Stripping thick fiberglass from a 1940s cedar strip canoe. Advice?

[TN-25]

Greetings. I have an old cedar strip square stern canoe that my father had built for him right after WWII by an old boat builder in Orillia, Ontario. In the 1960s after knocking a small hole in the bottom of it, he plugged the small hole then used fiberglass mat & resin to cover the entire outside of the hull. All these years later the hull seems to be quite solid, but I really want to strip off all the thick, cloudy, lumpy resin and mat. The idea is to strip it right down, repair and refinish it. I am thinking restoration here. I have dad?s original 1950 Johnson TN-26 that has now been fully restored and would look perfect on the stern. Dad said it would plane with the 5-horse Johnson TN on the transom. He bought that motor to replace the 2? horse late 40s Johnson HD he originally ran.

I have tried using coarse sanding blocks but it is an endless chore that could take decades at the rate it is going. Should I try a torch and a scraper, chemical stripper, an orbital sander or something else? I do not want to damage the hull if I can help it. I don?t want to gouge it and I CERTAINLY don?t want to set it on fire.

The canoe has only been in the water less than a dozen times since the dawn of the 1970s and hasn?t been on the water since the early 1980s. When not in use it has been suspended inside a garage since about 1950.

Thank you in advance.

 

[jbcurt00]

Angle grinder w sanding discs. It will chew thru the glass. Many wood hull boats have glass and resin on them. I'd suggest you consider getting the hull's glass smooth and applying a new layer of glass and resin.

Any idea if its epoxy or polyester resin?

 

[ondarvr]

If he used epoxy it will bond very well and be tough to remove, if he used polyester resin (more likely), you may be able to just grab an edge and peel it off. Sometimes you can strip a boat this way in about 30 minutes.

 

[TN-25]

I just remember that strong fiberglass smell and dad rolling on the resin over that mat with a roller. It looks like I will have to chip away until I can grab an edge and hope for the best. The stuff is like a second fiberglass hull but it is milky and old now. I'm surprised by how light the canoe is despite the extra layers.

If I can ever get my way through this stuff I will then have to deal with fixing the puncture that was plugged with a small square plug. One day at a time I guess.

Thanks for the suggestions; I am open to more.

 

[gm280]

TN-25 I'm sure you could use an angle grinder and some flapper disks and cut through that resin fairly easy. The problem is that once you have removed all or most of the resin and fiberglass material, you will have a very wavy surface remaining that will take some serious effort to sand smooth and level contoured to the hull design. So however you go, you are in for some serious labor of love and lots of intrigue hand work. It can and has been done, but it will take some hand sanding and leveling to make it look appropriate again. A word of interest, think "long board sanding" using diagonal sanding techniques to get that smooth flowing look before reapplying any finish. JMHO!

 

[cedarlattice]

I do know that with epoxy you can use a paint stripper heat gun and a putty knife. It comes right off. Much safer than a torch. I don't know how well it would work with poly resin.

 

[Ned L]

I would NOT use an angle grinder!

You will itch forever afterwards, an the cedar is so soft compared to the glass that you will most likely end up with a surface about as smooth as the Rocky Mountains.
Early 1960's, and remembering the smell, it's got to be polyester resin. Polyester does not bond as well (as mentioned) so it may peel off. I would get a good heat gun and try heating & peeling. (Not a torch, polyester resin is very flammable.)
Beautiful cedar strip you have there, go slowly and carefully.

 

[Woodonglass]

I agree, NO grinder, Heat Gun and Stiff Blade Plastic Putty Knives. Gunna be a Tedious process. Scoring the surface with a razor knife and soaking with Boiling Hot water towels Might help as well.

 

[Ned L]

Hmm, ... can we no longer edit posts here???

I meant to say I wouldn't use an angle grinder with any sort for sanding disk, flapper wheel, etc, .. or any type of 'mechanical removal'.

We can edit only until someone posts after us???

 

[Woodonglass]

Ned you have approx. 1 hour to edit your post. After that it's locked down forever.

 

[Ned L]

Thanks WOG, ...... Learn new something every day!

 

[TN-25]

On these old cedar strip boats I guess they need to swell a bit with water before they are placed into service. Without the swelling you can see daylight between the strips of wood. Dad was telling me about the time he was taking the canoe off the top of his Biscayne back in the day. Some spectators saw daylight between the strips and decided they were going to wait around to witness the launch and sinking of the canoe. Remember that it has clear fiberglass on it. Dad put it in the water, loaded it up, mounted the motor, started it up and drove away. It wiped the smirk off their faces.

Speaking of swelling.... I injured my arm and it is swollen. I?ll go for X-rays today. Things will have to wait for the time being. Bah!

 

[gm280]

Oh No TN-25. Hope you didn't get a swollen arm working on the boat... You have to take care so you can finish your project... Be careful!

 

[TN-25]

I'm in a cast from bicep to palm. I broke my arm in a spectacular fall on wet grass. The face has some abrasions as well.You think at my age I would know how to walk and when not to run. It looks like things will be on hold for a few weeks at least. The trouble is in these parts summer is too short.

 

[gm280]

I'm in a cast from bicep to palm. I broke my arm in a spectacular fall on wet grass. The face has some abrasions as well.You think at my age I would know how to walk and when not to run. It looks like things will be on hold for a few weeks at least. The trouble is in these parts summer is too short.

Oh no TN-25. Sorry to hear that. I hope it isn't painful now with the cast in place. Now you seriously need to rest and let your body heal itself back to new again. So don't push doing anything you know you shouldn't be doing. Yes your project boat will take a set back, but it will be waiting for you when you are healed. So relax now and enjoy doing nothing. Dr's orders I'm sure...

 

[Willyclay]

Hope the healing process goes well. Good luck!