Some long time ago, on some forum, I read of a product that
resolidifies rotten, termite-eaten/powderpost beetle-eaten or
otherwise weakened or defected wood. Can someone direct me to this
product, if there is such, or a remedy for severely defected wood?
Removing part of the defects is an option, but in some places, glueing
new wood strips isn't an option, to restore the integrity of these
areas.

The specific problem is, regarding upholstery, the mangled, softened
wood along the decorative nail paths on an antique chair. There are
numerous nail holes in the wood, from having been reupholstered
several times before, and much of the wood is "chewed" to "softness"
and/or seems to be in a soft dry-rotted state. The wood is no longer
stable enough to hold new nails. I've had success with bolstering
similar wood defects, as this, but this case is much more severe.

I've thought about epoxy glue, but I have no experience, at all, with
epoxy glue, so I don't know if epoxy would be brittle and chip out,
when nailed into, especially along these narrow nail paths.

Thanks for any help.
Sonny

On Mar 5, 7:36*am, Sonny wrote:
Some long time ago, on some forum, I read of a product that
resolidifies rotten, termite-eaten/powderpost beetle-eaten or
otherwise weakened or defected wood. *Can someone direct me to this
product, if there is such, or a remedy for severely defected wood?
Removing part of the defects is an option, but in some places, glueing
new wood strips isn't an option, to restore the integrity of these
areas.

For "dry rotted" wood I've had excellent results from this stuff:
http://www.rotdoctor.com/

The specific problem is, regarding upholstery, the mangled, softened
wood along the decorative nail paths on an antique chair. *There are
numerous nail holes in the wood, from having been reupholstered
several times before, and much of the wood is "chewed" to "softness"
and/or seems to be in a soft dry-rotted state. *The wood is no longer
stable enough to hold new nails. I've had success with bolstering
similar wood defects, as this, but this case is much more severe.

Since it's interior, would "plastic wood" work?

I've thought about epoxy glue, but I have no experience, at all, with
epoxy glue, so I don't know if epoxy would be brittle and chip out,
when nailed into, especially along these narrow nail paths.

"Sonny" wrote in message
...
Some long time ago, on some forum, I read of a product that
resolidifies rotten, termite-eaten/powderpost beetle-eaten or
otherwise weakened or defected wood. Can someone direct me to this
product, if there is such, or a remedy for severely defected wood?
Removing part of the defects is an option, but in some places, glueing
new wood strips isn't an option, to restore the integrity of these
areas.

The specific problem is, regarding upholstery, the mangled, softened
wood along the decorative nail paths on an antique chair. There are
numerous nail holes in the wood, from having been reupholstered
several times before, and much of the wood is "chewed" to "softness"
and/or seems to be in a soft dry-rotted state. The wood is no longer
stable enough to hold new nails. I've had success with bolstering
similar wood defects, as this, but this case is much more severe.

I've thought about epoxy glue, but I have no experience, at all, with
epoxy glue, so I don't know if epoxy would be brittle and chip out,
when nailed into, especially along these narrow nail paths.

Thanks for any help.
Sonny


I've used this product on small projects. Worked well.
http://tinyurl.com/mr4au5

Max

On Mar 5, 8:36*am, Sonny wrote:
Some long time ago, on some forum, I read of a product that
resolidifies rotten, termite-eaten/powderpost beetle-eaten or
otherwise weakened or defected wood. *Can someone direct me to this
product, if there is such, or a remedy for severely defected wood?
Removing part of the defects is an option, but in some places, glueing
new wood strips isn't an option, to restore the integrity of these
areas.

The specific problem is, regarding upholstery, the mangled, softened
wood along the decorative nail paths on an antique chair. *There are
numerous nail holes in the wood, from having been reupholstered
several times before, and much of the wood is "chewed" to "softness"
and/or seems to be in a soft dry-rotted state. *The wood is no longer
stable enough to hold new nails. I've had success with bolstering
similar wood defects, as this, but this case is much more severe.

