Traveller partial wood replacement

[miggy]

Hi, Im a newbie and a complete novice at this whole repair restoration stuff but am a lifelong moggy fan so be nice
Just collected my new traveller, shes a lovely beast, Trafalger blue, 1970, was rebuilt 14yrs ago including new woodwork.
The woodwork is generally in very solid condition though covered in tacky poorly applied dark brown varnish-yuck Am happy to have a go at tackling this (having made full use of the woodwork advice here) BUT the top rail each side has a small area of about 3 inches long, right at the back, that is a bit soft. Having read the haynes manual this seems to imply that you have to take the whole lot off and start again
Please could someone tell me otherwise.
PS have very much enjoyed browsing your board and looking at the stunning work some of you have done

[rob.hardy1]

Welcome to the board. I hope you will see that we are a friendly bunch. I always ask a couple of questions, where are you and have you got some pictures of your pride and joy
Dont be afraid to ask questions ( even ones you may think are a bit dopey) They will be the only ones i can answer, there are lots of far more experienced members who can answer almost any other question you might have. Dont forget to check out the rest of the site, especially the technical tips.

[ASL642]

Hi Miggy - welcome! If after you've removed all the old varnish around the suspect area and the wood just seems a little "soft" apply a wood hardener to the area before following the instructions for re-varnishing given on this board. It should strengthen the wood.

[miggy]

Many thanks

Have posted an intro in General so as not to clog up this bit

[dalebrignall]

i had dark wood like yours i sanded it down bu hand took ages then out cupranal on and then danish oil,looks lighter and you can see the pattern of the grain in the wood now,i think it looks nicer with a weathered look,but thats personal taste .