Canoe Sanding and Refinishing

[@Deino-1]

OMG! This is my canoe! I bought it 15 years ago at Quetico PP. It's been sitting in the sun since I had health problems (for about 10 yerars) so it's in terrible shape. All of the topcoat is gone. I'm hoping to restore it. Thanks for this video.

[@alexandergallard3624]

Repairing an Easy Rider right now and this is the perfect guide!!!

[@seahog32]

I just got a downriver racing kayak. Found one after don't know how many years. The hull is sound but heavily oxidized. It's carbon/kevlar weave and you said you can't sand kevlar. Why's that and what can be done then? TYI

[@frantz4318]

so if I understand correctly, there is no need to open wide a crack before repairing it? that will make my life easier, I'm about to restore an old fiber canoe. thanks for your video!

[@ElyresortBlogspot]

in most cases, you could put a patch on the outside and inside with some 8 ounce fiberglass cloth. Just make sure you sand with 80 grit paper and use West System epoxy. Polyester resin is complete crap.

[@frantz4318]

@@ElyresortBlogspot thanks a lot!

[@pamelahedderson8314]

Embarking on this ourselves on Labour Day weekend with our Souris River Prospector. Was a rental and has become oxidized. We want to give it some TLC. There is a bit of a dent on the underside - no cracks - but I wonder if we should do something about it to flatten it out before we give it a new epoxy coating?

[@ElyresortBlogspot]

Pamela Hedderson Generally, I would push the dent out but how that is done depends on how the dent was made. If it's just a sag between ribs because it's an old canoe, not much you can do about it. Refinishing will not help it hold a shape. It would have to be reinforced with either a piece of fiberglass or Kevlar and allowed to cure while pressured into the new position. Put the canoe on two saw horses off the ground. Sand dent area. Sweep dust. Get a piece of 8 ounce fiberglass cut to cover the dent. Make sandbag with a heavy duty bread bag. 10-15 lbs First, set it on the dent to see if it pushes it out. If not, you will need either much more weight or to build a leverage system with lumber. This is much more involved and I won't be describing it here. If sandbag(s) work, Brush resin on (inside of canoe) dent, lay fiberglass on top, wet out entirely with epoxy resin but don't have a puddle of resin, cover area with a sheet of plastic food film, put sandbags on top of wetted out, glassed, dent, and allow to cure for minimum six hours with no rain. Better if you could leave it curing for 24 hours to reset the dent really well. Remove sandbags and plastic sheet and it's ready to go.

[@wg6916]

I just got an older 16ft Algonquin square back canoe. Many, many spider cracks. Will this method be a good fix. Looks like previous owner figured just a paint job would do, however. Would I want to repaint also after applying what you talked about? Thanks, rookie so any advice would be much appreciated.

[@ElyresortBlogspot]

If it doesn't say "Souris River Canoe" on it (it doesn't), this will not fix it. That is a polyester or vinylester resin squarestern with gel coat. Gel coat is vinylester resin with silica sand and pigment added. It offer zero strength and is intended to protect fiberglass or kevlar fibers from abrasion. It scratches white regardless of color It's only other purpose is to make the canoe look shiny so somebody buys it. Gel coat spider-web cracks with impacts, hull flexing and age. It can be 1/16" to 1/4" thick and is brittle. There is no good way to fix that. As water gets into the cracks, some of it can come off in chunks. Sorry.

[@wg6916]

Thanks, but my bad. It's an Abitibi canoe, does that change anything?

[@wg6916]

A guy told me maybe a product called Interlux perfection might do the trick?

[@ElyresortBlogspot]

@@wg6916 Sorry, no.

[@UguysRnuts]

@@wg6916 I've used Perfection® on a fibreglass skiff and it worked beautifully, however it is a very thin and hard coating which shows every imperfection in the surface if not prepared thoroughly. Sanding should be done with a block to produce a flat surface free of the undulations a random orbital sander produces. Finger tip sanding should also be avoided. Perfection® is NOT for structural repairs! Hairline cracks need to be opened up with a Dremel, re-saturated with un-thickened epoxy, filled and faired with epoxy w/ microballoons, painted with epoxy primer all over using the "roll and tip" method, wet sanded with 220 paper and then roll and tipped with Perfection®. However, Perfection® is no longer sold in Canada. Interlux also make Awlgrip, but that needs to be special ordered and blended in what they refer to as a "kit". Epiphanes sell a two-part epoxy paint which is still available. One part polyurethanes will scratch off very easily if the canoe is used for tripping. Not recommended

[@lyf45mo]

Have you ever just used Marine Varnish? I want to refinish a Crozier raceing canoe that is slightly oxides,was going to buff it then put varnish.

[@ElyresortBlogspot]

That is an epoxy resin canoe. Buffing will do nothing. The toughest and most effective finish would be West System 207 special coatings hardener after sanding off the oxidation. All varnishes will last about 2 years and flake off unevenly when the UV wears them out. 207/105 will not.

[@lyf45mo]

@@ElyresortBlogspotSo the best would be to use a foam roller.Can the west epoxy be thinned?I have painter a crozier canoe with epoxy paint and a foam brush, but the paint does not stick very well on the nose and tail where it tends to get drug.

[@NikonF5user]

Did you put any type of UV varnish on top of the epoxy?

[@ElyresortBlogspot]

No. No matter what "they" say, in the capacity as a canoe, you really don't need a UV topcoat. Now, were this a boat with a beautiful wood deck that sits out in the sun and rain for six months at a crack, tied to a dock, then yes. For canoes, no. For Souris Rivers specifically (and not all other brands of kevlars), "double no" to the topcoat. These are not your ordinary, run of the mill Wenonahs, Bells (Northstar), Mad Rivers, Swifts, et al, kevlar canoes.

[@Deino-1]

Vital QUESTION: How much 105-207 will I need to recoat my Souris River 17' canoe?

[@raysanders332]

I think it should be 205.

[@judichristopher4604]

2:45 "Sweeping it off" is not enough... You really need to wipe it off really good.

[@ElyresortBlogspot]

No. Sweeping is fine. The proof is right there in the video.

[@frantz4318]

@@ElyresortBlogspot how's your canoe doing one year later?

[@ElyresortBlogspot]

@@frantz4318 I sold that canoe many years ago now. I've had the opportunity to see canoes which I had repaired 20+ years ago and every one of them is doing just fine. The key is the epoxy in the canoe and epoxy to repair. Polyester/vinylester resin is crap by comparison and also a lot cheaper to buy. You get what you pay for.

[@stevenrobinson6544]

Do you not think a mask is important for your health

[@freedombro6502]

Good video 📹

[@UguysRnuts]

Do you think so? Have you done much boat work?

[@freedombro6502]

@@UguysRnuts do you think so? Have you done much boat work ?

[@UguysRnuts]

Masking tape is overrated.