What is this finish on my cabin sole?

[redpointist]

I got some baking soda on the cabin sole, and it's stripped the finish. The boat came with this finish, and I don't know what it is, bUT it was already pretty worn out before i disfigured it further. It's a shiny hard surface, but seems very thin. Can a baking soda solution remove varnish or is the finish some kind of heavy duty floor wax or something?

What would you do to refinish this floor? Use baking soda over the whole floor to even it out, lightly sand, then varnish?

[tkeithlu]

Not much to go on here. It looks like wood, it looks like the varnish is worn away, and it looks like it is discolored by water (think old gray barn). If it's a veneer (AKA plywood) then there may not be any of the fancy wood layer left after you sand down to the bottom of the gray stain. Can you get to an edge of it and see how it's built?

[redpointist]

In another part of the boat the veneer has peeled back a bit so I know it's definately a veneer over plywood. It's pretty thin but good enough for at least one sanding I'd think.

What I'm most curious about is how quickly a baking soda solution completely ate through the finish down to bare wood. Is baking soda even capable of doing that to varnish, or is it possible that the finish is something else?

But is that irrelevant and regardless of what it is, strip the rest with baking soda as well?

[tkeithlu]

My resident chemist (spouse) discounts (as I suspected) any role for the baking soda that would not also happen with plain water. Varnish is a hydrocarbon. Volatile hydrocarbons will dissolve it, but not baking soda. I think the varnish was already cracked, letting water soften the wood and release the varnish. In any case, sandpaper will fragment the varnish as it cuts into the wood. The central question is the depth of the gray water stain. If you can sand down to pretty wood, great, revarnish with polyurethane floor varnish. If you hit the cheap layers or the glue between them, You'll have to start over.

[Cheechako]

If you want an even colored surface you need to strip entirely, sand and refinish. No way around it that I know of. I doubt Baking Soda had much to do with it other than it's abrasive qualities.
Being veneer strip it for sure, you can sand thru veneer in an instant.
Another option: 2 ft x 2 ft x 3/8 grey foam locking tiles. Cut to fit. Soft on the feet. Probably $25-35 for the whole sole. :>)

[leftbrainstuff]

Looks like one coat of old worn off varnish on poorly prepared timber. Is it a veneer? Is it just a cheap house type product. Hard to tell from the pics.

I doubt the baking soda was the culprit. A splash of water would probably dislodge the remaining varnish

[redpointist]

I'm leaning towards it being one ancient coat of varnish and the baking soda just had more undisolved abrasive particles in it than I thought. I swear one quick wipe and the varnish was gone. The floor had gotten wet and wiped several times before with plain water and and been fine not long before.

I was thinking there might be some other floor product thats dissolved easily in baking soda, but sounds from replies that it's just a micro thin layer of some type of varnish afterall.

[tkeithlu]

If you "hit bottom" with the sanding, the foam tiles are a much more practical and easier answer than trying to replace the wood. the odd corners and curves in a cabin sole make working with wood a real PITB. Carpet tiles work the same way, but hold water and sand, which already appear to be problems for you.

[Rough Magic]

I would heat and scrape the old finish off, hand sand with 320 paper, then if I couldn't live with the stains, try oxalic acid to bleach (lots of how to's online). Then varnish the results and live with it. Otherwise, as mentioned, cover with rubber tiles or replace it. I would not try to stick down another layer of veneer , just asking for rot in between the layers. Good luck.

[Squanderbucks]

I suspect the finish was gone in the areas now discolored and the baking soda simply bleached out the exposed wood. Like putting acid or bleach treatments on open teak. I might try first treating a small exposed discolored area with some teak or other wood bleach that can be gotten from the home store and see how it looks. If it come back to a reasonable color you may be able to get by with just stripping the remaining old finish off with paint remover and a scraper. Then bleach out all the wood to an even color and reseal with a grain sealer. Then only have to very lightly sand and not loose too much of your veneer. Then put on your polyurethane all over.

[Nightsky]

Originally Posted by redpointist

I'm leaning towards it being one ancient coat of varnish and the baking soda just had more undisolved abrasive particles in it than I thought. I swear one quick wipe and the varnish was gone. The floor had gotten wet and wiped several times before with plain water and and been fine not long before.

I was thinking there might be some other floor product thats dissolved easily in baking soda, but sounds from replies that it's just a micro thin layer of some type of varnish afterall.

Did the "varnish" dissolve with the baking soda solution when wiped, or did it just peel off in small pieces? If it dissolved, then not likely to be varnish. If baking soda solution worked so well, I would just do the rest of the floor with it, as it is non-toxic, and way less messy than sanding.

[JPA Cate]

The deal with veneer is to get it clean. I'd try stripper on it. Once all the varnish is gone, you have a choice. You can lightly sand it, do not try to sand out the grey water damage, that would have to be bleached, and even that may not work. Your choices after the prep are varnish, matte or high gloss (the high gloss is harder) or Cetol. We have a friend who used Cetol clear on her teak floor, and used to renew by a light wet sand, and re-coat. It is a lot less work than maintaining varnish. If you go for varnish, try to get gymnasium varnish, it is very long lasting.

Ann

[Cadence]

If baking soda does that, it maybe something with a high acidity? Someone else might have an idea in that? Or was the baking soda allowed to remain and act as an abrasive?

[tkeithlu]

Words of wisdom, Ann.

Baking soda in its dry form is used as a forgiving medium for abrasive blasting. That's dependent on its physical properties. As a solution in water, it's basic, and reacts with acids, producing CO2, as any kid with baking soda, vinegar, a glass coke bottle, a stopper, and a malicious intent toward his big sister knows.

[Sea Dreaming]

+1 on the gym floor finish. I think the position did that in our boat and it's almost as hard as glass. Very thick too so no worries about damage from dropping things.