Cleaning wood grain

share hints, tips and experiences
Post Reply
kayeselle
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Apr 21, 2005 6:25 pm

Cleaning wood grain

Post by kayeselle »

I have stripped a rudder blade which had had varnish, epoxy, paint and worst of all self polishing anti fouling on it. It is laminated with a thin veneer on the surface. Over significant areas the coatings had obviously failed/lifted and been removed and the last coat - the self polishing anti fouling (black) applied direct to the veneer. Most of the blade has stripped to a rescueable surface but the anti foul has got into the grain where applied to "raw" wood.
So far I have tried paint stripper, fine brass wire brush, fine wire wool, copious amounts of white spirit and judicious wood scrapping but that nasty black stuff is still in the grain.

All rescue suggestions welcome:

Is there a way to clean it ?
Is it possible for a reasonably competent DIYer to re-veneer at home ?
Any other ideas ?

Regards
Ken
User avatar
trebor
Posts: 961
Joined: Mon Jan 02, 2012 1:53 pm
Location: West Midlands

Re: Cleaning wood grain

Post by trebor »

Have you tried cellulose thinners ?
Wrap the blade in old rags soaked in thinners, then leave to sweat, (remember it is flammable).
Robert
Minisprint 4230
Tinker Traveller 160
Mirror 61147 Anastasia
http://www.aquabatdinghy.co.uk
Ian Malcolm
Posts: 51
Joined: Mon Mar 07, 2005 3:42 am
Location: United Kingdom

Re: Cleaning wood grain

Post by Ian Malcolm »

Most self polishing and eroding antifoulings use xylene as the thinners and are often colophony resin based. Try naptha, outdoors, away from naked flames and ALL other ignition sources.

However, even if you dissolve all the base resin the pigment and copper oxide biocide are likely to still be embedded in the wood grain. You could try and see if you can pick up the pigment out of the grain on sticky tape, but I suspect its a lost cause.

Naptha can be found in the pound shops as lighter fluid, but that's an expensive way of buying large quantities.
Ian Malcolm. London, ENGLAND. (FORUM REPLY PREFERRED)
ianm[at]the[dash]malcolms[dot]freeserve[dot]co[dot]uk
[at]=@, [dash]=- & [dot]=. *Warning* HTML & >32K emails --> NUL:
'Stingo' Albacore #1554 - 15' Early 60's, Uffa Fox designed,
All varnished hot moulded wooden racing dinghy.
kayeselle
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Apr 21, 2005 6:25 pm

Re: Cleaning wood grain

Post by kayeselle »

Thanks guys
I'll keep trying cleaning for a bit.
Any ideas on re-veneering if I finally give up hope of rescuing the original ?
chris
Posts: 2474
Joined: Sat Sep 18, 2004 7:43 pm
Location: somerset

Re: Cleaning wood grain

Post by chris »

A vacuum bag is good way for a non-flat surface.
Post Reply