Subject: (restoration)
Date: Thu, 16 Aug 2001

Dear Doctor

I am restoring a 15 * 1957 Lyman. I have removed and stripped all the insides. I need to replace the foredeck cover (mahogany ply) and some other bits and pieces that are solid mahogany. The boat is still tight, because it had held water on the inside for the last 5 years, the reason for replacing some bits. Now here are my questions:

#1 Is there any way of getting the discolouring out of the wood that was immersed? I am assuming it is mold and mildew.

There are marine bleaching compounds that should remove the discoloration. I have used them in the past on old mahogany that I wanted to stain and re-varnish. They worked pretty well, and after re-staining the wood looked very nice. If the wood looked clean and good after the bleaching, then it would be possible to wipe in down with lacquer thinner (if going to coat with CPES) or mineral spirits if just going to varnish. The CPES and/or the varnish will darken the wood slightly and highlight the grain.

#2 What is the best way to protect it from the future ravages of sun and water?

A good coat of CPES and a polyurethane varnish, such as Interlux's Goldspar.

#3 Can you varnish over your CPES?

Oh yes, and many boaters do this. The CPES bonds with the wood and the varnish bonds with the CPES. This is especially true when a polyurethane varnish is used, since the urethanes bond particularly well with the epoxy.

#4 For filling the odd dry rot area that are not major, what do you recommend?

Well, we have our Fill-It Epoxy Filler, and that is a just off-white material. The other solution, if you want a wood-toned fill, is to mix a little of our Layup & Laminating Resin and add fine sawdust to thicken to a putty consistency. If you use this method, make it as smooth as possible while it's still pliable, because it's tough stuff to sand after it has cured. With either of these methods, you will get a continuos chemical bond from the CPES-treated wood to the surface. The fill will never pop out.

Thanks
Bill

Bill,

Come on back if you have additional questions. And have fun with the Lyman --
I've always admired those boats!

Doc