Bulkhead wood finish

[JPA Cate]

Our boat previous to this one, we used satin finish varnish on the large surfaces, like bulkhead and cupboards, and used gloss on the trim bits where you grab them. The flatteners in satin that take away the gloss, also make the varnish finish softer, less durable.

This boat has gloss finish everywhere, and I find it easy to clean. It has held up well over the 17 yrs. we've had this boat, and only a couple of trim pieces and the galley have needed touch ups. The galley needs it again: it is a high wear area for us. We are full time liveaboard cruisers.

Ann

[n5ama]

Originally Posted by Mickeyrouse

Interlux interior satin may cover ther grain more than you’d like. A pint will run about $20 at Blackburn’s which is usually a little cheaper than West Marine. Defender may even be less but freight eats up the savings.

I made my first visit to Blackburn’s on Saturday. Like you said, cheaper than West Marine and has more “boat stuff” and less clothes, hats etc.

I also found the zinc anode I needed for my Cape Dory 25D. I needed to replace the fresh water anode on it while it was on the trailer. I’m putting it in the water tomorrow if things go as planned. I really didn’t want to work under the boat in Clear Lake water if I didn’t have to.

[Mickeyrouse]

Originally Posted by n5ama

I’ll put something a bit more durable on the sole.

Tom

When I refinished our sole, I removed all wood flooring. On our boat, it’s a series of removable panels over saddle water tanks. I stripped everything with the trusty ol’ heat gun. (It got a lot of use on our re-fit. The whole job took 43 quarts of varnish.)

If your sole is teak veneer over plywood, I particularly encourage a heat gun. It will be too easy to sand through the veneer.
I re-finished with Interlux Schooner, which has a little color, but is a good hard urethane. I stopped at 12 coats, but had 16 on some sole panels.
If you’re going for a ballroom finish, I discovered how to get it. The first several coats are trying to build up layers of varnish. You don’t want to sand aggressively between coats, but you do need to create what the painter guys call an “anchor pattern”- a microscopic pattern of tiny scratches to secure each successive layer of finish. I have found that a thorough scuffing with a Scotchbrite pad does the trick. You’re not trying to remove anything- just give the next varnish coat something to grip.
The coats need to be reasonably even, so I thin a little bit. Since you’re not in to finish coat range yet, no need for foam brushes at first. I have spent a lot of money over the years buying this and that $20 long Chinese genuine hog bristle Badger (and other) brushes, but I have found that the 69 cent natural bristle brushes from Harbor Freight do a pretty good job. Besides, you don’t use up so much varnish that remains in the bristles after the coat is done, and if you get distracted (like me) and forget to clean the brush, they’re cheap enough to throw away.
About coat six or seven, it’s time to start sanding between coats. I use a variable speed random orbiting disc sander with 320 grit sand paper. Remember, you’re not trying to remove varnish, just knock off the high spots. At coat 8 or 9 or so, start using 500 grit sand paper. Expect to start seeing light areas where the sanding surface is in contact with the varnish surface, and slightly darker areas that are not in abrasive contact. At this point switch to foam brush, let dry, re-sand with 500 grit. Expect to see fewer and smaller areas of the non-contact. You may need to repeat this step two three more times. When your sanding begins to show few (or, ideally, none) areas of non-contact, you’re ready for the final steps. You will now begin polishing the surface with polishing pads that will attach to your disc sander. I have used Festool and Mirka Abralon pads, and find the Mirka a little cheaper and just as good. I start with 1000 grit at max RPM constantly moving the sander over the surface to avoid too much fiction-induced heat which can dull the finish. You will be amazed at what the result will be. I then go to 2000 grit, and if I’m not terribly pressed for time, will finish up with 4000 grit. That may be too much shine for your taste. And you may like the deeper but less gaudy effect of what 1000 grit will do. Dif’ent strokes.... If you get too much shine, go back to the previous pad.
I refinished our sole in 2009 after complete and total re-fit after a sinking. We use our boat quite a bit, with a fair amount of traffic. It’s not as shiny as 11 years ago, but the varnish is in fantastic shape. All I need to do is run my polishing pad across the sole and will come back to an amazing shine.

[n5ama]

Great info on your refinish work. I’m not going for the “ballroom” finish but will use Schooner on the sole and ladder.

I think I’ll use a good brand of teak oil on the bulkhead applied and wiped down with 600 grit paper along the direction of the wood grain. I know it won’t hold up as well as varnish but there really isn’t a whole lot of surface area in my little Cape Dory 25D. I really don’t want a built up finish and the test strip looks good without being very labor intensive or expensive so I won’t mind redoing it occasionally.

I appreciate you taking the time to respond and really admire your beautiful boat and appreciate your work.

Tom