Refinish - Number problem

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Restorers
I thought that this sand and varnish would go well...

The owner wants the reg. numbers of a previous owner removed and so I sanded off the black paint and now am left with nice clear reg. numbers. My assumption is that the planking has all darkened with age and that, because the planking is under the glass cloth, there is no way to sand the boat to the uniform color left by the numbers.

Is that assumption correct and if so, can anyone tell me how to hide the numbers?

Thanks,

Dan
 

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Well . . . I suppose you could paint the canoe black, except for the numbers, and then sand the paint off in a couple of years . . . :p
 
Dan,

How much time do you want to spend on this?

I believe you are correct, the wood under the now removed numbers didn't age like the exposed wood did.

So, you can either age the areas that didn't age, or cover them. (removing the glass/resin from the outside to sand the wood isn't an option)

I would try to make template to cover everthing but the unexposed wood, and then point a light at it to try to age it. You might need to find a special UV creating bulb for this to work.

I have no idea how long this might take to darken the wood.
I do know that when I was putting T&G wood inside our cabin, that it would darken very fast if I left it out in the direct sun for even an afternoon.

Good Luck,
Dan
 
You may find that it is not necessary to make a mask. Most wood darkens a finite amount when exposed to light. As such, the area not covered by the numbers has probably reached it's final color. With the numbers now removed I would try sitting the boat in the sun for a week or two or using an artificial full spectrum light source. During the initial stages of exposure, I would cover a small, unobtrusive area with tape as a control. That way you could periodically remove the tape to see if or how much progress you are making. Keep us posted on any progress.

M Ornstein
 
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