Cedar Strip Repair?

[sbartsch]

I have recently purchased a partially finished cedar strip canoe. The inside and outside of the hull have been glassed already. There is a patch(roughly 2 feet by 2 feet) on the outside of the hull where the epoxy didn't adhere well. The previous owner had removed the portion of glass. There was still some remnants of glass and epoxy so I had to sand down to the bare wood. I am wondering if I should stain the wood before applying new glass? The canoe is many years old so the rest of the wood has darkened considerably. I imagine if I don't stain the wood in the patch area then that section will be much lighter than the rest. Is this correct?

If so, can anyone recommend a stain?

Thanks,

Simon

[Glen Smith]

I think that would be useless. You would never be able to match the color and the color of the non-stained wood will change over time. You may as well just fix it and endure the color difference which will diminish over time.

[Moonman]

You can also try wetting the wood with a damp sponge. That will give you an idea of how much darker it will get with a new layer of glass and epoxy.

Moonman.

[sbartsch]

Thanks,

I had read the suggestion of staining if the wood(it is quite dark) had aged significantly. I think I will try wetting the patch and see how it looks.

Any other suggestions so that there isn't much contrast?

[wb9tpg]

Any other suggestions so that there isn't much contrast?

Wear sunglasses

[sbartsch]

Thanks for the suggestion Gary.

Another question I have for this restoration is about fibreglassing over the keel. This canoe has a keel that has been doweled during construction. It appears that the epoxy/glass didn't adhere well over the keel. Has anyone had luck glassing over a keel?

I am debating trying to remove the keel before glassing over the areas that need patching. Any thoughts?

Thanks again!

[Glen Smith]

Glassing over the keel will make it more complicated to repair later.
If the patching isn't in an area very close to the keel. you don't have to remove it, unless you don't want to keep the keel.

[cff]

As far as staining the wood goes you could let the freshly sanded wood sit in direct sunlight. That will age the wood nicely and you can regulate how much darkness you would like by adjusting the amount of exposure time.. It would be very easy to do a test sample and wet it out with water to see if it will match the already glassed pieces. I've done this numerous times to stain wood. Here is my transom from my rice lake skiff that I used a light mahogany veneer I made and stained it in direct sunlight to darken it.