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BulliBill
Samba Member
Joined: July 09, 2004
Posts: 4572
Location: St Charles, MO
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 Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2011 6:34 am Post subject: |
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Okay, I have a '67-ish SO-42 wood slat roof rack for my '67 Westy.
I had new slats made of white oak about 15 years ago and they coated it with something. The slats are beautiful but the coating is flaking off. This rack is rarely on the Camper and exposed to weather, so the wood is in great shape. One day I plan to disassemble the rack and carefully sand down the slats to remove the flaky older coating and then re-coat it. Can one of you wood guru's suggest a nice brush-on coating that would be "correct" and hold up? A product I can find locally, maybe at a Home Depot or Lowes? Your expert advice would be appreciated!
Bill Bowman
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I'm looking for these license plate frames for my fleet:
Coeur D'Alene - Lake Shore Volkswagen
Mission VW - San Fernando
Thornton VW - Stockton
Thanks for any help!
Last edited by BulliBill on Wed Sep 07, 2011 6:52 am; edited 1 time in total |
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jeremy57ride
Samba Member
Joined: May 23, 2005
Posts: 1318
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| Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2011 6:43 am Post subject: |
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Bill,
Not sure about the "correctness" of the coating, but I used a product from Lowe's called "Marine Varnish"...it think "Spar". It is supposed to hold up to the elements and meant for boat hulls and such. I actually used a couple coats on my baltic birch interior for the westy. I really liked the look, it has a bit more tint than the satin water based stain. |
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crofty
Judas of the North
Joined: August 09, 2000
Posts: 19672
Location: Land of Whine and Phonies
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| Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2011 7:56 am Post subject: |
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| jeremy57ride wrote: |
Bill,
Not sure about the "correctness" of the coating, but I used a product from Lowe's called "Marine Varnish"...it think "Spar". It is supposed to hold up to the elements and meant for boat hulls and such. I actually used a couple coats on my baltic birch interior for the westy. I really liked the look, it has a bit more tint than the satin water based stain. |
I used the same stuff myself.
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Your Vanagon sucks, Stop waving at me.
| HamburgerBrad wrote: |
I slept on crofty's tent once. I passed out drunk from two bottles of Everett's brother's wine. |
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kirbyland
Samba Member
Joined: December 17, 2010
Posts: 287
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| Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2011 8:02 am Post subject: |
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| I used to restore wood boats as a hobby, and I did the bed of a "Little Red Express" in white oak. I used a product (Smith Brothers Penetrating epoxy) to "plasticize" the wood, then you can use automotive clears on the wood, and it will adhere. Way too shiny- if you are going to try and reproduce the factory sheen- but the UV protection is hands down better than varnishes, and looks incredible if you want something to be better than original. It is a 2 part epoxy that is extremely thin- will penetrate up to an 1/8" if reapplied without allowing it to dry between coats. The stuff is unreally nasty to breathe, and should not be allowed to touch your skin- but the bed on the LRE- will likely out last me. USE IN A WELL VENTILATED AREA- or you will regret it- |
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JimJonkers
Samba Member
Joined: March 12, 2009
Posts: 57
Location: The Shaky Isles
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| Posted: Sat May 23, 2015 11:45 pm Post subject: |
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I'll just kick the tumble weeds out of this thread and breath some new life into it 
This weekend i gave the rack off the 63 a tart up, i don't want to get too carried away re-galving etc, just restore the wood by sanding/oiling, and replace the screws. I'm a bit worried it might start to look like a repro if i go too far, i want it too look "old" but not too shabby...
So i'm thinking this is white oak or ash? Anyone know for sure?
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otahuhu
Samba Member
Joined: July 15, 2007
Posts: 561
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| Posted: Sun May 24, 2015 4:11 am Post subject: |
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| JimJonkers wrote: |
I'll just kick the tumble weeds out of this thread and breath some new life into it
This weekend i gave the rack off the 63 a tart up, i don't want to get too carried away re-galving etc, just restore the wood by sanding/oiling, and replace the screws. I'm a bit worried it might start to look like a repro if i go too far, i want it too look "old" but not too shabby...
So i'm thinking this is white oak or ash? Anyone know for sure?
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Hi "JJkrs" was nice to meet you and you're amazing bus the other day. We made it back up nth with our treasure no problems. I would be wary about replacing the screws unless you really have to, If you do, hang on to them. From memory, on my 61 rack they are slotted, counter sunk, raised head with a distinctive chrome finish, and not that easy to replace. Pretty sure the slats are ash but cant say for certain. A bit of carnauba wax on the bows would be a good idea if you have the slats off, they are remarkably durable but can rust under the slats and by the clamps. Have fun with the bus and keep us posted... |
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JimJonkers
Samba Member
Joined: March 12, 2009
Posts: 57
Location: The Shaky Isles
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| Posted: Sun May 24, 2015 11:30 pm Post subject: |
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Likewise "huhu" good to meet the Westy guru's, be great to see your SO34 sometime, after all they're the only two in the country right?...
The screws needed replacing, they were badly rusted and several broke off and needed drilling out. Revived slats, new screws and the metal polished up it'll look great, but these old westy racks are pretty durable.
I had a repro (empi i think) rack on my old beetle, it got wet once and started rusting! I'd like to see it after 50+ years, it probably would have disintegrated years earlier.... |
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