Staining new wood...more questions

[chris pearson]

So, I have some ribs bent over my old White canoe and ready to go in. I have cleaned and sanded the planking where the ribs will be installed. My though would be to add boiled linseed oil/turpintine to the planking, wait, then put a couple coats of varnish down, just in that area. Then, nail the ribs in place. I could then add the right dye/stain and not worry about it getting onto the adjacent planks. Question, is this overkill or can I just nail in the ribs and stain them somehow without getting stain on planking? Sorry if this topic was already beat to death.

 

[JClearwater]

As I sit here

watching the snow come down - 4" and still more coming down - I'll add my feeble thoughts. This is what I have done in the past.

Take one of the broken ribs you removed and clean it up, sand it etc. so it looks like one of the good ribs in the canoe. Give it a coat of varnish so it approximates what the canoe will look like finished. Then take a piece of new rib stock, sand it so it looks like your new bent ribs. Experiment with different stains on your new rib stock. While the stain is still wet it will approximate in color and shine what it will look like finished with varnish. You can compare it to the old broken rib with the varnish on until you get a decent match. Stained wood that is dry does not look the same varnished so I make my decisions while it is wet. You may never get an exact match but it will be close enough and will help avoid the glaring look of new riibs in a finished canoe.

I was able to stain new ribs in the canoe without slopping on the adjacent planking. I proceeded carefully using a brush to apply the stain and wiped off excess with a rag after it sat for a few minutes. Just don't slop it on with wreakless abandon.

My 2 cents worth. I'm sure others have done it different and maybe better.

Jim C.

 

[Mark Adams]

My catch all dye of choice is TransTint "Honey Amber". I stain the ribs out of the canoe after having matched the tones on a piece of scrap. After they are stained, I nail them in as normal, then touch up any areas that are showing new wood from the tacks. The dye is available thru Woodcraft.

 

[WoodNCanvas]

Not sure if this will exactly help but found this online and thought I'd share....great info on replacing ribs and varnishing:

http://canoeguybc.wordpress.com/2009/11/22/replacing-broken-ribs-in-a-wood-canvas-canoe/

http://canoeguybc.wordpress.com/2009/11/29/stripping-old-varnish-from-a-wood-canvas-canoe/

http://canoeguybc.wordpress.com/2009/03/08/varnishing-demystified/

 

[chris pearson]

Heres what I'm doing. I sanded the planking area after the rib was pulled. I then applied the boiled linseed oil/turpentine mixture. Waiting to apply a couple coats of varnish just in those areas. I will then tack in the ribs and stain after they are in. I can wipe off the extra stain off of the planking without worrying about it soaking into the wood. This is after experimenting with color matching the rib cut offs with the old pulled ribs. Overkill, maybe, but I think it will work ok.

 

[Jan Bloom]

Like Mark I prefer to use dyes rather than stains. Stains, to refresh everyones memory, are pigements suspended in a liguid solution of petroleum distilates. Pigments are opaque. That is why I like to use the transparent dyes. Many people say stain and mean dye which can lead to confusion. There are many good colors available in both with many brands and suppliers.

 

[chris pearson]

I'm using dye, just used "stain" as a verb!

 

[canoeguybc]

Staining new wood

I apply stain to new wood before any other treatment is applied (i.e. oil, shellac, varnish, etc.). I don't worry about getting stain on the original wood in the canoe because I am matching the stain with the colour of the original wood. I find it all comes out just fine and I am the only one who knows which wood is new and which is original.