Remove / Re-Bed Deck Woodwork

[Captin_Kirk]

I am getting my boat ready for the season. I am taking all deck hardware/woodwork off, painting the deck and then re-bedding the hardware.

I originally thought the teak was going to all have to be replaced. However after I pulled a few peices, I took them into the shop and sanded them down and they look GREAT! There is a few dark spots that I think I can bleach clean. My question is this:

When the time comes to install back on the boat what is the best procedure, should I install/re-bed the bare wood and then apply multi coats of varnish, or should I apply varnish to the bottom of the woodwork to seal the bottom and then re-bed and then apply the varnish to the top and sides?

I guess what I am wondering is should the bottom be sealed or open and allowed to breath, or will the bedding compound be enough yo seal it. It is going to be a big job to remove and sand everything, so I really don't want to do it again anytime soon.

It looks like the boat was originally well cared for, but the PO that I bought from had the boat for 6 years, the last 3 of which were on the hard and neglected.

[GordMay]

Varnish won’t waterproof the teak. If you wish, you can treat the teak with epoxy, prior to laying.
When re-installing, Glue (epoxy) & Screw, then Caulk the seams (polysufide or Sikaflex).

[neilpride]

Just to be sure that the moisture content in the teak is low and dry, wood need to breath , cheers.

[roverhi]

If you are going to bed the pieces in LifeCaulk, 5200, etc. you need to put a couple of coats of varnish on the exposed areas of the wood. If you don't, the excess caulk will get in the grain of the wood and make a mess, btdt. The only way to get the goo out of the wood is to sand it which takes a lot of time and can be very difficult to do. Teak should be wiped down with acetone before any coating or caulk is applied. You need to get the surface oil off the wood.

[Captin_Kirk]

That is kind of what I was thinking. By applying a few coats of varnish on the bottom, I should seal it enough that the caulking does not get into the grain. Then once it is installed and the screw holes plugged and sanded I can complete the varnish to the top.

[anjou]

You dont need to worry about caulking on the underside as its not visable.
Do as Gord said, then when screwed and epoxy cured, mask up, caulk and wipe off excess with acetone while still wet.

[jrd22]

Originally Posted by GordMay

When re-installing, Glue (epoxy) & Screw, then Caulk the seams (polysufide or Sikaflex).

Gord- are you saying to epoxy the woodwork to the deck?
Also, I have found that using butyl rubber is far superior to caulking for re-bedding hardware, it stays pliable and flexible forever and seals water out better than anything else I have used. When I re-did all of our deck hardware the original butyl rubber was like new and we had no wet core issues on a 20 year old boat.

[GordMay]

Polyurethane (‘5200') caulking won’t adhere to teak decking. Use polysulfide.
Yes, I recommend screwed & glued deck fastening, with epoxy being the most often recommended “glue” (adhesive).

[Captin_Kirk]

What happens down the road if the wood has to be removed? Will applying with Epoxy make that impossible without ruining the deck?

[jrd22]

Kirk- doesn't sound like you have teak decks (from your original post) so not sure what is being recommended to be epoxied down. I'm confused. If, as your post indicates, you are going to be re-bedding hand rails, cleats, tracks, etc., I would not use epoxy on any of the wood or you will never get it back off again. Some like to use an adhesive caulk, I prefer the butyl rubber as it seals better and is easy to disassemble when you need to re-varnish. Just my opinion.

[cabo]

In my opinion the best solution and the system I use is to coat the entire piece of teak with epoxy. I use Clear Penetrating Epoxy System (CPES) from Smith and Co. I use two coats on the entire piece. This helps the varnish and protects the wood. I then use a caulking compound to put the wood on. When I screw the pieces on I dip the screws in epoxy to seal the screw holes. And then varnish the piece as normal with any quality varnish. I personally use Bristol Varnish. Good luck with your project. It sounds like you will end up a nice finish.

[um saudade]

Wow! Lots of contrary ideas here. I go along with the use of Smith’s system. It really penetrates and seals the wood, makes the subsequent coats stick better. You can also use West System with 207(?) the special hardener for wood.

I would not use 5200 on anything! Period. The crap causes far more issues than it is worth. It is permanent and you don’t want that. Anything that goes down on a deck will have to come back up someday.

As to 5200 not sticking to teak I have patched a nice hole in the grp because teak was put down with 5200 instead of bolts and I thought it would lift easier than it did. Needless to say I ground the other teak fitting off and didn’t hurt the deck finish much. Note that I said much, as I had to get into the gelcoat a little to get it clean.

I bed all deck hardware in 3M’s 101. It is bedding compound and not a multi-duty something. Cleans up with alcohol, stays pliable and works. I have never had it fail thus far.

If you want trouble down the road stick your hardware down with 5200, or worse, any epoxy. NO!

Um Saudade

[Captin_Kirk]

You are right jrd, no teak decks, just some toerails and other pieces here and there. Mostly hardware.

[slowshoes]

Kirk,

I would put a couple of coats of varnish on the pieces before bedding them. Polysulfide or its equivalant is messy stuff and your bound to get some where you don't want it. With the piece sealed with varnish it will wipe of easily, but on raw teak, it will be pushed into the grain when you try to wipe it off - then you'll have a time trying to get it out. As Anjou said, there's no need to varnish the bottom of the pieces though.

I agree with the other posters about not using 5200 or expoxy to bed fittings - you'll need a hatchet to remove them in the future.

I wouldn't use an epoxy undercoat for varnish - I tried that many years ago myself with West system epoxy. It eventually will fail and have to come off and I had a bear of a time getting it off. Luckily I only tried it on a small area. Maybe the Smith penetrating epoxy will work better though - I've never tried it. You might want to try it on one piece first to see how it works for you.

Best of luck with this messy job - I always manage to get half the tube of caulk on the boat and the other half on me. Old clothes and a bag of disposable gloves!

[Captin_Kirk]

That sounds good. Without varnish on the bottom before I bed, is that not going to be an area where water will penitrate (Meaning the side where side and bottom meet?)

If I put a few coats on the wood before bedding it, then use epoxy on on screws as I secure them, use teak plugs to cover the holes and lightly sand them them apply a few more coats of varnish, will that seal everything up nice then? Or will the different amount of coats of varnish on the plugs and the wood piece itself make it stank out? Also will the varnish in the screw holes stop the plugs from gluing to the piece?

I know this is allot of questions, but I have never done this before, and it is a huge job, that I don't want to have to repeat anytime soon.