Help Me Refinish My Cabin Sole- YouTube

[Oceandeep]

Originally Posted by Subway Sailor

please correct me but the bulkheads appear to not be varnished nor does the wood in the v-birth area right? or is that what a matt/finish finish is supposed to look like?...or is that what worn out varnish looks like?....wouldn't teak oil revive this with just the need of annual maintenance re-application, thanks for all your help...

Hard to say what the previous finish was. In any case it appears to be worn out at this point. As to whether you should varnish or apply teak oil , I suppose it's a matter of personal preference. I personally haven't had very good results with teak oil above or below deck and always went the varnish route. Experiment on a small item and see what you like best.

[Subway Sailor]

Well gents... I am In Delaware...and i started sanding the v-birth bulkheads by hand with 60 grit...... i got inpatient and pulled out the sander i just bought today with 60 grit and sander away.. Surface now looks a bit gray and color free-ish...i will wipe down with mineral spirits when i wake up so i can air out the boat and not inhale that when i sleep...i also need to conserve heat as its currently 37 and i have a tiny heater from home depot and a sleeping bag!


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[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by Subway Sailor

Well gents... I am In Delaware...and i started sanding the v-birth bulkheads by hand with 60 grit...... i got inpatient and pulled out the sander i just bought today with 60 grit and sander away.. Surface now looks a bit gray and color free-ish...i will wipe down with mineral spirits when i wake up so i can air out the boat and not inhale that when i sleep...i also need to conserve heat as its currently 37Attachment 92800 and i have a tiny heater from home depot and a sleeping bag!


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IMHO 60 grit is way too coarse, you will spend so much time and effort filling the scratches that it leaves in an effort to achieve a good finnish that it would be faster in the long term to use a finer paper.
Cheers, good luck and enjoy.

[MarkSF]

I'm all for doing it the easiest way. That's a chemical stripper. Not Methylene Chloride, that would be lethal in a boat. Try 3m safest stripper. Takes a while to work but work it does, if it's not epoxy. The best scraper is a carbide one. You pull rather than pushing, so you won't get gouges.

[Subway Sailor]

Well i was going to go over it with 120 grit when i wake up...the wipe it down with the mineral spirit...


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[Subway Sailor]

Soooo epoxy it is ...i have spend the last two hrs with a heat gun and a scraper peeling away...i will leave the bulkheads for next weekend...


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[Delancey]

Looks like Sapele. I am sure it will look beautiful when it is finished. You'll have to post some photos. Have fun!
Sapele - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[MarkSF]

I still think a carbide scraper would be less work and would give much better (smoother) results.

[Jman]

We had real teak and holly in or 1969 boat. Did not have the blistering problem, but they were so dark you could not even see the holly.

Pulled them all out and ran a couple through a planer. The planner tended to rip the holly, but did a great job on the teak. Switch tactics and used a belt sander in the rest. Results were fantastic! After belt sander, used an orbital sander starting at 80 and working down to 220.
After:



Before, sorta, don't have a close up.




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[RDW]

Are those lead bricks?
rdw

[Jman]

Originally Posted by RDW

Are those lead bricks?
rdw

Yup. Nothing to do with flooring though


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[Nicholson58]

The teak & holly sole can be purchased new in 4 X 8 sheets Teak & Holly Cabin Sole : Noahsmarine.com & other sources. You might find the decomposition & mold staining is too deep to sand out. If you choose to do the rest of the wood, try rubbing it out with any of a number of strippers and lots of rags. Try the Eco-friendly stuff first. I would use either a good urethane or diluted Epiphanes. I apply with a rag and then wipe off before it gets tacky. Use dry rags. Let dry & do again a few times. This builds layers without a high gloss finish. BTW, Epiphanes can be prevented from spoiling in the can if you put a thin layer of mineral spirits on top of the heel in the can & don't mix it.

My favorite sander for most work you are facing is my Porter Cable electric D-A Orbital. The blue hook & loop pads from Home Depot are pretty good. I start with 60 for aggressive work.

[Delancey]

I could be wrong but I believe the OP doesn't have a "Teak And Holly" sole. He has solid wood planks. I am not sure but from the photos, but they look like they could be the same wood as the bulkheads, which I believe is Sapele.

Many talk of "Teak And Holly" as being the be-all-end-all of of yachtie interiors but the truth is most of it is thin veneer applied to suspect "marine ply" at a premium price. Sorry it's true. Not saying there isn't excellent quality teak and holly plywood out there, there is. But few pay for it and fewer who install it when building new.

Solid wood, now that's a different story. Rare indeed but worth every penny if installed and finished properly. Not coated in epoxy on ONE side. If it were me I might consider oiling it once I stripped it. Depends on the wood species a little bit.

Perhaps the OP will give us a close up of the grain?

[mitiempo]

Looks like teak to me. The sole looks to be solid, not veneered.

[Nicholson58]

Our teak & holly is original 1983. Heavy plywood & thick veneer. Sid makes it look good.