Paint to last the summer

[Canerodz]

I am picking up a new old canoe in a couple of weeks and the canvas filler, though patched in one spot, is not all THAT bad, but there's hardly any paint left. Interior is grungy looking layers of dark varnish, seats are good.

It will need some new wood, varnish replaced, and recanvasing before it will look like a swan again, but what can I paint this ugly duck with so that I can play with it for the summer and tear into it when the water turns hard? Do I need to use an expensive enamel, or is there something faster drying and still durable enough to protect the filler and be water-tight? Something that doesn't only come in prison gray would be cool.

Thanks for your help.

Brian

 

[Douglas Ingram]

If there are any cracks in the paint, try and get some sort of sealer on those, maybe some exterior paintable caulk.

As for paint, you can use any exterior enamel. Tremclad/Rust-O-leum works well.

 

[Canerodz]

As you can see, cracks in the paint are the least of my worries!

 

[Bill Mackey]

Tractor paint

I just recanvassed using TSC Tractor paint as suggested by members of the forum. The paint is $10 a quart and has hardners in it to give a beautiful gloss finish. Limited colors, based on tractor model, I would say you might try a John Deere green available at dealers or Tractor Supply center.Sand it down maybe a good undercoat and the enamel. Should get you through the summer.

 

[Douglas Ingram]

OK, so its a little more...but the same thing applies. Sand off the peeling paint and build it up with a few coats of new paint. Should last the season!

 

[Canerodz]

Thanks for the advice! Since it's just for the summer I may try to find a truly hideous color.

 

[Kathryn Klos]

See if they have "aluminum"...

 

[Canerodz]

See if they have "aluminum"...

BRILLIANT!!

 

[Canerodz]

I'm picking up the boat in the morning. I was just wondering, as I sit and drink my 2nd Corona, as long as the thing is up there on the car rack, could I judicously use the pressure washer at the coin-op car wash to remove the loose paint? Or would that really tear up the filler?

I wouldn't use the car wash here in town. I'd stop at some unsuspecting, annonymous town down state.

Brian

 

[Dave Wermuth]

Don't see why not

but you might need a step ladder to get up high. What's the worst that could happen? Don't use the car wash in Lapeer behind the Ford dealer. They've put it under surveillance since the yellow canoe incident. ha.

 

[Canerodz]

Well, it won't be going on the river for a while.
The canvas parted in a few places and almost entirely from below the rail on the drive home. Musta been literally just hanging by a thread. I probably paid too much, but it'll be great once it's done.

Anyone in northern Michigan want to help, offer encouragement whilst drinking a beer, or sell me some ribs, clinching nails, and planking just sing out!

I'll strip her naked tomorrow and have a better idea of prognosis. One area I know will need help is a 2 - 3 inch circular hole patched with a soft metal plate on the inside and something like oilcloth on the outside. The gentleman I bought this from said that it sure looked like someone dropped a window-weight anchor through the plank. Then the subject was rapidly changed. May be a story there, or maybe not.

The couple who had the canoe the last 30 years had some great stories they shared with me, and were just really nice folks. They were a little sad to see it go, but didn't want to restore it themselves. It was sorta like watching someone giving up a favorite dog they couldn't keep any longer.

Brian

 

[Canerodz]

Some images of progress

Bondo on ends. Good rack.

Bondo on other end. Heat gun & scraper took it off. Nasty beneath.

Hole from sash weight

W/Bondo

Tips

Seats aren't bad. Can you save them if they are really dry?

 

[Bill Mackey]

Ribs ???

How many ribs to replace otherwise it looks possible.

 

[Canerodz]

3 - 4 I can see now. Maybe more once I get the inside stripped.

 

[MikeCav]

If you are just painting for the fun of it this summer, before restoration, I'd like to suggest a slight modification to Kathy's aluminum paint job - I've always wanted to paint a canoe aluminimum, then paint in a slightly darker series of seam lines and rivets a la' Grumman!

You can do the rivets easily by spreading paint on a pallet (hunk of plywood covered with foil) and use a straw or concave end dowel of appropriate diameter as a stamp!

If you do it - post pictures. Even better - bring it to Assembly!

 

[Canerodz]

It was too far gone to put on the water before restoration. It is now officially a "Project" taking up much garage space once occupied by cars.

 

[Douglas Ingram]

It was too far gone to put on the water before restoration. It is now officially a "Project" taking up much garage space once occupied by cars.

I can't remember the last time I ever has garage space taken up by cars, what a waste of space THAT would be!

The canoe actually looks in pretty good condition. The planking, especially, looks good, compared to what I usually see.

 

[pklonowski]

No cars in the garage at my huse. It was a pre-nuptial agreement...

 

[Canerodz]

Yeah, but our mean annual snowfall is 160" here, and in 1996 - 97 we got 204".

A garage you can get your car and snow thrower in are really nice to have!