Hello from the North Coast of Minnesota.
I’ve spent some time working on this beautiful Wenonah Echo. Installed new end caps. Used gelcoat to fill some small areas where glass cloth was showing. Scrubbed entire hull with coarse scrubbing pad and CLR solution. Cleaned inside well.
In looking at hull, I now see areas where cloth shows through, areas of tiny crosses( patterns in cloth?) usual deep and shallow scratches from use,chunks in bow ans stern needing filling…I’m wondering how to best remove surface with cracked areas. I can RO sand these but worry about screwing up the glass. I don’t want to chisel these areas out. I have the ability to use 1/8" router bit to remove .008" at a time This would give me the suggested new rough slots for filler…
I’d like to either repair to newish condition…or should I save myself the trouble and just use it til it leaks?
Your thoughts please?
enjoy your day
dennis b
If you can post some photos of the areas you feel need filling, it would be easier to try to answer your question.
You are not going to restore the worn gel coat of an old boat to newish condition short of re-gel coating the entire boat (after extensive sanding and filling any deep scratches and gouges) and re-gel coating is really not a cost effective option.
If the gel coat has become thinned, sometimes the pattern of the weave of the underlying fabric will show through it and that is not a big deal. Wet sanding the hull with progressively finer grades of wet or dry sandpaper, down to 1500 or 2000 grit, then applying a polishing compound with an orbital buffer will often dramatically improve the appearance of oxidized and faded gel coat and might eliminate some superficial scratches.
If you want to make the canoe “prettier” than that, you can paint it but that will add weight and paint will get scratched off. An alternative to painting the entire hull is to just paint the bottom if most of the wear is there. Prop the hull upright on a flat surface and mark off a 3 or 4" waterline using a small stick of the appropriate length.
I would look into a two part paint.
Afternoon ,
The scratches/ grooves are probably from a rocky river…I’m remembering a river from Raquette Lake through to Forked Lake in '86. Gouged the hell out of my little walleye boat. Scratches from vacations past!
I don’t think I want the boat “pretty”. Just better cared for. It has beautiful lines! Was out in it the other day to get a feel of it. Seems fine with just me, but the seating left a bit to be desired. Sliding and bending under my weight.
This coming Monday, I’ll wash it off with vinegar , then acetone, then I’ll apply some filler mixed with a little white gel coat. Apply to fill (not patching) and then sand and then the Wenonah stickers. I’ll pour some Bucher’s Floor Was overall.
I’m wondering what 2 part paint is?
good day
dennis
Marine polyurethane paints are typically one part or two part. Two part polyurethanes require a separate, clear curing agent which needs to be mixed with the colored agent at a fairly precise ratio to set the paint off.
Two part polyurethane paints are typically more durable than one part, but can be trickier to apply. Apart from needing to mix the curing agent with the colored component at the proper ratio, 2 part polys can be rather sensitive to environmental conditions (temperature and humidity) when applied. High humidity can cause “blooming” with a loss of surface gloss which can be patchy.