Wood Interior Looks Old - Help !

[Benjmin]

Wash with vinegar? Maybe?

[David_Old_Jersey]

If you do acheive a decent look - the downside will be that everything else will look worse .

Fair enough that you like the varnish look . But if you do lose the will to live during the preparation (or realise that the results vs the effort is not what you hoped for) - remember the paint pot .

[foolishsailor]

Built 3 f'ing boats meself and fitted out the last one.

DOJ gave some great "safe" advice. If you arent used to working with laminates then his advice is a good bet.

But you can give her a go and if it doesnt turn out like you want then you can paint.

Heat gun is the best option as you arent removing material.

Use a metal cabinent scraper, make one or buy one. Google how to make one and keep it sharp - super simple.

Heat, scrape. Repeat endlessly.

Watch out where there are joints. The joints on the facing of cabinitry where laminated ply joins real teak are a problem area. If you wear here too much you can tear theough the laminate.

Also oxalic acid works great on bare wood if part of the wood has been exposed to the elements for awhile and part is freshly cleaned. The new wood is lighter and the exposed wood is dark. Spray a little ox acid and scrub and they are magically the same color again and ready for varnish.

Good luck mate. Finish work is one of those things that looks exactly like the level of work you put in it. There are very few shortcuts for the non pro so take your time or you will have to look at something and be unhappy

[Ocean Girl]

It looks like there is still some residue of varnish/ oil. It needs a healthy cleaning first, not sure sanding is necessary. If it was my project I'd first wipe it down with
3M Adhesive remover. Don't be fooled by the name, it removes cigarette tar, wax, suntan lotion etc, and is safe for teak and fiberglass. Big caution though - you need a lot of ventilation for this stuff, very strong stuff.


After the hard cleaning then wash her gently with Murphy's oil soap


Some tricks to consider
Wiping down the wood with denatured alcohol, while still wet, it will give you a good idea of what the wood will look like varnished or oiled. This will show you what stains will be prominent and what will fade away with the application of a finish.

Finishes:
Try wiping it town with tung oil as a finish, it may be just what you are looking for. If you want to give it more glossy look change to varnish ( you don't have to remove the tung oil) tung oil makes a great base coat. In fact tung oil sticks better to oily teak and varnish sticks better to tung oil.

Hope that helps
Erika
aka queen varnisha

[MarkSF]

Yep, the tung oil (or I use Starbrite Golden Teak Oil, which has some golden stain or dye in it I think). From the look of the pics, it might just help.

Otherwise try a light sand and varnish.

Why don't you try both the above on non-obvious areas?

[Ocean Girl]

Yep a teak oil is nice too. Tung oil can be found at the hardware store for 15 bucks a half gallon. It can come tinted, glossy or matte. You can apply it with a lint free rag. Unlike teak oil, It cures like varnish, as in, it will fill in the grain. Tung oil is great for your polished brass and bronze too. Nice thing about tung oil is it doesn't chip or peel when it gets old, just fades away.
Cheers,
Erika

[moonrsn]

I have a 40+ year old Islander 37 that had not been touched for who knows how long. I sanded the entire interior to bare wood and covered it with 4 coats of polyurethane. It was a lot of work but well worth it.

[Carolus]

I am renovating the 30 year old mahogany on my Ohlson 38. I was about to sand and varnish when I read this advice from 'This Old Boat' by Don Casey pp 401.

Basically wash the wood with light bleach and detergent mix removes the old cooking oils etc. Then use Pure Lemon Oil and the wood just glows! See my album and I will add one on bulkhead refinish. Just a couple of hours and £10 of pure lemon oil - hardly used.

Have a look on my album at my mast renovation done with Hammerite paint for £10-£20 and an afternoon.

[George Hoskins]

Clean teak with fresh lime juice.

The interior of my C&C 29 cleaned up beautifully with this.

Cheaper and better than teak cleaners

[Opie91]

I have had luck with Scotts Liquid Gold. It is available in just about any grocery/box store, take less than an hour to clean/oil and is fairly inexpensive.

Give it a try for $7 what have you got to loose.

Good Luck!!!

Scott's Liquid Gold Wood Cleaner: 16 oz. Pourable Wood Cleaner & Preservative

[James S]

Heat gun works well with solid woods, but with laminates you run the risk of the veneer buckling...take care.

[ozskipper]

Before I would do anything, I would make sure what ever leaks, that caused that damage to bulkhead, have been repaired. Its a major part of the boats structure and you need to ensure that there is no rot as a result of the water. Also that the timber is fully dry before you recoat it and you dont seal moisture in