That is the question. Whether t'is nobler to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous varnish fumes or use some sort of teak or related oil.
I've heard both opinions on this forum but I haven't heard the reasons behind the opinions. What are they? I've been hanging around here long enough to realise I'm not going to get consensus (about a week)
So should I varnish, oil, caress or chant over the wood on my not-quite-yet-bought Traveller? Show your working
I think I might just use creosote. My cars always gonna be a bit of a heap.
We used to use yacht varnish on the old trav, looked really nice until the water got underneath it - then again we didn't really bother re-doing it for about 2.5 years
I'm sure there are better options than yacht varnish but as I understand it you'd need to strip off the varnish completely before applying the 'other stuff'. The downside of varnish is that it does need rubbing down and recoating or touching up every year. If you leave it 2 years then, as Dan also found out, it starts cracking or flaking off and water gets underneath.
Have a look through the Bodywork section of the forum as someone gave a specific product recommendation there recently.
i oiled my wood first, it protects the wood quite well
then jonathon pointed something out to me, while the oils are good for protecting the wood, they do not prevent road dirt from being absorbed into the timber, over time you will be left with discoloured wood.
the varnish is better in the sense it protects and road dirt getting in direct contact with the timber, downside is it does need to be looked after. I have been rubbing down and re-varnishing my timber every 6 months, i only takes a couple of hours and keeps it looking A1
Slight thread hijack here: any ideas how to remove the black stains once the wood's already become discoloured? It's one of the first things people say about my car whereas the wood's quite solid, unlike the door bottoms etc.!
And re-varnishing every 6 months? In Ireland? I'm guessing it's kept in a garage. Mine's not, and I'm too lazy to always find the time once a year, though the longer you leave it the bigger job it becomes I guess.
Oh and if Mr Moderator wanted to move this into the Bodywork section that'd be fine by me.
stig - its it ireland and if i don't look after it it will go downhill very quickly
i know 6 months is a bit much for most people but if you've been to ireland you'll understand, we get more than our fiar share of rain over here so its easier to stay on top of it.
i only did it again 2 weekends ago. the wife masked the car for me, about 40 mins, i rubbed it down with 400 grit sandpaper and applied 2 coats of varnish, all in all about 3 hours work, it took 5 with drying time included.
as for garage, i do keep it inside some of the time and outside the rest. its about 50/50 to be honest, i'd like to keep it inside all the time but the 67 saloon, 77 beetle, 87 vw t25 and a boat are all fighting for repairs so the traveller gets kicked out every now and again!!!
my website with all my pics is down so i can't show you.
as for removing stains, i know you can bleech them but i've never done it so i'll leave it to someone who has
I attacked my Traveller's woodwork almost two years ago now. Sanded down to bare timber using a small detail power sander, I think it was about £20 from Screwfix and uses the triangular sanding pads. Hand sanded where necessary. Removed rear lights, indicators and reflectors first.
Treated the whole lot with clear Cuprinol, really saturated it with the stuff. Also blocked off the rear sliding window horizontal rail drains and poured it in from above. Allowed the whole lot to dry over at least a week then treated with Burgess water based two pack. First coat is like a stain and really penetrates the wood and is a wonderful colour, second is a clear coating. It's "breathable" and doesn't crack or peel. In fact Burgess say that if there's any dampness in the timber the top coat dries "milky" but gradually clears as the water evaporates through the treatment.
It still looks as though it's just been done with no deterioration whatsoever after two winters use. Care is needed when fueling as the top coat doesn't like petrol, I've had to repaint a couple of times directly under the fuel filler after overfilling!!
Someone suggested an acid of some sort to treat the black bits, there's also some kind of bleach commercially available as well, can't remember whose recommendation it was or what it was.
Last edited by 57traveller on Tue May 30, 2006 4:07 pm, edited 2 times in total.
To bleach blackened wood, use wood bleach (from good diy/decorating stores- based on Oxalic acid, an organic acid) apply by brush, leave 30mins, then apply another coat and scrape off with a Scarsten type scraper (scaper with blade at 90deg to handle). I use clear cuprinol followed by Sikkens micro porous wood stain, some use Burgess, some varnish.
