SusieQ
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'62 Shasta Compact
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Post by SusieQ on Jul 21, 2014 11:07:38 GMT -8
Jannica, I've been playing around with the back panel of our Shasta compact and ran into the same polyurethane issue. That yellowish polyurethane seems to be what they put on everything back then. I've sanded a lot of Poly in my day, but nothing is tougher than this stuff. It simply won't come off unless you grind away most of the veneer. I played around yesterday with every variation I could think of to match the yellowish tint. Impossible. And my interior trim won't survive a heavy grinding to remove this yellowish finish. Which brings me to the big question: paint or don't paint. I'm surprised that is polyurethane. I wonder if the PO's did that somewhere through the years to brighten it up. Mine is somewhat dull and wiping it with alcohol takes off the dead stuff and brings it back to life. I'm trying to sand out scratch marks and some water marks but looks like they'll just be part of the charm. And it'll probably be amber and glowing when I'm finished, although not what I originally wanted. |
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nccamper
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1962 Forester- 1956 Shasta
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Post by nccamper on Jul 21, 2014 12:34:38 GMT -8
I'm surprised that is polyurethane. I wonder if the PO's did that somewhere through the years to brighten it up. Mine is somewhat dull and wiping it with alcohol takes off the dead stuff and brings it back to life. I'm trying to sand out scratch marks and some water marks but looks like they'll just be part of the charm. And it'll probably be amber and glowing when I'm finished, although not what I originally wanted. You're probably right. I tried alcohol, lacquer thinner, etc. nothing phases this stuff. Even sanding with 220 barely gets it off. 100 does the job but not without grinding. They should make bullet proof vests out of it. Amber seems the only real way to go since nobody has been able to come up with a mix that matches the older yellowish finish. I'm sure your camper will look great. I have one more idea to get through the mystery finish without grinding the walls paper thin. I'll keep you posted. |
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Post by vikx on Jul 22, 2014 22:22:42 GMT -8
We scrape the finish with a sharp plane blade, then re-coat. Restor A Finish may also help. I've used it often and it blends (melts the finish??) well. Not sure on the yellow but here's a can of walnut: www.homedepot.com/p/Howard-Restor-A-Finish-16-oz-Wood-Finish-Restorer-Walnut-RF4016/100199071I used Natural on Sundance (57 Shasta) and it matched pretty well. This stuff is for scratches and gouges, not a full on finish... And Amber shellac really does tie everything together. It's a bit shocking at first but grows on you... |
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nccamper
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Post by nccamper on Jul 23, 2014 5:23:45 GMT -8
We scrape the finish with a sharp plane blade, then re-coat. Restor A Finish may also help. I've used it often and it blends (melts the finish??) well. Not sure on the yellow but here's a can of walnut: www.homedepot.com/p/Howard-Restor-A-Finish-16-oz-Wood-Finish-Restorer-Walnut-RF4016/100199071I used Natural on Sundance (57 Shasta) and it matched pretty well. This stuff is for scratches and gouges, not a full on finish... And Amber shellac really does tie everything together. It's a bit shocking at first but grows on Thanks for the recommendation. I'm on my way to Home Depot to buy Howard's restored-a-finish now. If it smoothed out all the scrapes, that would be something. (Photo) When end you say, "We scrape the finish with a sharp plane blade, then re-coat." Do you mean you use a stripper and scrape? Or useHoward's after dry scraping? I tried sanding the old panel that's coming out and using 2coats of amber. Where I intentionally did a reasonable (lighter) sanding the yellowish tint messed up the finish. Where I took off almost all the veneer, it looks fine. But taking off 1/3 of a 1/8 inch panel seems like a mistake. (Photo looks less blotchy than real world) I will keep you posted on results.   When you say We scrape the finish with a sharp plane blade |
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Post by bigbill on Jul 23, 2014 6:25:48 GMT -8
We have a 61 year old house and the boss decided to replace all the doors with solid six panel doors (every door including closets and all) and she wanted an exact match of the wood work so I ripped a small section from one off the old doors and took it to our local Sherwin Williams store left it with them and about three or four days later they called and I went in and piked up two gallon. Brought it home and finished all of the new doors, (sprayed them because I'm lazy) let them dry and reinstalled them with a perfect match to existing wood work. Moral of this story Momma very happy and she thinks I am so talented to be able to match the old wood work.  |
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Post by vikx on Jul 23, 2014 11:00:49 GMT -8
We scrape old dry shellac:  With a sharp plane blade:  It is the easiest way we've found to remove an old finish. Of course you sand and re-shellac.  |
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Hamlet
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Post by Hamlet on Jul 23, 2014 17:17:33 GMT -8
Jannica, I've been playing around with the back panel of our Shasta compact and ran into the same polyurethane issue. That yellowish polyurethane seems to be what they put on everything back then. I've sanded a lot of Poly in my day, but nothing is tougher than this stuff. It simply won't come off unless you grind away most of the veneer. I played around yesterday with every variation I could think of to match the yellowish tint. Impossible. And my interior trim won't survive a heavy grinding to remove this yellowish finish. Which brings me to the big question: paint or don't paint. I'm surprised that is polyurethane. I wonder if the PO's did that somewhere through the years to brighten it up. Mine is somewhat dull and wiping it with alcohol takes off the dead stuff and brings it back to life. I'm trying to sand out scratch marks and some water marks but looks like they'll just be part of the charm. And it'll probably be amber and glowing when I'm finished, although not what I originally wanted. Polyurethane was actually very common in old trailers. One thing that you can do is just to put new poly on the REST of the wood. Over several years, it will darken and yellow exactly the same way the original did. |
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nccamper
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Post by nccamper on Jul 24, 2014 11:58:40 GMT -8
Thanks for all the advice. Polyurethane is a pain. Poly mixed with a stain is even worse. Poly mixed with stain with water stains under it all is worse than worse. I'll keep trying.
My wife thinks the challenges of vintage campers are great because they keep me from ripping up the house. But she is getting tired of talking about stain, shellac and polyurethane;-)
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mobiltec
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1954 Jewel In Progress...
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Post by mobiltec on Jul 25, 2014 19:32:02 GMT -8
I feel so bad because I was just ready to start the testing for the tint for Ash. I can't be around fumes yet but as soon as I can I will get on that.
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nccamper
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Post by nccamper on Jul 26, 2014 4:53:29 GMT -8
I feel so bad because I was just ready to start the testing for the tint for Ash. I can't be around fumes yet but as soon as I can I will get on that. You should take it easy. Your eye comes first, campers second. Although I know you must be getting cabin fever. The yellowish tint is a pain, isn't it? As somebody suggested, I may take the closet door panel down to Sherwin Williams and see if they can match it. |
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mobiltec
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Post by mobiltec on Jul 26, 2014 5:29:52 GMT -8
I feel so bad because I was just ready to start the testing for the tint for Ash. I can't be around fumes yet but as soon as I can I will get on that. You should take it easy. Your eye comes first, campers second. Although I know you must be getting cabin fever. The yellowish tint is a pain, isn't it? As somebody suggested, I may take the closet door panel down to Sherwin Williams and see if they can match it. I tried that exact thing with no results. I even went to a couple of different stores. This color tint that I have is the last resort and I really think it will work. I just need to wait a bit longer so the eye heals. |
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