Author Topic: Preserving Seat Wood (Read 16746 times)

David CVX-16 · « **on:** May 11, 2013, 04:17:44 PM »

The front and rear seats were taken out of the CVX-16 to get the Teleflex steering in, and not surprisingly, the wood has deteriorated after 26 years, especially in the drivers seat, the most used seat and often with a wet swim suit dripping water down into the wood. Plan to sand the wood down and give it several coats of satin spar varnish.

Jason · « **Reply #1 on:** May 11, 2013, 08:36:08 PM »

I love Spar oil. Holds up real well in sun and rain. I use it a lot on things like this outdoor sign I made and even tables for in the house. Put on enough coats and looks like an epoxy coating but LOTS cheaper

David CVX-16 · « **Reply #2 on:** May 11, 2013, 10:32:53 PM »

Jason, I am with you. I love to finish in varnish - a rocking chair, a 11' racing runabout. Nothing is more beautiful than finished wood. How did you engave the letters?

Hyperacme · « **Reply #3 on:** May 12, 2013, 07:08:45 AM »

What is the "Eurasian milfoil" thing on front of seat ?

WetRaider · « **Reply #4 on:** May 12, 2013, 08:36:05 AM »

Spar Oils and Urethanes are great products. They do have UV inhibitors, and hold up well. They are classified as a "coating," so what you apply stays right on top. I use Spar Urethane on real-wood front doors - ESPECIALLY front doors facing South or West. It's a great wood sealer. Use 2-3 coats.

There is a produce available that I use on decks that would be applicable for seat backs - especially when they're not exposed to significant direct sunlight or moisture - it's called TWP (Total Wood Preservative). It soaks into the wood and is classified by the EPA as a wood preservative.

Rosscoe · « **Reply #5 on:** May 12, 2013, 10:22:33 AM »

Find any gum stuck under there Dave?

wiliermdb · « **Reply #6 on:** May 12, 2013, 11:04:07 AM »

I'd give it a good soaking of Thompson's water sealer. Use a brush and let it soak into the wood and let it run under the vinyl a little at a time to treat as much wood as possible. A good coating of this will last a few years since it will not be in the sun or directly hit with water. I do my deck at the house each year and it last the entire year with the elements mother nature throws at it.

Seams like if you put a waterproof layer, varnish or other hard product, on the outside and you're getting water from the other side then it would just trap the water in the wood.

Jason · « **Reply #7 on:** May 12, 2013, 11:44:38 AM »

Quote from: Hyperacme on May 12, 2013, 07:08:45 AM

What is the "Eurasian milfoil" thing on front of seat ?

yea, that is weird.

WetRaider · « **Reply #8 on:** May 12, 2013, 11:49:16 AM »

Thompson's water seal is essentially a liquid wax ... The liquids in the product will both absorb & evaporate, leaving you a wax layer. Out of the sun & with no direct "wear or abrasion" it will last many years. This wax layer will do the same as any varnish or other top coat - water coming through from one surface will not leave through the coated surface - which is why we don't bother with Thompson's or any other product on the bottom of our decks ... the water is coming down from above, so we protect the top surface.

Most of the products (Cabot, Thompson's, TWP ... ) will say to re-treat. Some say every year, other's say 2, some say "up to 5 years." - keep in mind that those times are based on treating a deck, which gets walked on, snowed on, direct sunlight every single day, heat, freeze, furniture scooted around .... if you're treating the underside of a seat, where there is no contact with the wood by anything once it's in place, I'd say you're good for 10 years or more. The reason these products tell you to re-treat is because they treat the surface and our shoes and chair legs can rub it off, or they have a chemical that assists in preservation that has a half-life of only so long before the chemical breaks down in "the elements."

Eric_Michael · « **Reply #9 on:** May 12, 2013, 11:56:50 AM »

I had a dry rot problem with my truck camper a few years back (read all about it here: http://www.rv.net/forum/Index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/20593577.cfm) I used a product from http://www.rotdoctor.com/ to make the repair. I also used the same stuff to seal every piece exposed wood I could find on my Glastron. It has the consistency of diesel fuel and soaks in to the wood.

When I repaired my camper I had a scrap piece of OSB that I soaked in the Rot Doctor sealant. That piece of OSB has been sitting outside my shop for six years. It is not rotting, no matter how much rain, sun, or snow gets on it.

HTH
-Eric

David CVX-16 · « **Reply #10 on:** May 12, 2013, 05:32:51 PM »

The drivers seat wood is deteriorating more than one could see at first glance. Will have to reinforce it with a metal plate, wood plate, or a fiberglass woven sheet.

The milfoil name appears to be a protective sheet of some sort that a boat repair shop inserted to protect the under seat wood. I'm sure Glastron/Carlson did not do it at the factory.

Ross - no gum under the seat, just dirt.

David CVX-16 · « **Reply #11 on:** May 14, 2013, 05:50:10 PM »

Applied a fiberglass patch to the most deteriorated seat base, the driver's seat. Am applying spar varnish to the other front seat and the back seat.

Burnin Daylight · « **Reply #12 on:** May 14, 2013, 06:28:35 PM »

Sounds kind of stupid but, are you going to drill some holes in the bottom for the water to run out?

David CVX-16 · « **Reply #13 on:** May 14, 2013, 09:12:37 PM »

The seat wood did not have any holes to begin with. My former V-153 had holes to let air of the foam, but this boat does not seem to have holes, neither in the front or back.

David CVX-16 · « **Reply #14 on:** May 17, 2013, 04:33:15 AM »

Done with sanding and varnishing the seat wood. I did not put enough hardener in the fiberglass resin and it was not hardening so I took the seat over to Mike, the fiberglass man at White Bear Boatworks. Same old Mike, covered with white fiberglass dust at 8 AM in the morning. Mike suggesting putting it out in the sun and that cured (no pun intended) the problem.

Upgraded the stainless steel fasteners that secure the two front bucket seats and rear seat. Bought nyloc nuts, fender washers, and lock washers in many cases. There is no room to tighten the passengers seat bolts on the swivel seat base under the old method of slot ends on the bolts. Hex head lug bolts are the better way to go to get a wrench in there. Are we having fun or what?

Hyperacme · « **Reply #15 on:** May 17, 2013, 04:16:25 PM »

I got some 3M resin to mix with acetone for some small jobs and had same problem, it wouldn't kick.
Thought it might be because of the added acetone.
Doubled the amount of hardener and it kicked ...

" Are we having fun or what? "
Ya ... But once the weather gets nice ... Not so much !
... LOL

Jerry · « **Reply #16 on:** May 17, 2013, 05:38:38 PM »

You need 4% MEKP for the total amount of resin ad acetone.

Hyperacme · « **Reply #17 on:** May 17, 2013, 06:24:00 PM »

" You need 4% MEKP for the total amount of resin ad acetone. "

2% would be with just resin ?
3M's label just says 7 drops for 1 oz. of resin.
Express composites resin was something like 5cc (on a syringe) to 1 quart resin.
That's 2 % ?

So it go's by total volume of resin/acetone for amount of hardener ...

Jerry · « **Reply #18 on:** May 17, 2013, 08:42:02 PM »

3% if it;s hot out otherwise I use 4%. This ain't drops, this is chemistry you need to measure!

Hyperacme · « **Reply #19 on:** May 18, 2013, 08:43:30 AM »

Dave
What brand of resin did you get ?

Jerry
Just went by what the can said, but had to double the amount to get it to kick ...