Wood

[TerryG]

I have asked on here several times the best way to treat wood. As i have a new set sitting about I thought I would sand off the rubbish it came varhisned with and re-varnish it with something a nicer colour. Just a quick question before I take it all apart, the two sides and door frames came assembeled. Is it better to dismantle it to sand and re-varnish or do it while it is all in one piece? Just one other quick question on this topic, has anybody ever made a fibreglass substitute for the trav wood?

[bigginger]

I'm only guessing, but I wouldn't have thought so. To make structural parts strong enough in 'glass would be a bit expensive, wouldn't it?

[andrewsxt]

I would use Danish Oil, it`s water resistent, it penetrates deep into the wood and just gives a much better finish than varnish {i`m not a big fan of varnish }
I would also leave everything assembled, your going to have to reseal all the joints again if you take them apart.
Fibreglass, hmmm, i`d rather walk than drive a traveller with " fibreglass wood "

[SR]

did c a pic once in " minor matters" of one that morris made themselves ,but never went into production

[jonathon]

Terry,
There are generally three choices with the timber prep, microporous, oil and varnish. I know of some who have used epoxy varnish to totally encapsulate the wood, this works very well so long as you check regulary for splits/gaps. We have tried the microporous route, following the instructions and advise from Steve of Traveller Timbers but have had some disasterous results with it, and the wood turning black within weeks. I actually favour a good quality gloss varnish ontop of Cuprinol 5 star and a burgess UV protection layer. I have never had a problem with this system, but it does require regular checking. Microporous varnish is designed to allow moisture to penetrate and escape from the timber, in my experience this is a bit of a lottery, as we generally have a situation that the moisture in the wood is never fully evacuated. Having said this one of our customers has used the Sikkens varnish to great effect and has held up remarkably well. The oil route is an excellent one in terms of protection but the experience we have seen is that you need to be very carefull with the finish as it marks very easily.
Terry, I would stip the wood down to its major components, i.e remove all alloy panels and roof and prepare the total frame inside and out with your chosen preservative, making sure to clean through the drain holes, which I normally sand upto a smooth internal finish, and treat generously. Hope this helps, I'm sure others will have varying results with the proceedures I have out lined.

[chickenjohn]

I've used Sikkens (two pack system) and it works very well, on top of clear Cuprinol 5- star.

I've also found the cause of blackness is not removing all the previous coating. I Painted the old side of wood to be treated in wood bleach, then left for an hour, painted again with wood bleach, removed this and the remains of the varnish with a Scarsten sraper. Then sanded the wood when dry. The only black bits were where I didn;t completely remove the previous varnish/oils etc, by bleaching/sanding and scraping. It is time consuming, but the more care you take, the better the results. Leave the wood to dry thoroughly between treatments- in a dry garage!

This is not the job to do outside.

I found the light oak sikkens to be a little dark, when the tins run out, I'll use the lightest shade, which I think is pine.

[jonathon]

The Sikkens route we took involved brand new timber dryed for 2 months and prep'd meticulously, we still had problems, like I said there will be differing experiences of the same products, which tends to make the final decision a bit of a lottery

[Vernon]

I have used Sikkens Cetol HLS followed by Sikkens Filter 7 and have been pleased with the result. The only problem is that it is a wood stain so you have to choose a colour and they don't do Ash. As mentioned above Pine (AKA Deal) is lighter than Light Oak.
I was advised by Steve Foreman of Traveller Timbers to do the job in the summer months when there is no moisture in the air.

[TerryG]

Lol, Everybody seems to have their own preference. I cant remmember who suggested it (Possibly you jonothan) but I was going to use the two pack Dulux stuff. I have new wood with no metal in it but the sides and doors are assembeled. I just womdered if it was better to take them completly to pieces and treat all the pieces indivdually (As with a bit of luck it is going to end up on the shell Jonothan has outside his workshop) It would be nice to think that If i look after it that it will last for 60 years.

[chickenjohn]

The Sikkens route we took involved brand new timber dryed for 2 months and prep'd meticulously, we still had problems, like I said there will be differing experiences of the same products, which tends to make the final decision a bit of a lottery

Yes, the side of wood you can see in my pic was a new side from Travellers timbers. Despite being out in the rain numerous times, it still looks as good as when the Sikkens Cetol and HLS was applied.

You just have to follow the instructions ;)

[jonathon]

clearly not in this instance John, as I said the instuctions were followed backed up by Steves knowledge and advise, yet still problems. Lottery is the name of the game. Most of the cars we have worked on in the last 12 years have been travellers, and I must have fitted at least 20 full sets of wood, the only problems we have had are with the microporous products. I would not advise against using this, as clearly some folk have had good results. Regular maintenance is the key word here.
Terry I would not disassemble the wood into its component parts unless you have a jig to fit it up with.

[TerryG]

OK, I will leave it assembled and follow your advice Jonathon, you never know I might win the lottery today and bring it up for you to build be a car around

[chickenjohn]

Terry, as Jonothan says, don't take the sides of wood apart.

The Microporous is good stuff, but you have to apply it properly and maintain properly.

[millerman]

I purchased a Trav with good wood which has been removed for treating. When this car when finished will be kept outside and will have to earn its living! So, successful wood treatment is vital.
I am going down the Cuprinol/Sikkens route so if you have used that treatment will it stand up to to my type of use?
Jonathon, do your customers usually garage their cars or leave outside?

I think the answers to these questions may tell us which is the most durable wood treatment

[jonathon]

Its about half and half, but we had the maroon trav done in Sikkens which is well used and has had no probs, and our yellow trav which is hardly ever washed and left outside 100% and this is now black. Both sets were brand new and the instructions adhered to by the word. The gloss varnish wood we have done have all lasted well even if left outside for their whole lives. I still feel that no matter what you do and how well you do it, that this area is a total lottery. It may have something to do with the condition of the wood in the raw, i.e most of it is now from Canada and is essentially green wood.
My own view is that you either allow moisture in or not, with our mainly damp climate and if the car is not covered then I would recommend gloss varnish as a finishing top coat, and thats inside and out. This is a high maintenance route as it needs constant checking. The microporous finish is good for garaged cars or cars dried off regulary. I feel that neither route is wrong, but can be expensive and bitterly disapointing if you do get problems.

[Multiphonikks]

Its about half and half, but we had the maroon trav done in Sikkens which is well used ...

D'you mean my trav?!??!?!?!?

[rayofleamington]

Just one other quick question on this topic, has anybody ever made a fibreglass substitute for the trav wood?

As mentioned already - BMC / Morris made one for a trial, however there seems to be no trace of it now. Someone had made a UPVC traveller rear end but had to make it all straight and I doubt many people said nice things about it (although I'd love a traveller that didn't suffer due to rain!)

[Cam]

There was this:

[TerryG]

I dont think I could put up with having it all square (Sort of removes some of the point in owning a Mog) very good idea though. I fancied a fibreglass back as my trav (When it is eventyally done hopefully before my 50th (23 atm)) will be used every day with a bit of luck running on LPG.

[jonathon]

Terry ,I see no probs in creating a glass back so long as its accepted for what it is. The worst thing I think you could do is to make it look like the original wood and aluminum. We have been thinking about a steel replacement back,pickup style which would have an optional extention top to turn it into a van. This could ofcourse be glassfibre if required. Might cost a bit, but there again pro fitting if new wood plus regular maintenance is not cheap either.