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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / Wagon wood refinishing

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Posted By Discussion Topic: Wagon wood refinishing     alanwoodieman 12-08-2009 @ 5:22 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 868 Joined: Oct 2009 Hey if Cindy Crawford can have a big black mole on her face that they call a beauty mark then my old Ford can have a little history. I drive our wagon all over the place, drove on a tour that it rained off and on all day, after 17 years it will need a little attention this winter but drive them, that is what they were made for!! bigvince 12-06-2009 @ 10:40 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 60 Joined: Oct 2009 I spent the better part of last winter stripping the finish of my 48 Woodie. Someone had slapped polyurethayne on it with their lunch bag. I replaced the exterior wood panels - someone had put stained wood luon paneling in and I took the doors apart and put in replaced new mahogony. Five coats of spar varnish with sanding between each coat. The wood looks terrific. It does not have that glass surface like new furniture and I avoided the bleaching. Simply sanded the wood smooth and got most off the stains out. Frankly, it seems to be aging very well. Inside wood will not be stripped. Original mahagony door panels, door frame and overhead spars were cleaned with a 50/50 mix of mineral spirits and linseed oil and wiped clean. Lots of grime came off and the 60 year old patina is intact. The only frame wood I replaced was a 12 inch piece on the bottom of the right rear spar. I stained that and am very closed but you'll never math the original grain. Is is a 100 point Rouge Restoration - no. But I will drive it and it does get more stare than a new Corvette! trjford8 12-06-2009 @ 6:23 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 4214 Joined: Oct 2009 Woodies are like an old rolltop desk. You own them for the history of the old original wood. My desk has many blemish marks on it and this gives it character. An all new wood body has no character and no history. Old wood is good wood! Nick Alexander always tried to find the best original woodies and replaced only what was needed. This message was edited by trjford8 on 12-6-09 @ 6:25 PM Stroker 12-06-2009 @ 5:09 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1460 Joined: Oct 2009 42: I believe you have addressed the issue quite well. I joined the National Woodie Club back in the 70's after spending many summers refreshing Dad's 38 SW. If you are a "purest" I believe you try to save whatever you can. The biggest areas of concern are usually the lower corners where moisture can collect. As I have gotten older, and my woodie has gotten older, I think that there is a certain elegance to a slightly discolored dovetail joint. I know that thanks to the good folk at Wooden Carr's etc. that we can totally reproduce a wagon of any year. This is good, but I would encourage anyone who has an original woodie to keep as much as they can of the original car. 42wagon 12-06-2009 @ 4:51 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 584 Joined: Oct 2009 Alan & Parrish There have been books written about refinishing exterior wood, primarily boats. But then what is a station wagon except a boat out of water turned upside down. Now the point about UV exposure is well taken but the least of our problems with an old wagon. Assuming you need to replace some but not all of the framing wood there is a problem matching the original wood. If the car has been driven very much without regular touch up of the varnish there are water stains that will not be able to be completely removed. If you need to replace any of the plywood panels in a late 30s or prewar 40s wagon you will be confronted with trying to match gum wood plywood. So what do you do? First strip all of the old varnish. Use bleach to remove as much of the stains as possible. At least use the same species of wood for the replacement pieces. Then comes the tricky part, using various stains so the new wood approximates the color of the old. Then use a really good UV resistant marine spar varnish and plan to put on at least three or four or more coats. But the important thing to understand is that even with all this work unless you replace 100 percent of the wood you will still have the patina and distress of 65 plus years. And I think that is part of the charm of having one of these lovely old wagons and should not be completely hidden. Ted

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