You have to regularly look after the wood, whatever you use, rub down as said above and re-apply. After a year, some of it outside, I'm going to rub the wood down and apply another coat of the sikkens cetol7 UV. It seems to work quite well.
Last edited by chickenjohn on Tue May 30, 2006 4:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
What you could do to help you decide which finish/protection to use on your traveller wood, is to look at other folks travellers in the local friendly branch and ask whether their car is garaged or kept outside etc. What they use, on the wood, how they apply it, decide if thats the finish you had in mind and decide on that basis.
Clear cuprinol is simply a wood preservative, not a varnish or stain. Its applied to the wood and left to dry thoroughly for several days to help prevent the wood from rotting. Use it under the stain or varnifh.
As for bleaching, a few more tips- scrape after bleaching along the direction of the grain, then sand smooth.
You may need to bleach a few times to get the wood really white.
Our car will be leaving outside permanently, but with a cover for any times when it's left unused for more than a couple of days.
I've been making notes comparing the cars I've seen, and the reason for asking the question was to build in to our budget any time and effort needed to apply the optimum protection.
It sounds like the best thing is a flexible breathable coating to allow the wood to breathe but keep out road grime - some wood-preserver followed by the twopack (if I make a joke here about Biggie Smalls will anybody get it? )
Varnish seems good for a nice finish, but needs care to stop water getting underneath. Does that sound fair?
I redid mine about a year ago, including removing the interior trim pieces, side glass, rear doors, and alloy panels from the doors. Removing the old varnish was a lot of work.
I chose to use the Sikkens Cetol HLS/Filter 7 products and I think it turned out well. the finish is not a shiny as varnish, but I think it will be easier to maintain, and I like the slight darker colouring agains the smoke grey paintwork.
It looks good after a year, but the traveller is mostly garaged. It does get driven in the rain though.
Yes thats what I used, the Sikkens two can system. It looks like the top coat needs touching up now, though, car has been used regularly over the last year- including time in the rain and used through the winter.
Filter 7 is UV resistant and is the top coat for the HLS.
I've got an ex UK traveller in need of restoration. I bought the car as it really only needed underneath welding done, and because the wood was generally ok and didn't need much doing to it. It was treated and varnished in Bath I think but it now needs redoing as its cracked etc - the usual.
But I was advised to completly strip the varnish off, by scraping it off with a piece of broken glass, sanding it down and treating it with Teak Oil or similar. I was advised against going down the varnish route, as the oil would allow the wood to breath and keep it waterproof. I also have to replace the two rear doors, which are fairly well gone, and get the bleaching stuff people were talking about to remove some black areas.
But again, is this the route I should be taking ? Is there a right way and a wrong way to strip the wood and treat it and is the oil the right way to go about it ????? I havn't started it yet, but intend to soon whenever I get the time.
I have two cars, the others a 62 saloon, and no garage. One car usually sits in a friends farm shed where its at least protected to some extent from the rain. Both cars have car covers to protect them too. But would the oil treatment be sufficient for the winter or is it a case of continually rubbing in the oil every second weekend or once a month to keep it in good conditon ???
Ian.
Gertie, 1962 Saloon, Milly, 1969 Traveller (ex APL 971H) and now KAS 1958 4 Door Saloon.
[img]http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t28/iandromiskin/DSC_0051-1.jpg[/img][img]http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t28/iandromiskin/Picture112.jpg[/img][img]http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t28/iandromiskin/Picture366.jpg[/img]
If you use one of the 2 part varnishes that are UV resistant it will last longer than yatch varnish especially if the car lives outside.
After rubbing down treat the wood with clear cuprinol it will pobably soak up quite a few coats, this soaks into the wood helping to preserve it long term, not so sure about using the oil as its Ash not Teak and its not going to look right, maybe someone on here can advise on the oil.
Cheers
Kevin
Lovejoy 1968 Smoke Grey Traveller (gone to a new home after13 years)