I've thought about epoxy glue, but I have no experience, at all, with
epoxy glue, so I don't know if epoxy would be brittle and chip out,
when nailed into, especially along these narrow nail paths.

Thanks for any help.
Sonny

Have you considered Bondo? Originally used by auto body shops, its a
two part system which is moldable.I have useed it with success in the
past.

Joe G

Yes, Try epoxy.

Ideally, you would like low-viscosity epoxy such as what comes in a kit like
this:

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...at=1,190,42997


I have used this product and it it worked well. But it's pricey and I think
there may be a cheaper solution.

One think about epoxy is that it is very temperature sensitive. When warmed,
not only does it cure more quickly, but it looses most of it's viscosity as
well. Warmed exopy will be almost as runny as water.

pick up some slow-cure epoxy at the hardware store. Mix it up and apply it
to your "punky wood". Hit it with a heat gun or a hair dryer. The wood
fibers will soak it up.

I don't know how well fully cured epoxy will take nails, but if it's 90%
cured (like somewhere between 4 hours and 2 days depending on the type of
epoxy and the ambient temp.), I'll bet it take nails really well.

Lew.... this is your cue to jump in.

-Steve



"Sonny" wrote in message
...
Some long time ago, on some forum, I read of a product that
resolidifies rotten, termite-eaten/powderpost beetle-eaten or
otherwise weakened or defected wood. Can someone direct me to this
product, if there is such, or a remedy for severely defected wood?
Removing part of the defects is an option, but in some places, glueing
new wood strips isn't an option, to restore the integrity of these
areas.

The specific problem is, regarding upholstery, the mangled, softened
wood along the decorative nail paths on an antique chair. There are
numerous nail holes in the wood, from having been reupholstered
several times before, and much of the wood is "chewed" to "softness"
and/or seems to be in a soft dry-rotted state. The wood is no longer
stable enough to hold new nails. I've had success with bolstering
similar wood defects, as this, but this case is much more severe.

I've thought about epoxy glue, but I have no experience, at all, with
epoxy glue, so I don't know if epoxy would be brittle and chip out,
when nailed into, especially along these narrow nail paths.

Thanks for any help.
Sonny

On Fri, 5 Mar 2010 11:01:38 -0500, "StephenM"
wrote:

Yes, Try epoxy.

Ideally, you would like low-viscosity epoxy such as what comes in a kit like
this:

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...at=1,190,42997


I have used this product and it it worked well. But it's pricey and I think
there may be a cheaper solution.

One think about epoxy is that it is very temperature sensitive. When warmed,
not only does it cure more quickly, but it looses most of it's viscosity as
well. Warmed exopy will be almost as runny as water.

pick up some slow-cure epoxy at the hardware store. Mix it up and apply it
to your "punky wood". Hit it with a heat gun or a hair dryer. The wood
fibers will soak it up.

I don't know how well fully cured epoxy will take nails, but if it's 90%
cured (like somewhere between 4 hours and 2 days depending on the type of
epoxy and the ambient temp.), I'll bet it take nails really well.

Lew.... this is your cue to jump in.

-Steve


....I'm into a project that will require something like we're talking
about here. Basically a slice of a tree so it's *all* endgrain...I've
flattened it and dried it out to the point that I think it's done
contracting. There now is a check or two that I must fill with
something that will withstand the movement of the wood but still
retain some charactoristics of the wood. I use bondo for paint grade
repairs frequently and it's wonderful, but on this it's got to be some
kind of epoxy that I can color...this discussion is very informative.

cg



"Sonny" wrote in message
...
Some long time ago, on some forum, I read of a product that
resolidifies rotten, termite-eaten/powderpost beetle-eaten or
otherwise weakened or defected wood. Can someone direct me to this
product, if there is such, or a remedy for severely defected wood?
Removing part of the defects is an option, but in some places, glueing
new wood strips isn't an option, to restore the integrity of these
areas.

