Woodwork Work

[Jackman]

On my list of things to do this winter, most of which entails trying to make the boat look better for the upcoming season (no mechanicals for once!), is to finally get to the wood work on the interior of my 1985 32ft SF. I figure even though it'll be cold out my heat and a dehumidifier should be able to make up for it while I'm doing the work.

My woodwork has some scratches from the previous owners and I intend to figure out what was put on it, finish ect, and go get more and attempt to make things better. I will be attempting to make everything look better.

My question is....I will be lightly sanding over all of the trim inside and putting a couple coats of new finish on it but what do I do with the paneling or rosewood..... whatever it is? Will lightly sanding and putting on some new finish do the trick or do you suggest something else?

 

[Maynard Rupp]

That panneling is aframosa. I use teak oil, can't remember the brand. You shouldn't have to sand minor iscratches as the teak oil seems to cover all. The stuff I use doesn't stay oily for more than a couple of days. The panneling always looks like new and I coat it all in spring, then just go over scratches and such during the season. A very quick and easy job with very rewarding results.

 

[Nonchalant1]

If it looks like "feather teak" it's Afromosia. If it looks and feels like there's no finish on it at all, you may have the original raw wood treated with Tung Oil (I believe that's what Maynard meant by "Taek Oil". You just lightly sand with 0000 steel wool and apply pure Tung Oil (not stuff that "contains tung oil", let it dry a few minutes and wipe it off. Do this a few times until the surface doesn't want to accept more oil easily and you're done. Also, if the rest of the walls look OK, you can just do the scratches as above and it may blend in with the rest just fine. If the wood has absorbed dirt and dust over the years, it'll lighten up where you steel wool it so you'll have to do the whole thing, but you'll love the results.

If you can see and feel an actual finish covering the surface of the wood, or if it's glossy, that's a completely different story. The answer depends entirely on what the finish is, but many actual old finishes would benefit from stripping more than sanding (ugh). Glossy finishes can be beautiful, but scratches are hard to deal with and it doesn't have the feel of Tung Oil finish.

Doug Shuman

 

[Jackman]

It does seem to have a gloss to it, which is why I don't think its an oil, but I could be wrong. I don't know if the guy before me did anyting unusual to it, meaning something he shouldn't have, or the gloss is normal. I seem to think there is a finish of some type on it...kinda remember seeing a drip somewhere as though he tried to use a finish and did a poor job.

Maybe I can dig up some pictures.

 

[Rickysa]

Along the same line....previous owner had a good bit of cosmetic water damage around the salon windows (45C)...he had replaced the windows (glad I didn't have to ) but the "washed-out" afromosia around the frames remains...tried stain alone, but it wouldn't take....using tung oil everywhere else and it looks great..

Suggestions? (and I hope this isn't hijacking this thread!)

Rick

 

[ThirdHatt]

I think Maynard did mean teak oil, as that was how it was finished from the factory. I have read on this board that the factory used Watco brand teak oil, available from Lowe's. Tung oil can be used instead, but as I understand it tung oil is a sealer and the wood will not accept teak oil after the surface has been sealed. As I see it, the main advantage of tung oil is that wou can achieve a fairly high gloss finish with a minimal amount of effort. I have had excellent results with teak oil in the staterooms of my boat where the wood is in excellent shape. On the other hand, the salon and helm area of my boat has been sun-faded a bit and we used tung oil to get a nice glossy finish. Unfortunately for me, it was only after we applied the tung oil that I read elsewhere on this forum that sun-faded teak panels can be brought back to the original color simply by mixing some red oak stain with the teak oil and apply as usual. To do that now after I have sealed the panels with tung oil, I would have to remove the tung oil completely to allow the oil and stain to be soaked up. Since I am not positive how to do that properly, I think I will stick with teak oil in the staterooms and tung oil in the salon.

Hope this helps!

