Category: 1957 Lyman Runabout

We’ve just blasted through a major milestone in our 1957 23’ Lyman Runabout preservation! ALL parts destined for her cockpit have been stripped, fabricated where needed, test-installed, sanded and bleached.

If you watch one of her recent videos again, you might conclude, as others have, that there were very few parts involved.

And I’ve received multiple emails suggesting we were just exaggerating what was involved in creating and fabricating a pair of jump seats and entirely reconceived helm station seating and lockers.

Well, all I can tell you is that RJ, Joe and I were shocked this morning after we had laid all these parts out in preparation for launching into staining them on Monday. Who would have thought!? Staining is next and, as is detailed in the clip, we will use Wood Kote Jel’d stain for this task. (Available from Super F Paint and elsewhere).

From Wood Kote:

Basic Use
Jel’d Stain is formulated for interior wood surfaces such as casework, doors, trim, paneling and cabinets. It matches the corresponding colors of Jel’d Stain 550 & 250 and Liquid Stain 550 & 250. Jel’d Stain may be applied to bare or bleached wood. It is compatible with a variety of other Wood Kote products. Please refer to the Wood Kote Schedule of Product Compatibility and Recommended Dry Times. Jel’d Stain DOES NOT comply with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) emission requirements for Architectural and Industrial Maintenance coatings (effective 13Sep99).

Advantages

• Matches Jel’d Stain 550 & 250 and Liquid Stain 550 & 250
• Easy to apply
• Fast-drying
• 2-3 times more coverage than liquid stains
• No stirring required

Coverage
One application of Jel’d Stain will cover approximately 1250-1500 sq. ft./gal (30,6-36,8 m2/L).

Composition & Properties
Jel’d Stain is a fast-drying semitransparent pigment wood stain. It is intended for application without thinning. If thinning is desired, PolySolvent (mineral spirits) should be used or, if regulations require a VOC-exempt thinner, use AceThin (acetone).

Depending upon the boat you own or are preserving, contacting Mike Mayer, Lake Oswego Boat Company ([email protected]) will likely satisfy all of your staining needs. Working with Wood Kote, Mike offers roster of Jel’d stains that match original stains for Pre- and Post-WWII Chris-Crafts, Gar Wood, and many more.

If you are after superior quality and consistent stain, and preserving your vessel as correctly as is possible, Mike is your go-to source. Yes, you can mix stain colors yourself and maybe even save a dollar or ten, but you will also suffer the consequences.

Here is Part II of the crew blasting through the bleach-stain milestones as we apply Wood Kote Products Jel’d Wood Stain on our 1957 23-foot Old Style Lyman Runabout.

Part I’s narrative focused on the how, why and advantages of jel’d over filler stain in these applications. Yes, it is far easier to apply and delivers an incredibly uniform color. It, goes an incredibly long way; we used about 12 ounces to stain everything we stained today. But it is not a filler stain, which translates into a surface that retains most of its cross-sectional declivities – hills and valleys – post staining, especially compared to a filler stain, which is designed, well, to fill these selfsame valleys.

Bottom line even following three full coats of Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer, filling these valleys and thereby achieving the truly flat surface we thirst for requires at least 3-5 additional coats of varnish.

We are not ready to jettison our Interlux Interstain Wood Filler Stain yet, but the ease with which we achieved an absolutely uniform color across all these surfaces makes it truly difficult to hide the Wood Kote in a deep corner of a dark cabinet!

Our 1957 23-foot Lyman Runabout conservation project blasted through two milestones today. We bleached her decks covering boards, toe rails, king planks and helm station bulkhead earlier this week. Today we stained all of the same surfaces and components.

We have long standardized on Interlux Interstain Wood Filler Stain, but have recently been seeing dramatic and superior results using Wood Kote Products Inc.’s Jel’d stains – dark and red mahogany mixed in equal proportions for our Lyman products, and a bit more red relative to dark mahogany for Chris-Craft.

Jel’d stain is not a filler stain and it is not meant to be applied and let sit until it flashes. Instead, it is applied in a circular motion using a terrycloth or old T-shirt rag and then wiped – not scrubbed – off immediately with strokes that follow the grain.

The uniformity of the result is dramatic and easily attained compared to the sweat and blood required to achieve a similar result with a filler stain.

One of the advantages of jel’d over filler stain is that those nasty, light “Oops!!” events we all experience when sanding too aggressively after the first few coats of varnish are easily repaired with a rag and a bit of the jel’d stain. That offending light spot or area disappears, at least in our experience with it thus far.

Part II follows John and RJ as they stain the balance of these surfaces.