Refinishing cabin sole
Phil Ackerman
Does anyone have a good procedure for refinishing a teak & holly sole in
the cabin of my new/old sailboat. Does the old finish need to be
stripped or sanded off to the bare wood? I was thinking I could use a
water based finish like they now use on the hardwood floors here in the
Northwest. It used to be called "swedish finish" and was very tough.
It's just water based in last five years. It used to have some "killer"
chemicals in it that the environmental people have since disallowed.
Any ideas??
Thanks
Phil Ackerman
AHAngelini
Diamond finish by Varathane. 5 coats in a day,no smell that nite,
waterbase, and inexpensive. It is not as pretty as the best varnish
but how close do you look at the floor. Practice first as there are
some weird things about application that are a liitle daunting
to first timers.
CLandecker
The "professionals" that do floors in houses use the water based stuff.
Read carefully as you will find that the water based is not as glossy nor
as durable as the oil based. Gloss might not be a factor to you, but
durability will be. One reason they use the water based is that it dries
quick. In other words they can get their money faster. I have used both
and would never ever use water based again. Just talk to the experts and
they will tell you that oil based is more durable and there is a big
difference in gloss.
You do not necessarily have to remove the old finish. It just
depends on how banged up it is. Also, if the cabin sole has ever been
waxed you could have problems with a new finish. I don't know why anyone
would ever wax a cabin sole, but you never know. You might get away with
just a light sanding if you are lucky. You will probably will have to
take the old finish off.
Oil based polyurethane is the best finish. If you want a satin
finish use gloss coats as the base, then put a finish coat of satin. It
looks better that way. Follow the directions on the can otherwise.
Happy sailing, Hugo Landecker S/V Alexander
eric r. galant
Please, what ever you do VENTILATE that cabin. Those V.O.C.'s are deadly.
--
lilg...@mill.tds.net
"When I Ain't boatin I'm a Birdin (burden).
CLandecker <cland...@aol.com> wrote in article
<19970601154...@ladder02.news.aol.com>...
jcha...@ns.net
Just did my teak and holly. Sanded down to bare wood and layed down
three coats of Armada 'semi-gloss'. Gave me a very pleasing finish.
One added note on Armada 'semi-gloss'..... it seems that they have
changed the labeling on the cans from semi to satin as the older stuff
didn't have very much gloss at all. And the new satin cans seem to
offer a higher gloss than the old semi. Needed one more quart to finish
the job and finally located some old stock up in Seattle that matched
the flatness of semi. Otherwise....love the stuff.
Jack
--
jcha...@ns.net,HAM/KD6UOT,SSB/WAO-9946
SV:"Hind Sight",Doc# 691808,Port of San Francisco, Ca.
"Isn't is amazing that when you lay a tool down
it's exactly one inch beyond your reach when you need it next."
Jim Conlin
Phil Ackerman wrote:
>
> Does anyone have a good procedure for refinishing a teak & holly sole in
> the cabin of my new/old sailboat. Does the old finish need to be
> stripped or sanded off to the bare wood? I was thinking I could use a
> water based finish like they now use on the hardwood floors here in the
> Northwest. It used to be called "swedish finish" and was very tough.
> It's just water based in last five years. It used to have some "killer"
> chemicals in it that the environmental people have since disallowed.
> Any ideas??
>
> Thanks
>
> Phil Ackerman
(teak) cabin sole because I thought it would be dangerously slippery.
Instead, I've used ordinary teak oil.
Jim Conlin
Phil Ackerman wrote:
>
> Does anyone have a good procedure for refinishing a teak & holly sole in
> the cabin of my new/old sailboat. Does the old finish need to be
> stripped or sanded off to the bare wood? I was thinking I could use a
> water based finish like they now use on the hardwood floors here in the
> Northwest. It used to be called "swedish finish" and was very tough.
> It's just water based in last five years. It used to have some "killer"
> chemicals in it that the environmental people have since disallowed.