 

[Capten]

We have been very pleased with using Formby's Tung Oil on all of the interior afromosia and teak trim on our 46C (see photos in the gallery section). It is very easy to work with and provides a very nice glossy finish that is easy to maintain/touch up and doesn't yellow or chip (like varnish).

The previous owner had done a very sloppy job with teak oil. It was thick, had runs (yes, even teak oil can run when done poorly), and just looked awful. Sanded it all down with sand paper, 3M pads, and BRONZE wool (try to stay away from steel wool on a boat). Then applied mutliple (8+) coats of tung oil by hand.

Our 32SF did not have nearly as much interior teak/afromosia and we simply used Watco teak oil just like the factory. It stayed very nice and was easy to do but we owned/maintained that boat since new.

 

[Maynard Rupp]

We have been very satisfied with the teak oil product we use. I looked it up in a Boat US catalog and it is called "STARBRITE TEAK OIL". This product was recomended to us by about 5 people. That is a good sign for sure. It isn't glossy, very natural, not sticky, and doesn't attract dirt. We also had some water bleaching from a sliding window that was apparently left open before we owned the boat. 2 applications of this stuff and it looks like new. We have used Starbrite teak oil for two years and would not change.

 

[Nonchalant1]

Maynard,

Thanks - I stand corrected

Maybe that's the product I ought to use on my teak swim platform. I just sanded it down and it's dry, inside for a few months. It's give it time to saok in and dry and then do more coats. Does it say if it's UV resistant?

Doug

 

[Maynard Rupp]

I don't think you want StarBrite on your swim platform. It is outside and subject to the worst of everything. All my outside teak, except the swim platform, is done with a 2 part product called "Bristol Finish". Looks like varnish, lasts a long time. www.bristolfinish.com. I was told not to use anyrthing glossy on the swim platform because it would be slippery. I use "Armada" in the semi-gloss version. I do not like the stuff because it doesn't look like varnish and has to be re-coated every year. I really don't have a good answer except to take the thing off or replace it with a fiberglass one. I know that you serious salt water fishermen remove them so they can drag the monster aboard easier. Here in the great lakes our big fish might weigh 2 pounds.

 

[Nonchalant1]

I called the CPES guys, discussed for other wood treatment here and they said it would need a UV protective finish on top of it. Maybe there is no good answer, so I was wondering about leaving it bare teak wood. That's what the old sailing ships did...bare teak and scrubbed when it gets dirty.

Doug

 

[dwaynec]

I don't know about the great lakes and other clear water boating areas, but here in the muddy missi teak swim platforms get to be pretty ugly if they are not coated with something. As I have stated in earlier posts, my wife and I are experimenting with using a combination of Watco Teak Oil and Clear Sikkens on our wood.

The clear Skikkens is a high gloss finish that does contain UV inhibiters but by itself does not make the wood look very good. However, even though it is a gloss finish, it does not get real slippery when wet like varnish. We have had it on our platform for two years now and nobody has slipped on it when boarding the boat. We use the Watco to give the platform a nice color and grain effect and then overcoat it with the Sikkens. Since it is a clear finish you don't end up with the muddy effect like you do with the regular Sikkens that just loves to turn the wood orange. The downside is that you have to let it dry overnight before you can put on another coat.

You do have to give it an annual maintenance coat or two, but it doesn't take as long as changing the oil in one of the engines. It is dustproof in a couple hours and OK to walk on after about six hours. The first time you finish the wood, you will have to give it about five coats to get the film thick enough to stand up to the UV and other things that are hard on a finish.Nice thing is that you do not have to sand between coats.

So far, we have been very happy with the results.
Dwayne

 

[Jackman]

I was talking with my Dad and he seems to think the interior has finish on it (like a previous owner put the finish after factory). I guess I have no other choice than to work with that because I don't think I am going to spend the time stripping all of that finish off. We stripped all of the exterior wood, anything outside of the cabin, and plan on treating it with teak oil, but I don't know if I have the time to tackle the stripping of all the interior wood. What do you guys think? I think a sanding with some light grit sandpaper and then another coat?