External cleaning...and maintenance

[Guest]

'The dog house' needs a good bit of external cleaning.

 

Jan has the interior well sorted and we are not worried about that.

 

I'm in charge of the exterior cleaning and maintenance and have some questions.

 

1 - What is the best product to strip paint and varnish from a wooden front cratch cover frame.

 

2 - having done that what is the best product to paint the stripped wood with - need a light oak type finish.

 

3 - What s the best product to clean/restore a heavy canvas cratch cover and pram hood.

 

4 - The pole that takes the antenna pole is well rusty, after wire brushing what is the best product to paint it with to inhibit rust return and prime it.

 

5 - The mount for the chimney is also well rusty and needs a good wire brushing, what's the best product to paint and prime this with given the heat it has to cope with.

 

Sorry for so many questions....any help or advice appreciated.

[DHutch]

'The dog house' needs a good bit of external cleaning.

 

 

 

 

Bit of a quick fire set of answers, but to get you off the ground.

 

 

 

1 - What is the best product to strip paint and varnish from a wooden front cratch cover frame.

 

Depends on the condition i would say and what your aiming for. If its largely sound just a bit dull, quick flirt over with some 80grit and a woodern block, two fresh coats, done. If its flakey and loose (mainly talking about uv damaged varnish here) a good scraper may work well, sand and four coats. If the half an inch of messy but largly sound paint etc, then i would take it of the boat, get it in a bench, and get the hand plane on it. Take care to avoid screw/nail heads. Or a belt sander, or both.

 

 

 

2 - having done that what is the best product to paint the stripped wood with - need a light oak type finish.

 

Is this a 'sumbling' type finish your aim for? In which case, any good exterior or marine gloss/enamel in a creamish tone, and scumbling ontop. (google scumbling)

 

 

 

3 - What s the best product to clean/restore a heavy canvas cratch cover and pram hood.

 

I dont have one, but i know you can get cleaning products for this task. Assuming it is Canvas rather than PVC i believe a lot use a pressure washer, which is probably what i would do, els e good go with a stiff brush. Follow up with reproofing spray. (forget the name, but go to a camping/outdoor shop or ask someone like wilsons covers to advise) its it PVC, warm soapy water, and automotive pvc restorer?

 

 

 

4 - The pole that takes the antenna pole is well rusty, after wire brushing what is the best product to paint it with to inhibit rust return and prime it.

 

Almost any fairly proprietary household gloss is probably fine with a suitable 'straight to rust' type brush on primer. Your not aiming for a rollsroyal finish or life expectant. Or atlease i wouldnt be. Keep a non-fussy colour, like flat black. Some would use hamerite, which does work too, but it expensive, needs a special cleaner (xyline) and isnt really worth it given modern std gloss paints.

 

 

 

5 - The mount for the chimney is also well rusty and needs a good wire brushing, what's the best product to paint and prime this with given the heat it has to cope with.

 

Again, to be honest, the collar doesn't actually get that hot. I painted ours with epoxy aluminium primer and then just a sniff of  aerosol 'stove black' to color as i had both to hand but again just some household black gloss. It will get scraped/dripped on, and being a big rough casting, not corrode away in decades, so its just aesthetics.

 

 

 

Sorry for so many questions....any help or advice appreciated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Daniel

[Naughty Cal]

Cant answer most of your questions but cleaning the canvas is quite easy. Take the covers off and give them a good jet wash to get rid of any muck and mould. Then with a stiff scrubbing brush clean them with a solution made up off warm water and a good quality boat wash (check colour fastness in a conspicous place first), then simply jet wah them again and hang them to dry. On a nice dry day then apply Fabsil (or similar reproofing substance) to keep them looking fresh and also stop water soaking into and through the hoods. This also helps to stop mould growing in the corners of the hoods. We tend to do this a couple of times a year at most.

[Dekazer]

We have Camberwell Covers and Giles very kindly sent me the following instructions for care. We haven't had any problems with ours, although I sometimes leave the front door open during winter to let some warm air into the cratch to keep the damp down a bit, as we do get some white fluffy mould type stuff growing occasionally. Comes off with a brush though.

 

"The care of your cover will depend on wether it is made with vinyl or acrylic canvas. Vinyl is the easiest to look after - just the occasional wipe over with soap and water will keep it clean and you can get vinyl restorers from car shops which help to keep it supple. It is the sun's UV rays that will eventually break down the cloth but this will take many years. Acrylic canvas is best cleaned with a stiff brush every few months. If it does get ingrained with dirt then the answer is to run a hose over it while brushing, if it is really grubby you can even clean it with a 'baby' pressure washer.

 

I wouldn't worry to much about the windows cracking - it is worth rolling them up rather than folding sharp corners into them. They can be cleaned and their life will be extended by using a vinyl window polish such as Renovo. Even without much care they should last as long as the cover.

 

It is good to hear that you are so happy with your covers.

 

Regards, Giles

Camberwell Covers."

[Naughty Cal]

Even if the "windows" in the covers dont last too well you can have them replaced cheaply. We had our big front window replaced for £35. That included the chap coming to the boat taking the section off, taking it back to his shed (across the marina) then coming back and refitting the section again.

[Chris-B]

Cant answer most of your questions but cleaning the canvas is quite easy. Take the covers off and give them a good jet wash to get rid of any muck and mould. Then with a stiff scrubbing brush clean them with a solution made up off warm water and a good quality boat wash (check colour fastness in a conspicous place first), then simply jet wah them again and hang them to dry. On a nice dry day then apply Fabsil (or similar reproofing substance) to keep them looking fresh and also stop water soaking into and through the hoods. This also helps to stop mould growing in the corners of the hoods. We tend to do this a couple of times a year at most.

 

errr.......................................

 

Chris

 

Pedant mode on

[DHutch]

errr.......................................

Chris

Pedant mode on

[Guest]

errr.......................................

 

Chris

 

Pedant mode on

 

I understood what she meant...

[dor]

Some would use hamerite, which does work too, but it expensive, needs a special cleaner (xyline) and isnt really worth it given modern std gloss paints.

 

I think Hammerite (smooth) has changed its formulation due to carcinogenic nature of the xylene solvent, and is now white spirit-based. I still think it is better for metal as a quick solution rather than ordinary gloss and primer, and it is not that much more expensive.