Refinishing galley - to strip or sand?

[Caolan]

Hey all, I am wanting to restore as much of the original wood in my boat galley as much as possible. It has been painted over. My question is whether it is more efficient to use a sander or paint stripper gel?

TIA
- Caolan and Cliodhna

[Caolan]

Here's a pic...

[rognvald]

C,
You will need both: first, a good non-toxic stripper and secondly an electric sander to remove what is left in the grain or the difficult spots. Be certain that you don't have laminated teak or you'll be painting it again after considerable work. Good luck on your project.

[redsky49]

No need to remove. Simply sand and repaint. Or do you think there is a useable teak veneer beneath the paint? Why do you suppose it was previously painted over?

[Lance835]

Not sure what kind of paint that is. If it is not some sort of epoxy paint I would use a combination of paint remover first to get rid of the majority of the paint and then only use the sander to clean it up to the desired finish. Work on an inconspicuous area first and then trial and error it till you get it right. using the paint remover first you can eliminate a lot of dust and protect the grain. The paint remover may raise the grain on some woods but then the light sanding will take care of that.

[Greg Mason]

My Cheoy Lee was all teak below decks, and needed to be refinished. It was also a thin veneer. I used a heat gun and an expensive orange handle Sandvik carbide scraper to remove the bubbled up varnish that had been factory applied by spray. I actually had 2 scrapers, 1 a 2" blade and 1 a 3/4" blade. They withstand the heat from the gun and were the perfect way to shave the varnish off, leaving the teak ready to recoat. It took me a long time, if it wasn't headliner or countertop, it was teak. I revarnished in matte, using a foam roller, and must tell you, the matte dulls so fast, it looks like you missed a spot, but be methodical and the results are professional looking. Practice and you will perfect the technique.