Help, My trailer is sick

[schmidty]

So, my trailer is made of all oak veneer ply from home depot. And it is coated with poly urethane. We lived in a very foggy coastal town in CA for a while (not there anymore) and this is starting to happen.

I was thinking if getting a glue syringe from woodworker supply and trying to reattach the veneer, but then what? Do I re-coat with polyurethane, glass and epoxy, epoxy boat paint, or something else?

Help!







Thanks. This site has been such an inspiration and a help.

[doug hodder]

Is anything showing up on the interior or can you see any other exterior spots that might be a problem in the future, based on the discoloration on this one? That might give an indication as to how much water has or will get in. There are a lot of directions you could take on it, depending on if you want to "doctor" it or do a whole redo on the top.

If you want to just seal it and don't care about the dark spots...I'd recommend using something like an epoxy and a squeegee and fill the cracks, and I mean fill them! Squeegee it in...let it sit for a while so it can flow under...then put in some more, till it can't take any more...lay a piece of wax paper over it, put a board or ply on it and weight it down...once cured, I'd sand off any overfill touch up the dye/stain and then top coat the entire thing again. Tape off the affected area so you don't end up with epoxy all over the place, other than the area you want to work on. If you decide to get more serious on it...sand it all down (the top) to wood, and epoxy and then a top coat with whatever UV resistant coating you want.

The problem with oak is that while it has wonderful grain...it's really porous, and typically in my opinion, takes more top coat material to seal it up. I'd bet that no matter what you do...it'll still show, unfortunately. You can hide it, but the veneer has done it's thing and you won't be able to get it all back.

I'm sure that others opinions may vary...just my best effort. Doug

[kennyrayandersen]

Yeah, this is a toughy. Doug pretty much covered the way I would do it – you’re luck it’s on the top so you can put some weight on it. One thing I would do a little different than Doug is that I wouldn’t put gobs of epoxy, but just enough to keep it down. Out the wax paper like he was saying and let it cure. Clean it really good to remove any traces of the wax paper and then come back after the first epoxy sets but is still green and fill whatever small cracks still exist. Then, lightly sand any high spots. After that, go back over the entire thing with another coat of the poly.

The reason I wouldn’t put a lot of epoxy in there is that it will be really hard to get back off and you will likely sand into the old finish. If you do that, you pretty much will have to redo the whole thing to make it right because the local area will not match (big spot that will be different). By just gluing it down and then slightly filling the cracks, you maintain the original finish and avoid altering the cosmetics. Hopefully the recoat with poly after the repair will seal it enough to prevent further damage.

Personally, I like the idea of putting a thin layer of fiberglass over the wood to give the finish top coat more integrity, because it seems those who just paint seem to have a higher incidence of trouble (not everybody has trouble). Anyway, enough people have trouble that I would worry without the fabric.

[Steve_Cox]

Here's what I wood do

you need a small piece of scrap or new plywood for this fix.

1,Exacto knife a small square area of the top veneer from the delaminated area to where it isn't delaminated.

2, use bleach on a cloth to kill the black growth. Just lay it on top of it and press down a little. Rinse with a damp cloth.

3, Dry area with a hair dryer.

4, cut a new piece of veneer from your piece of scrap, take your time to get an exact fit. Epoxy it in place by covering it with plastic wrap and a baggie full of sand.

5, Lighty sand the area and recoat with polyurethane.

Polyurethane will last about 2 years or less in my humid and hot area of the country, then it is time for a light sand and refinish. Good luck with whatever you do. I did this on my hatch and was looking for the patch the other day and couldn't find it.

[Walt M]

Sreve up here we call that a "dutchman" Walt

[Steve_Cox]

Sreve up here we call that a "dutchman" Walt

Yup, "dutchman" down here too

[bobhenry]

Man this is all to close to home. Chubby has the same problem. 2 years in the weather 24/7 has taken its toll on him to. I am looking to sand the areas rather deep where the face veneer has delaminated and fill with body filler and glaze putty and paint him with a good marine grade paint. I don't want to give up my woodie so I may use a light tan and with a graining tool and brown glaze put the grain back on.

I had some nearly destroyed red oak woodwork in the house I did the same trick on and folks rave over the fact we still have original woodwork. I just smile!

[kennyrayandersen]

You know, after looking at your bottom picture again, it looks like the same thing has started in another spot off to the left, though it hasn’t progressed as much. I was initially trying to help you from doing a refinish, but I think Steve has a good point – you might as well go after it, replace it, and sand the whole thing – it sounds like it might be due anyway.

[Miriam C.]

Mine did it but all over. I lightly sanded it and covered it with epoxy like Doug said. If you only have a couple of spots I would patch it Steve's way but coat the whole thing with a few layers of epoxy then finish coat it for UV.

[b.bodemer]

Is that what you call "checking"?

Brb

[caseydog]

If you have the skills and a lot of patience, a dutchman repair would probably be the best option. Staining the patch to match the rest is really tough. A dutchman is easier if your surface is painted, but saw it done on a stained woodwork on This Old House, and it came out nice.

CD

[Steve_Cox]

Is that what you call "checking"?

Brb

Barb,

Checking (little tiny cracks that often look like squares) was what happened to allow the water to intrude under the polyurethane. The poly gets a little brittle with age and doesn't stretch with the expansion and contraction of the wood.

[wannabefree]

Blisters like this can be repaired with superglue. Get a "big" bottle at the woodworking store and a spray can of activator. For this I would use the thin stuff. Make sure the area you want to repair is completely dry. If damp the glue will set up immediately. Use a blowdryer if you have to to dry it out and work fast with the glue.

Be generous with the glue. Stick the bubbled veneer down with as many pins as it takes, then shoot it with the activator. Here in dry AZ I have about 10 minutes working time with CA glue. You may get less if you live in a humid place. And wear gloves.

I have little faith in polyurethane. It seems to sit on a surface rather than penetrate. As the wood expands and contracts you get microscopic cracks that let in moisture. The best way I know to prevent this is fiberglass and epoxy as has already been mentioned.

[Barry and Darby H.]

OK,

I'm certainly no professional but I do have access to a few and when I started building my woody I was told in no uncertain terms that polyurethane was for interior work only and had very little to offer in the way of uv or moisture protection and that spar varnish ( albeit expensive ) was a far better alternative. You just have to build your coats up slowly and lightly sand with a fine sandpaper or scotch bright pad between each coat to really get a mirror shine and a nice thick protective coat. I may be stating the obvious here but when I saw the word polyurethane, I thought I would chime in. Personally, I would replace that panel, probably not what you want to here but if it has water damage already I wouldn't trust it. Fix it once and fix it right. I wish you the best of luck in whatever approach you decide to take.

Barry

[hunter535]

What Steve suggested is what I would try first.

I have done this on furniture that needed veneer replaced in spots. The cut could be done in a decorative shape like a diamond or a star, depending on how elaborate you would want to be. And you could also stain it a different color if you want it to stand out. Sometimes it is easier to do this than it is to try and match the color. I have seen some really nice shapes (inlays)done in veneer this way. But the finishing end of it, I would have to agree with Miriam, epoxy the whole thing. Polyurethane, if not reapplied every year will weather and check to expose the wood grain and will do exactly what yours has done.
UV rays are nasty buggers!