.php?6667-Morris-Stain-Formula&highlight=morris+stain
There are picture in the link that will let you see what color this results in.
Most canoes were finished with straight varnish. several builders (JH) used shellack as a base and BN colored the woods to a mahogany color.
In the Adks. I have located lot's of boats with a darker walnut stain.
Mark Adams
all wood nut
That nice aged color should come back as soon as you use a quality marine varnish on it. DO NOT use a water based finish! The depth the wood has when finished is a result of the cellulose becoming transparent. Water based finishes do not have that capability. If there is new wood in place, it will not have that wonderful depth old wood has. I use aniline dies to match colors, and do not use stains at all. The difference between a dye and a stain is that with a dye, the pigment is in solution, while with a stain, the pigment is in suspense.
I always slop linseed oil/ turpentine on the canoes I restore. It has been debated that the linseed oil will promote rot, and turn dark with age. Both may be true, but I have seen pieces of furniture from the 1700's that were finished with linseed oil and they were good. I could care less what my canoes look like in 400 years!
I would avoid coating with shellac prior to varnish. I use Z-spar Captains varnish, and am very happy with the results. (The price kind of sucks though!)
I always slop linseed oil/ turpentine on the canoes I restore. It has been debated that the linseed oil will promote rot, and turn dark with age. Both may be true, but I have seen pieces of furniture from the 1700's that were finished with linseed oil and they were good. I could care less what my canoes look like in 400 years!
I would avoid coating with shellac prior to varnish. I use Z-spar Captains varnish, and am very happy with the results. (The price kind of sucks though!)
It is a Richardson. It is not one continuous strip on each row. Each row is two strips. The Camper is 65lbs and 12". This is also a sailing canoe, albeit, all I have is the sailing thwart.
The finish has been mostly removed on the right side. I now understand why there are differing opinions on varnish/finishes after viewing the above link!
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http://wcha.org/pp-classifieds/showproduct.php?product=360&title=194516-27-old-town-yankee&cat=3
This is the shade that I'm looking for. What a beautiful canoe too.
This is the shade that I'm looking for. What a beautiful canoe too.
MGC
Scrapmaker
You will get pretty close to that with TSP, Nu Teak, several coats of good varnish and about 60 years of use.
You will need to decide if you use a high gloss as the last varnish coat (or not). That has a pronounced affect on the final appearance. High gloss does not give a real "vintage" look.
http://www.basspro.com/CRC-Nu-Teak-Teak-Oil/product/68253/39241 This? And Z Spar Captain's varnish?