The specific problem is, regarding upholstery, the mangled, softened
wood along the decorative nail paths on an antique chair. There are
numerous nail holes in the wood, from having been reupholstered
several times before, and much of the wood is "chewed" to "softness"
and/or seems to be in a soft dry-rotted state. The wood is no longer
stable enough to hold new nails. I've had success with bolstering
similar wood defects, as this, but this case is much more severe.

I've thought about epoxy glue, but I have no experience, at all, with
epoxy glue, so I don't know if epoxy would be brittle and chip out,
when nailed into, especially along these narrow nail paths.

Thanks for any help.
Sonny

On 3/5/2010 8:36 AM, Sonny wrote:
Some long time ago, on some forum, I read of a product that
resolidifies rotten, termite-eaten/powderpost beetle-eaten or
otherwise weakened or defected wood. Can someone direct me to this
product, if there is such, or a remedy for severely defected wood?
Removing part of the defects is an option, but in some places, glueing
new wood strips isn't an option, to restore the integrity of these
areas.

The specific problem is, regarding upholstery, the mangled, softened
wood along the decorative nail paths on an antique chair. There are
numerous nail holes in the wood, from having been reupholstered
several times before, and much of the wood is "chewed" to "softness"
and/or seems to be in a soft dry-rotted state. The wood is no longer
stable enough to hold new nails. I've had success with bolstering
similar wood defects, as this, but this case is much more severe.

I've thought about epoxy glue, but I have no experience, at all, with
epoxy glue, so I don't know if epoxy would be brittle and chip out,
when nailed into, especially along these narrow nail paths.

Thanks for any help.
Sonny

Git-Rot. It is a low viscosity epoxy that soaks into the wood fibers. It
was used years ago on the Balclutha in San Francisco to preserve her.

http://www.jamestowndistributors.com...ct.do?pid=2093
or
http://www.westmarine.com/1/1/16610-...boat-life.html

Harvey

Are the nails and staples used in these repaired rails driven with a
hammer or a pneumatic gun?

Lew, is there a particular concern you have in mind, as to hammered vs
pneumatics?

I've emailed, with pictures, RotDoctor for advice on their specific
product recommended for this particular woodwork. I've also
purchased, locally, some Loctite epoxy and it's being tested at the
moment.

The new decorative nails will be hand nailed, individually, with a
vinyl head upholsterer's tack hammer. I'm not aware of a pneumatic
nailer for decorative nails. In any application, whether the wood is
in good shape or not, you have to be careful of splitting the wood
because of the numerous inline nails being installed, i.e., creating a
perforated (perforation?) line that the wood may split/crack along.

Staples will be installed with a pneumatic stapler, 70-90 psi. Again,
numerous inline staples can sometimes result in splitting of the
wood. Staggering the staple prongs, by twisting the gun a tad, helps
eliminate an inline arrangement.

In each case, you kind of have to assess things, before stapling/
nailing away. I don't think I've ever seen an antique that hasn't had
excellent wood structures, but even nice antiques have had wood to
split along these nail paths. In some cases, stressed fabric, when in
use, has "pulled" enough on the nails/staples to cause the wood to
split or crack, rather than the nails/staples dislodge, first.

This is an interesting restoration project, even for myself. Some of
these nail paths, the wood, has been altered from the original, no
doubt because of previous issues during previous reupholstering. Some
nail paths have, literally, been cut off, in some areas, and wood
strips have been nailed back in place, for decorative nail
reattaching. This nailing of these wood strips seems to be the
equivalent to the nailing of the doweled ends of chair's stretchers
back into their holes.... that kind of "repair". Even these newer
wood strips need to be snugged up a bit more and glued. So for, the
restoration has been going smoothly.