> Any ideas??
>
> Thanks
>
> Phil Ackerman
As fond as I am of varnished teak, I've never put a bright finish on my
Instead, I've oiled it with one of the commercial teak oils.
SR
Jim Conlin wrote:
>
> Phil Ackerman wrote:
> >
> > Does anyone have a good procedure for refinishing a teak & holly sole in
> > the cabin of my new/old sailboat. Does the old finish need to be
> > stripped or sanded off to the bare wood? I was thinking I could use a
> > water based finish like they now use on the hardwood floors here in the
> > Northwest. It used to be called "swedish finish" and was very tough.
> > It's just water based in last five years. It used to have some "killer"
> > chemicals in it that the environmental people have since disallowed.
> > Any ideas??
> >
> > Thanks
> >
> > Phil Ackerman
> As fond as I am of varnished teak, I've never put a bright finish on my
> Instead, I've used ordinary teak oil.
Please explain how a bright but dry finish could be more slick than an
oil one? In my boat the teak and holly (veneer) is varnished to a high
gloss with rubber backed throw rugs covering the highest traffic areas
to protect the finish and make for sure footing, although the varnished
surface seems plenty safe to me.
Steve
Carl Hunt
point of being dangerous. If you sail inland, in protected waters or
where it doesn't rain a lot, a varnished sole probably won't create too
many problems. If you sail offshore or in bad conditions in unprotected
waters, the cabin sole will get wet. If the cabin sole is varnished
(without non-skid) and wet, you will not be able to function below. I
suppose if you haven't set foot on a wet varnished sole in heavy
weather, it's hard to fathom how truly slick the sole can be.
Carl
AHAngelini
. If you sail offshore or in bad conditions in unprotected
waters, the cabin sole will get wet. If the cabin sole is varnished
(without non-skid) and wet, you will not be able to function below. I
suppose if you haven't set foot on a wet varnished sole in heavy
weather, it's hard to fathom how truly slick the sole can be.
A real load of BS! Are you greasing your feet or what? This is
not real! Never happened to anyone I know! Never heard half
the BS until I got an account here. Flames accepted , outahere
in 84 more days!
Capt. Bill
AHAngelini wrote:
Well it happened to me . We were coming back from Cuba on a friends 38
ft sailboat that he had just had the sole refinished and the rudder post
started to leak. The boat has very shallow bilges and when the floor got
wet it was like being on a skating rink . On the old style teak and
holly panels the holly was raised to act as nonskid but you rarely see
that any more . Spent a fair amount of time on my knees on that trip ,
and no they weren't greased either . Capt. Bill
Brant Tew
I recently stripped a varnish coating form my teak & holly venneer sole,
sanded and hit it with four or five coats of polyurethane. The finished
product looks great and is very durable.
Use a good stripper and go easy with a good SHARP scraper. Then sand
200 grit then something finer, like about a 320. Wipe the sole down
with acetone to remove any moister. Unless you have a plethera of bain
cells make sure you have great ventilation!
I wouldn't wish this job on my worst enemy as to fools at Oday glued
down 4 of 7 panels on my floor. After the ordeal I really love the look
of the new finish. Just to masocistic I will sand a reapply a coat
every year. Watch out for dust and excess moisture and you'll do fine.
Brant Tew
S/V Island Time
AHAngelini
Obviously, you haven't had the experience yet. There's NOTHING slipperier
than a varnished surface that's wet. Guraranteed to lay you out flat.
You don't have to believe this, but you'll regret it if you don't.
Well I don't regret it and have spent 3 years sailing from SF to
Florida. Been thru all kinds of weather and never had your problem
Do you grease your feet? Greasing of feet is not recommended
aboard boats. My cabin sole is nicely varnished. I have had various
liquids on the floor as have all the boats that traveled this trip.
No-one has had this problem that I know. Jeez buddy, 6,000
years the chinese have been sailing with this stuff, ya think that
the internet is cool?
