PennYan Carry Restoration Project

[Gil Cramer]

Norm,
Email your USPS address to woodencanoeshop@yahoo.com and I'll send you two of the nuts you need. On most PY carry canoes the planking and ribs are both WRC. YES, ribs also. Soak the ribs for at least one day before bending. Some might still break.

 

[Gil Cramer]

Also, the screws are all Reed and Prince/Frearson. A phillips screwdriver messes them up in a hurry. Clean the slots with an awl or they are unusable.

 

[Norm Hein]

I spent many hours stripping the inside of it over the weekend with poor results. I was trying to be as environmentally safe as I could be so I used CITRUS STRIP. What a poor product. It reminds me of the new "environmentally safe" gas can spouts that causes you to spill a quart for every gallon you poor, or a toilet that you have to flush 2 or 3 times and waist more water than a good ole gully washer toilet. Sorry back on topic-so it took off most of the paint after the second
application but did not touch the under laying finish(s). Who ever had this before me must have been trying ideas out on this one. It has paint, varnish, stain and bare wood. By the look of the wood I think they tried stripping it with a power washer. Anyway I am going to use another type of stripper and see what happens. I'll have to search the forum and see what has been used with good results.

 

[Andre Cloutier]

modern strippers suck. i have tried various brands, to no avail. found half of an old can and was enough for the project i needed it for, and it bubbled up immediately. ah the good old days.

 

[samb]

Here in the UK it is impossible to buy decent stripper in shops. Several ebay sellers have fairly decent stuff. The ebay ads have strong warnings about the dangers and (without checking) insist that they can only sell it to professionals for business use. Its also often cheaper than the stuff that doesn't work.

 

[Norm Hein]

I saw this stripper posted in another post but I can't remember who suggested it. I thought I'd give the environment another chance and give it a shot. It's soybean based. It did not get completely down to the wood in all areas but I think that was my fault. I'm not putting enough on, I'm cheap and these removers are not, but I am impressed with it. So it will take another go around which is probably using more than it would if I really slopped it on the first time. I'm going to try the other kneeling thwart and I'll put it on good and thick.

 

[pklonowski]

Do you know how many coats of paint are on that?

I ask because I had to strip 9 coats off a canoe... the only stripper that went all the way down was the nasty stuff. I didn't try Blue Bear, but the three others would only tae one coat of at a time. That project's still waiting ...

 

[Norm Hein]

Paul,
I'm not sure but there are at least three different coatings, paint, varnish and some type of tinted varnish/stain. Its THICK.
I have a friend that does all sorts of sand blasting, even on antique furniture. He swears he can remove finishes with out hurting the wood even with thin wood laminates. After this one I may let him take a shot at it. I think it would be costly but so is this stripper stuff.

 

[pklonowski]

Well, that's at least two more coatings per application than the stuff I was using, so I'll look for it next time I need it... Thanks!

 

[Norm Hein]

So it didn't seem to matter that I put it on thicker, it's only going to go so deep I guess. I did get one thought the whole process, stripping, cleaning with TSP and used Teak-Nu on it. I'm happy with the results. Hats off to you guys that do this regularly, it's a lot of work. I may take a break after this one and try my hand at building new. I have plans for the Cheemaun.

 

[Gil Cramer]

Commercial strippers can still use methylene chloride stripper, but it has become more expensive. For many years I have used a commercial stripper for almost all canoes and boats. With MC strippers banned for consumer use, a commercial furniture stripper in your area might be an option.

 

[Norm Hein]

commercial furniture stripper in your area might be an option.

I will definitely look into it.

 

[Norm Hein]

If I get the process down, I'll shoot you a couple of my test pieces.

Well Paul I got them in the mail yesterday and I would say you got the process down completely. Perfect match.
Thanks,
Norm