Thanks for all the advice, info and links. It's really been helpful.
Sonny

GROVER writes:

On Mar 5, 8:36Â*am, Sonny wrote:
Some long time ago, on some forum, I read of a product that
resolidifies rotten, termite-eaten/powderpost beetle-eaten or
otherwise weakened or defected wood. Â*Can someone direct me to this
product, if there is such, or a remedy for severely defected wood?
Removing part of the defects is an option, but in some places, glueing
new wood strips isn't an option, to restore the integrity of these
areas.

The specific problem is, regarding upholstery, the mangled, softened
wood along the decorative nail paths on an antique chair. Â*There are
numerous nail holes in the wood, from having been reupholstered
several times before, and much of the wood is "chewed" to "softness"
and/or seems to be in a soft dry-rotted state. Â*The wood is no longer
stable enough to hold new nails. I've had success with bolstering
similar wood defects, as this, but this case is much more severe.

I've thought about epoxy glue, but I have no experience, at all, with
epoxy glue, so I don't know if epoxy would be brittle and chip out,
when nailed into, especially along these narrow nail paths.

Thanks for any help.
Sonny

Have you considered Bondo? Originally used by auto body shops, its a
two part system which is moldable.I have useed it with success in the
past.

I would not use Bondo. I don't think it is good at taking screws and nails.

"StephenM" writes:

Yes, Try epoxy.

Ideally, you would like low-viscosity epoxy such as what comes in a kit like
this:

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...at=1,190,42997


I have used this product and it it worked well. But it's pricey and I think
there may be a cheaper solution.

One think about epoxy is that it is very temperature sensitive. When warmed,
not only does it cure more quickly, but it looses most of it's viscosity as
well. Warmed exopy will be almost as runny as water.


I'm a big fan of West Systems. I spoke to their tech support and they
said it is much better to use their warmed undiluted epoxy which has a
similar viscosity than to use on of the kits which relies on diluted
epoxy -- bottom line is that you will get better hardening and bonding
using undiluted epoxy while warming will give the same
penetration. Also, when bought by the gallon, West System is
significantly less expensive.

One tip -- heat the *wood* surface rather than the epoxy (e.g., use a
heat gun). First, this will do a better a job of wicking in the epoxy
since it literally draws it in. Second, by not heating the pot, you
don't run the risk of overheating the epoxy or speeding up the hardening
too much.

pick up some slow-cure epoxy at the hardware store. Mix it up and apply it
to your "punky wood". Hit it with a heat gun or a hair dryer. The wood
fibers will soak it up.

The problem with most generic hardware store epoxies is that they come
pretty thick (presumably various thickeners have been added like
silica). Even with heating the wood (or the epoxy), it may not be
viscous enough to wick in. West Systems sells resin and hardener that is
neither artificially thickened nor diluted -- if needed, they sell
various fillers to modify the properties for bonding, filleting,
wood-fill, etc.


I don't know how well fully cured epoxy will take nails, but if it's 90%
cured (like somewhere between 4 hours and 2 days depending on the type of
epoxy and the ambient temp.), I'll bet it take nails really well.

Lew.... this is your cue to jump in.

-Steve



"Sonny" wrote in message
...
Some long time ago, on some forum, I read of a product that
resolidifies rotten, termite-eaten/powderpost beetle-eaten or
otherwise weakened or defected wood. Can someone direct me to this
product, if there is such, or a remedy for severely defected wood?
Removing part of the defects is an option, but in some places, glueing
new wood strips isn't an option, to restore the integrity of these
areas.

The specific problem is, regarding upholstery, the mangled, softened
wood along the decorative nail paths on an antique chair. There are
numerous nail holes in the wood, from having been reupholstered
several times before, and much of the wood is "chewed" to "softness"
and/or seems to be in a soft dry-rotted state. The wood is no longer
stable enough to hold new nails. I've had success with bolstering
similar wood defects, as this, but this case is much more severe.

I've thought about epoxy glue, but I have no experience, at all, with
epoxy glue, so I don't know if epoxy would be brittle and chip out,
when nailed into, especially along these narrow nail paths.

Thanks for any help.
Sonny