Peter D. Engels
In article <19970609222...@ladder02.news.aol.com>,
ahang...@aol.com (AHAngelini) wrote:
Caveat emptor!
--
Pete
Classic Boatworks
Whether or not your sole needs to be sanded to bare wood depends on the
condition of the current finish. The ability to use water base finish will
have to be determined by the paint company. Teak is a specific problem due
to the teak oils and a water base finish may not stick. You need to follow
what ever the manufacturer's directions are for the product you choose. At
Classic Boatworks we recommend to our customers a good grade marine
exterior synthetic varnish. Sand lightly, tack and then varnish. At least
2 coats. If you have an oil finish on it now you can not put the varnish
on without a lot of extra effort. Marshall
SR <sral...@earthlink.net> wrote in article
<3398DA...@earthlink.net>...
Richard Edwards
Jim Conlin wrote:
>
> Phil Ackerman wrote:
> >
> > Does anyone have a good procedure for refinishing a teak & holly sole in
> > the cabin of my new/old sailboat. Does the old finish need to be
> > stripped or sanded off to the bare wood? I was thinking I could use > >
> As fond as I am of varnished teak, I've never put a bright finish on my
> (teak) cabin sole because I thought it would be dangerously slippery.
> Instead, I've used ordinary teak oil.
I thought that it was the function of the holly ribbing to provide
traction over the varnished teak. My sole is teak without holly so has
been left bare as teak is a natural non-skid, but if I had holly, I
would probably varnish.
Teri Mcintyre
My cabin sole is nicely varnished. I have had various
>liquids on the floor as have all the boats that traveled this trip.
>No-one has had this problem that I know. Jeez buddy, 6,000
>years the chinese have been sailing with this stuff, ya think that
>the internet is cool?
Maybe the question is, What are you wearing on your feet? Regular
sneakers/sportshoes are really bad...as are leather soled street shoes.
Bare feet or boat shoes work the best.
Teri
Teri Mcintyre
My cabin sole is nicely varnished. I have had various
>liquids on the floor as have all the boats that traveled this trip.
>No-one has had this problem that I know. Jeez buddy, 6,000
>years the chinese have been sailing with this stuff, ya think that
>the internet is cool?
Maybe the question is, What are you wearing on your feet? Regular
sneakers/sportshoes are really bad...as are all other leather soled
AHAngelini
Tristan Jones did ok with one leg.I always give one hand for the
boat no matter how sexy my naked feet are!
Larry DeMers
..Something is not being understood here. If you have a cabin sole made
of teak with holly strips, and you then cover the whole sole with
varnish, the holly strips would also be covered, right? So, there would
be no traction contribution from the holly as it has the same varnish on
it's surface as the teak. Now i suppose that the holly could be masked
off, and varnish applied to the teak..but that seems like a lot of
effort for the results.
We use starbright's Golden Teak Oil on the sole, and it works fine.
There is something about having too much glossy finish in the cabin that
seems distracting..perhaps a satin finish would be better.
Regards,
--
Larry DeMers
S/V DeLaMer
Cape Dory 30 Sailing Lake Superior
Donald E. Scott
In reference to whether or not to strip your cabin sole, I'm assuming
that there is varnish on it now and not oil. If the varnish looks to be
in relatively good condition, you can just sand it and then apply a
couple of new coats to bring it up to snuff.
However, if the sole has bare wood showing through, large dings and
gouges, white spots etc. you should really strip it and start over.
Once you strip it you should sand it and then apply a couple of thinned
out coats of varnish with thinner ( about 70% thinner on first and
second coat and then 40% for the third and then regular mix for the rest
of the coats) I don't really like gloss varnish for a cabin sole
because it shows every smudge, water drop and scratch. I have also found
that satin or flat varnishes are too dull and too soft, therefore I
usually mix gloss with satin (3:1) that way you get a semi-gloss that is
harder (use the same brand of varnish).
