Morris Minor Owners Club

Now that I've got my Traveller, I notice the finish on the wood is "peeling" off.
The wood itself is solid, but the clear finish is cracking and peeling/flaking.

Would I be correct in sanding off all the loose finish, then recoating with clear varnish, shellac, or polyurethane?

Thanks.
Tom M.

Would I be correct in sanding off all the loose finish, then recoating with clear varnish, shellac, or polyurethane?

Sand it off by all means but for Heaven's sake don't use any form of varnish.
The wood needs to breath and air out to keep it from rotting.
There have been posts on here recommending treatments, you would be better off using something that soaks in and weatherproofs. Which product will depend on what you have readily available in the States.
You will probably need to go over it again every couple of years but varnish will just lift, peel and trap water underneath it, thus promoting rot in the long term.
Best wishes,
Mike.

I think stripping back and recoating with a microporous finish would be best. Something like Burgess wood sealer, followed by Burgess top coat. Supposedly this sheds water but also allows the wood to dry out. I don't know if it's available in the USA but since it's designed for boats, a marine supply store can probably recommend something similar.

Thanks James. I'd not heard of the Burgess products before. Good idea to check with marine supply houses here. After sanding, I'm thinking of a finish such as:

https://www.jamestowndistributors.com/p ... tail/64352

Or maybe even just simple tung oil?

I've just gone through the same process but use Sikken products. You will probably find that scraping (correctly) will remove more hard varnish than sanding and it also has the benefit of producing less dust. Just do it properly.

Took me about 6 hours per side to remove the old varnish and prep the wood. Then 4 coats of Sikkens allowing several days between coats. I'm very pleased with the results.

Thanks Grumpy. Which Sikkens product did you use?

These two, not cheap and you’ll use no more than half. I’m hoping it won’t go off before I need to use it again as a top up.

I used Skarsten scraper and Osmo Oil - it's really good stuff.

Thanks gents.

When using a scraper, is there some "pre-scrape" treatment used to soften the finish before pulling the scraper over it?

No, softening would make it less effective. You can pull or push a scraper which ever you prefer, I’m a puller. Always work with the grain.

That wood looks really good, grumpy21. Did you have to do any repairs or treat any soft or rotten wood? How old is the wood? Does it live outside or in a garage?

Here's the story..

when I bought the car last summer the PO said that the wood had been replaced in 2005 (?) and varnished with polyurethane varnish. It had cracked at all the joints and had become black and stained - but he assured me it wasn't spongy or rotten anywhere. We agreed this was a condition of sale and I can confirm that although the wood had stained it was indeed not actually damp or rotten anywhere other than the rear doors. He'd kept the car outside and used it regularly in all weathers.

I managed to abstain a pair of rear door frames at a great price (slight seconds) do decided to strip off all the existing varnish and start afresh. The sides were carefully scraped as above then bleached with oxalic acid followed by a light sanding. Two coats of HLS followed by two coats of Filter 7. Each coat too ages to go off and had me a little worried at first but as it was November/December and cold and damp it just took longer to flash off the solvent between coats.

I'm please with the results and I'd definitely use it again. The finish is a satin sheen more than a gloss, it breathable but when wet water just beads on the surface like a well waxed car.