Interior Woodwork Repair

[westwon]

Good morning all. I have some damage to my woodwork surrounding the chain-plate on my 1981 Newport 30. I didn't re-seal the chain-plate cover properly and had some of the veneer peel away when I had water ingress. I have 'tidied up' the damaged area, and have tried to find something that is a close match to the original teak with no luck. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to pretty-up the area?

Picture below:

[SteveSails]

Woodworking supply houses, Woodcraft, Rockler, and such have teak veneer. How pretty it will look depends greatly on your skill level. Or you could just sand, fill and paint, do port and starboard the same and no one will know its a repair.

BUT... are you sure the core of the plywood isn't rotted? This is a classic problem with chain plates bolted to plywood bulkheads. The chain plates leak, water gets in the bolt holes and rots the core. Take the chain plate off and check. Let us know what you find, I'm sure many here have dealt with this before.

Steve

[Cheechako]

The grain is running the wrong way on your patch. Or is that before you patched it? I cant tell.

OK, Now I think you just removed the bad veneer and that's the next layer.
True veneers are sold, they are very thin and can be cut with scissors. Some have the glue already on them and you heat them up. I would get some teak veneer, or light walnut if teak not available. Cut to fit, epoxy on with a backing board clamped or held in place and wax paper between. Sand any excess epoxy (it's not structural so don't use too much). Then try staining to match with the surrounding area. Use wipe on stain. It's often easier to finish the repair spot with something clear first. Then the stain doesn't soak into the wood. This allows you to try some stain, add another color over etc until you get it to match.
I've done crushed guitars this way and came out perfect. Add first teak stain, assess color match. If it needs to be more red add mahogany or red stain lightly over. Continue this process until perfect.


Teak veneer: http://www.woodcraft.com/product/159...-3-pieces.aspx Not sure how thick this example is though...

[westwon]

Thanks for the replies folks. The core seems excellent, though I will remove the chain plate when I do a repair. Unfortunately I am TERRIBLE at woodwork (thus my vocation in electronics!). By your description, I don't really have a veneer on the bulkhead. It's too thick.

Steve

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by westwon

Thanks for the replies folks. The core seems excellent, though I will remove the chain plate when I do a repair. Unfortunately I am TERRIBLE at woodwork (thus my vocation in electronics!). By your description, I don't really have a veneer on the bulkhead. It's too thick.

Steve

Each layer of plywood is a veneer. Veneer is just a term for a thin slice of wood.

[Sea Dreaming]

As already suggested you can buy new vaneer for that spot. When you apply it, use rubber or plastic brayer from the center out. This will force out small air bubbles from under the vaneer ensuring a strong bond. Work the brayer like clock moveing across the face from center out. Center to 12, center to 6, center to 3, then 9, etc. You are getting the bubbles out and making sure the patch doesent shift. Of course you might have to be creative because of the shape. You can use a plastic putty knife the same way, protect the surface with craft paper. But a brayer makes it easier.
One more tip, use canned air to dust the old surface. Wiping can leave the grime behind and, eventually, the vaneer will come up again.

[Omatako]

Whilst it will be difficult to fit a new piece of veneer into the stripped section, I think by far the hardest part will be to match the appearance. Even when sealed, timber darkens with age and the extent of the darkening is never likely to match any stain off the shelf.

My boat is trimmed in American cherry. I have done several repairs/enhancements using the same timber but have not yet been able to match the color. I've even used aged timber removed from one part of the boat in another project - it still has a different colour. It's close but it's not the same.

The thumbnail doesn't show the extent of your panel but I guess if appearance/matching is really important, you could strip the rest of the panel and re-veneer it completely. I use a veneer that was mentioned by Cheechako that has a heat-sensitive adhesive coating on the back. Once the fit is acceptable, the veneer is "ironed" on using an ordinary domestic iron. It works really well and doesn't require any special skills.

[westwon]

This is why I love the Cruisers Forum! Some great suggestions. Thanks all. I have thought about replacing the whole bulkhead's finish, but the complete unsquaredness (just invented a word..?) means I probably won't get the finish I'm looking for.

Steve

[captjcook]

There are several "artists" in town that can faux finish the repair to look original...if the repair was done properly. I mean indistinguishable.
I have done plenty of woodworking/refinishing.


Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[model 10]

[QUOTE=Cheechako;2178406]
I've done crushed guitars this way and came out perfect. Add first teak stain, assess color match. If it needs to be more red add mahogany or red stain lightly over. Continue this process until perfect.

I imagine the woodwork in our boat was perfect once. It's very nicely done in walnut. Any chance you want to spend a few months in paradise fixing up some woodwork in an old sailboat? Our boat is empty for months at a time.

[Terra Nova]

Originally Posted by westwon

...Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to pretty-up the area?...

Hang a picture of Salma Hayek over the area which has been vandalized.

But to repair it properly, which is to say inlay a new piece of matching veneer, hire a capable pro.

[westwon]

2 excellent ideas: "hang a picture of Salma hayek" and "hire a pro".
Although I'm a major cheapskate, I know my limitations . The professional is probably the way to go. My wife may object to Salma overlooking us though!

[Cheechako]

[QUOTE=Guy;2178605]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

I've done crushed guitars this way and came out perfect. Add first teak stain, assess color match. If it needs to be more red add mahogany or red stain lightly over. Continue this process until perfect.

I imagine the woodwork in our boat was perfect once. It's very nicely done in walnut. Any chance you want to spend a few months in paradise fixing up some woodwork in an old sailboat? Our boat is empty for months at a time.

Haha, thanks Guy! I have a feeling getting that done in the middle of nowhere would be tough though, Seems I make about a dozen trips to the paint or hardware store in the process!

[model 10]

[QUOTE=Cheechako;
Seems I make about a dozen trips to the paint or hardware store in the process![/QUOTE]

Our marina is about a 20 min dink ride from town. In the afternoon the wind picks up so it takes longer to get back. I swear I have worn out the outboard going back and forth so many times. It used to plane now it just slogs.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by Guy

Our marina is about a 20 min dink ride from town. In the afternoon the wind picks up so it takes longer to get back. I swear I have worn out the outboard going back and forth so many times. It used to plane now it just slogs.

haha, yeah I can relate to that. You problem think I'm more of an expert than I really am, I just keep after things until I get them right. I feel I was pretty lucky on those guitars to have them come out the way they did, not that I didn't have concerns along the way! The good thing is I have all these little cans of stain I've collected along the way for years , so have lots of options. On one Walnut style finish, (1959 Gibson!)for the final step, I added little tiny streaks of dark "grain" with a tiny, tiny artists brush about the size of a toothpick. Then put lacquer over the whole repair.