If you want less slip, then you may want to go to and oil. I have used
the Semco regular and gold for over 15 years and it is a good product.
It doesn't build up the dirt like most and cleans very easily. The only
drawback is that it tends to wear off easier than other oils, however
you only need to don some rubber gloves and dip a rag in a bucket of the
oil, wipe it on and Voila! it's done.
Good luck! Karen (galleymate)
Capt. Bill
Richard Edwards wrote:
> Jim Conlin wrote:
> >
> > Phil Ackerman wrote:
> > >
> > > Does anyone have a good procedure for refinishing a teak & holly
> sole in
> > > the cabin of my new/old sailboat. Does the old finish need to be
> > > stripped or sanded off to the bare wood? I was thinking I could
> use > >
>
> > As fond as I am of varnished teak, I've never put a bright finish on
> my
> > (teak) cabin sole because I thought it would be dangerously
> slippery.
> > Instead, I've used ordinary teak oil.
>
> I thought that it was the function of the holly ribbing to provide
> traction over the varnished teak. My sole is teak without holly so
> has
> been left bare as teak is a natural non-skid, but if I had holly, I
> would probably varnish.
Its hard if not impossible to find sheets of teak and holly with the
holly strips raised . But if some one does know where they are available
please let me know . Capt. Bill
Jim K
On 6/15/97 1:25AM, in message <5nvuc7$4a...@newssvr02-int.news.prodigy.com>,
Teri Mcintyre <XMZ...@prodigy.com> wrote:
> My cabin sole is nicely varnished. I have had various
> >liquids on the floor as have all the boats that traveled this trip.
> >No-one has had this problem that I know. Jeez buddy, 6,000
> >years the chinese have been sailing with this stuff, ya think that
> >the internet is cool?
>
> Maybe the question is, What are you wearing on your feet? Regular
> sneakers/sportshoes are really bad...as are leather soled street shoes.
> Bare feet or boat shoes work the best.
Wow. Strange. I almost never go barefoot and don't even own any boat shoes,
but I don't have any problems with the varnished cabin sole when I'm
wearing a cheap pair of sneakers.
I can say that I've never worn leather soled street shoes for walking
around on the varnished sole, hatches, etc... Isn't that a capitol offense?
--
Jim K. ! Opinions: You want? I got!
ji...@ili.net ! No warranty expressed or implied
Jim Conlin
Larry DeMers wrote:
>
> Richard Edwards wrote:
> >
> > Jim Conlin wrote:
> > >
> > > Phil Ackerman wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Does anyone have a good procedure for refinishing a teak & holly sole in
> > > > the cabin of my new/old sailboat. Does the old finish need to be
> > > > stripped or sanded off to the bare wood? I was thinking I could use > >
> >
> > > As fond as I am of varnished teak, I've never put a bright finish on my
> > > (teak) cabin sole because I thought it would be dangerously slippery.
> > > Instead, I've used ordinary teak oil.
> >
> > I thought that it was the function of the holly ribbing to provide
> > traction over the varnished teak. My sole is teak without holly so has
> > been left bare as teak is a natural non-skid, but if I had holly, I
> > would probably varnish.
>
> of teak with holly strips, and you then cover the whole sole with
> varnish, the holly strips would also be covered, right? So, there would
> be no traction contribution from the holly as it has the same varnish on
> it's surface as the teak. Now i suppose that the holly could be masked
> off, and varnish applied to the teak..but that seems like a lot of
> effort for the results.
>
> We use starbright's Golden Teak Oil on the sole, and it works fine.
> There is something about having too much glossy finish in the cabin that
> seems distracting..perhaps a satin finish would be better.
>
> Regards,
>
> --
> Larry DeMers
> S/V DeLaMer
> Cape Dory 30 Sailing Lake Superior
holly strips stood 1/8"+ proud above teak planks. Even if varnished,
the longitudinal ribbing gave some traction. If the surface of your
sole is flush, oil it.