Wood preservation

[Buick35]

Hi,On my 35 buick,I have the door panel removed to replace the window. With a lot of the wood exposed is there a preferred way to prevent any decay? It doesn't look too bad other than some splitting in a few areas.Wood sealer,paint or just leave it?Thanks

[pont35cpe]

I made new wood for my `36 Buick, i treated the wood with a POR 15 product, Pelucid

[Buick35]

Thanks,will it work on old wood too?

[Kenneth Carr]

You might want to look into a product called Git-Rot. I used it many years ago on a 1947 Mercury woody that I owned. It is a sort of stabilizer that penetrates the wood and preserves and bonds it in-place.

How to use "Git"-Rot - Boat Life

[Mark Shaw]

1 hour ago, Buick35 said:

is there a preferred way to prevent any decay?

Just keep it from getting wet, & keep the bugs out of your storage area.  Most original wood frame components were not treated.

[Jim Nelson]

35 Buick,   Here. is a product that comes from Min Wax.    I bought it because I thought I would need it on the repairs to my trunk where the hold open hinge works.    So far I've not needed it  but it soaks into the wood and chemically hardens it.    Nor very expensive even thru Amazon.    I'd first check with your local Min-Wax supplier.   Maybe Lowes,  Home Depot.   even Ace Hardware.     Pix to follow : 

[Jim Nelson]

here is a pix of  Min-Wax ,  wood hardner...  Interesting product.    

[Hubert_25-25]

The wood frames were assembled, and then the sheetmetal was placed over it and nailed in place.  There was never any paint between the sheetmetal and the wood.  If you are going to put a sealer on the wood, it would need to be a penetrating sealer.  If you are going to try to apply this with the sheetmetal in place, you need to ensure that whatever you use will not glue the sheetmetal to the wood.  I would be more than upset if I bought a car to restore and found out that the wood was stuck to the metal.  A suggestion is to experiment with scrap wood and some sheetmetal before committing to putting any sealer in the door.   What you want is a smooth finish of sealer on the vertical face of the wood between the sheetmetal.  What you will likely get in reality is a series of drips on the vertical sides of the wood and a lot of excess in the sheetmetal fold at the base of the door.   What you really want is protection for the outer sheetmetal skin, but on the back side, and you are not really addressing this or any corrosion that has occurred and the need for parts to be able to dry out if they get wet. 

 

On my touring car, I was able to remove all the nails and separate the wood frame from the sheetmetal.  The loose joints - especially at the bottom of the door - were either already loose or separated using a rubber mallet.  The wood was sealed, and a wood epoxy glue was used to reglue any joints that were no longer tight.  I used the door openings to get the wood frame square and how it needed to be as I did pull the frame in some at the bottom as there is some flexing.  You see a lot of old cars with the door bottom sticking out on the handle side of the door and I wanted to ensure I did not have that. 

 

The sheetmetal was media blasted on both sides, then entirely painted on both sides.  

      

It is begining to sound like less of a good idea IMO to attempt to take the shortcut of not removing the door sheetmetal.   Better to just avoid the rain otherwise.     Hugh

[Jim Nelson]

Good info.   My 35-58 has the last of the wood framed bodies.   My trunk has a 'hold -up'  hinge thatvwas getting 'soft.    I bought the minwax  product to bring the woods ability to hold the screws to operate the hinge.    So far I'm OK.   But,  if I need to go there,  your suggestion is 'right on'.    I was able to pull the body nails so I could rebuild the frame that supports the rubber 'gasket'  to minimize the water leakage.   I still need to rerun the rubber hose that directs the water away and out the bottom of the car.    I was able to put the nails back.  

[EmTee]

If anything, perhaps focus on just sealing the end grain; that's most prone to absorbing moisture.

[reded]

On page 146 of the 1934/35, 40 series shop manual it states, "The wooden frame work of the body when assembled is sprayed with an asphalt paint."  I own a 1934, series and have found this to be true on all sides of the wood including all the wood  found in the door.  After 80 + years, the paint does show some deterioration.  When restoring my doors I removed all the wood that was possible, sanded all the wood down to bare wood and painted it with a quality primer and top coat.  On page 27 of the "1934 Fisher Body Service Manual," it explains how the diagonal front door stiffener rod is used to adjust the lower lock side of the door to align with the body contour.  Since you have the door panel removed I suggest you restore or replace as much of the wood you can using quality products.  Talk to a local cabinet maker and a local paint store for their advice.  Good luck.  

[Bill Stewart]

Git-Rot is for structural repairs to punky or plain rotten wood or to repair an area where fasteners are needed. It will only penetrate so far (and very little in decent hard wood). As Hugh notes up near the top, you do not want to be gluing wood to metal. There are many thin colorless penetrating wood preservatives that should disappear into your project and do what you want without causing new troubles. Wood boat builders and restorers would be very informative. West Marine and others will have products.

Having done that, I don't think you even need the sealer which several people have mentioned, but sealer should stick properly to the preserved wood if you choose to use it.