Wood question

[Erndog]

I am half finished recreating <span style="font-weight: bold">all</span> the wood in my 1930 Buick sedan. Now I am wondering what the best preservative is to use on the wood to prevent the rot and insect infestation that existed previously. Not having done this before, I also have to assume that I want to keep joint areas clear of any preservatives prior to glue-up. Correct?

[Guest De Soto Frank]

The house--reservationists used to adovcate brushing a mix of linseed oil & turpentine onto stripped /weathered wood to "feed" it before priming and painting...now it seems that this can encourage fungus and bugs...

So, now the house resto-mavens suggest brushing on a thinned-down solution of varnish that will soak-in to the wood and seal it. Pay particular attention to end-grain...a cut solution of orange shellac would also offer some protection...but varnish is more water resistant.

I don't think the original framing got any treatment at all, so almost anything you do to it will be "better than factory"...

I am going to be re-wooding my Dad's 1930 Chevy Special Sedan in the next couple of years, so I can appreciate your wanting to make your hard work "permanent"...

Keeping the car out of the weather will do more than anything to preserve the wood...

Good luck !

[Guest Randy Berger]

Good advice as usual from Frank. Visit a marine supply store and see what they recommend and whether you sould seal the ends of the wood where there will be glue joints or wait till after it is glued together. The marine varnish or coating will be more than adequate for the framework in your car.

[Erndog]

Thanks, guys! Incidently, according to the "1926 - 1931 Fisher Body Service Manual" the wood was coated with a black "asphalt-based" preservative.

[Guest mena]

Randy is correct.

Marine finish will hold up to sun light better than household varnish, and is less likely to yellow from sulight.

But yes. do verify this with the salesman

[Friartuck]

I'm right in the middle of replacing some wood pieces on a '30 Lincoln 3 window sedan, so this topic is also of interest to me. Regarding the joints, I would leave them clear for the glue/adhesive to penetrate. Afterwards, coat with the coating of your choice. If you're not familiar with Kwik Poly, I recommend it highly. It has a low viscosity so it penetrates the wood fibers well and cures in about 10 minutes. You can also mix it with any dry material such as the silica powder that comes with the kit, saw dust, powdercoat powder, etc to build up a rotted area or reform a piece like countersunk holes for wood screws. I think the web site is http://www.kwikpolyllc.com Try the 1/2 pint kit, I don't think you'll regret it.

Chris

[29 Chandler]

I used the quick poly on my wooden spokes. It did a real nice job sealing the wood before I painted.

[ex98thdrill]

On our woodie, we used this stuff called Northern Spar Varnish. It is a marine varnish that will handle the moisture. But of course your best bet is to check with your local paint store. We were going to use poly on our car, but they recommended the marine varnish.

[Guest De Soto Frank]

I believe the trick to using varnish to preserve wood where said varnish is NOT the finish coat or the piece is concealed, as in most sedan/coupe body framing is to thin it down with the appropriate solvent, so that it is thin enough to soak-into the wood - with end-grain, keep soaking the end every few minutes until it will absorb no more varnish.

The basic goal here it to saturate and fill the pores of the wood with varnish or other product, so that the pores are unable to absorb anything else, like water.

If the wood just gets a "skin" of varnish, water will still be able to penetrate voids in that skin, and then the skin will actually prevent the wood from dissipating that moisture later on...

[ex98thdrill]

I understand what you're saying Frank, and if you read my post I also told him that his best bet was to check with his local paint store. Depending on where the original poster lives, and the climate that is involved, the local paint store may recommend something different.

Paint technology is continuously changing. Unless someone is on the forum that knows the latest and greatest stuff that's out there, his best bet is to talk to the people that sell the stuff in volume. I told him what we were told to do 4 years ago. Today there might be something new or a product that's better. Of course, we used the product on a woodie, and of course the paint store might suggest something different for structural wood that is not exposed. We were going to do our car with poly, but being a woodie that has wood exposed to the elements, we were told to use a marine type varnish because it will withstand the untraviolet rays from the sun, and it'll also withstand moisture (but maybe not for 30 years). We were told that if we used anything onther than a Marine type varnish, that the wood on the car would turn black if it was exposed to moisture. We were also told that many normal varnishes and paints will not withstand ultra-violet rays from the sun.

Most of the other woodie owners and coachbuilders that I've talked to also use Northern Spar Varnish on their cars. But of course there may be something new out there that has been found to be better.

Please understand that I told him what we used, but in all fairness to the original poster, he should consult the advice of an experienced paint vendor (not the kid working in the paint dept. at Wal Mart).

[Guest Albert]

Years ago we made new Coachwork for a 28 Aurburn Boattail, and used a clear fungicide wood preserver over all the wood, then painted over the wood after. That car was done 30 years ago and it's still around. someplace in England i understand.

[Guest JT]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">according to the "1926 - 1931 Fisher Body Service Manual" the wood was coated with a black "asphalt-based" preservative.

</div></div>

I believe there is still an asphalt lacquer product around but I don't know if it's suitable for your application. It's probably more an outdoor fungicidal/preservative product and not a good choice for any interior frame work.

I think Albert's idea of painting over any treatment is a good one.

[Guest De Soto Frank]

Now that you guys mention the "asphalt paint", I remember a black coating on what was left of the cab framing from my ex-1936 Chevy pick-up...but it looked more like paint.

When we dug into my Dad & Uncle's '30 Chevy Special Sedan, most of the body framing looked like bare wood - it did not look like it had ever been treated with asphalt...would think that "tarry remnants" would have still been there ?

The lower sills (wooden core of the rocker panels) were built-up from 1/2" "plys" of ash (?), grain all in same direction, and were completely rotten/"punky"...I would expect that floor-boards and perhaps these lower sills would've gotten the asphalt treatment... ???

Except for the lower sills, I think most of our Chevy deteriorated from the top-down, as the "organic" center of the roof began to deteriorate...

Since we're talking about treating the interior wood of a closed car, it would be well to consider any issues with odors or hazardous off-gassing...

One of the suppliers to the Building resto trade is Abatron...they make a variety of preservative/ restorative wood treatments...

I don't think too many people think about one of these cars possibly being exposed to the elements once it's been restored, but this is really worth discussing, as it makes sense to do everything we can to protect the infrastructure of an old car...some of us wackos (like me) might actually drive the darn things in the rain!

( A real possibility if the car goes to Hershey !)

[D Binger]

30 Chevys did not have "asphalt paint" aka under coating. The wood for the most part was painted black.