Refinish "patches" Interior Teak

[dgkreiss]

I have a Panda 40 with patches of interior wall teak that has faded (lightened up). Also, there are small patches on the floor that are worn and lighter.

Basic question is whether the interior teak was stained? If so then trying to patch is not possible since I can remove the existing varnish but when I re-varnish it will still be lighter. Same with the floor.

What would you folks do?

[Cheechako]

Is it lightening from areas where the sun often shines on the surface? The other possibility is someone has refinished that part of the boat and has sanded too far going thru the outer veneer. But I think on a Panda you have solid teak...?
Do you know what finish Is on there now? is it varnish, factory lacquer? Just oil? One Taiwan boat I had had some kind of lacquer on it from the factory... and parts of that would turn slightly milky looking when it started to fail. I have not seen that stuff on a Ta Shing boat though.


If the finish is pretty good other than the light areas you could try wipe staining over what's there. (Sanding down and trying to match stain on bare wood is highly risky... and often you wont match any way.... but you are committed once you put the stain on bare wood!)
I have done color matching on Vintage Guitars by just mixing and wipe staining over what's there.. it's much more forgiving that way... if it doesn't look right... wipe off immediately! Once you get it right, you can finish over the matched color. The other advantage to this is you are able to "feather in" the color outside of the light area so it becomes nearly unnoticeable.
Hope this makes sense to you.

[neilpride]

Originally Posted by dgkreiss

I have a Panda 40 with patches of interior wall teak that has faded (lightened up). Also, there are small patches on the floor that are worn and lighter.

Basic question is whether the interior teak was stained? If so then trying to patch is not possible since I can remove the existing varnish but when I re-varnish it will still be lighter. Same with the floor.

What would you folks do?

Yep, trying to revarnish patches end with discoloration,
me? hand gun and scraper and start from scracht, pain in the ass but worth the result!!!

[dgkreiss]

You are correct! Ta Shing, lightened by sun, and some kind of factory lacquer.


Please explain what you mean by "wipe staining". How do you do that? Sounds good.

[Cheechako]

Well.... I have 4 or 5 colors of lacquer stain purchased from Stewart Macdonald luthier supply and a color wheel.
I try to mix a couple colors until I get the right color that matches well. This is tedius and some people are good at it , others not. I'm not but I keep at it.
I then take a soft rag, maybe an old 100% cotton T shirt, and dab the end of my finger (inside the cloth) in the stain. Then I wipe it on the spot to be colorized. If the tone looks good but doesn't quite cover, I leave it... another coat will make it darker. You just keep doing this until it looks good. Don't stop right at the edges of the light spot... wipe over the edge onto the good color but do this as the cloth is loosing it's pigment. Thus "feathering".
Often I have used the stain in those little cans at the hardware store. Some of those are near perfect for certain colors... but boy are the color charts they show and names they use misleading... so it takes a few purchases to find one that's right!
The beauty is if it doesn't look right and you are not on bare wood.... just wipe it off before it dries!

[dgkreiss]

I think I got it. 1) lightly sand lightened area and a bit surrounding. 2) Apply stain as you suggested over the lacquer. 3) Let dry and 4) varnish over the whole wall.

OK?

[Cheechako]

Yea if it's real glossy you could sand it a bit... maybe 400 grit. But if it's nice, just clean it and try the stain. Do you plan to finish over the stain/repair? If not, some stains have a shiny final appearance... some don't though!
I'll look today and get you one brand that finishes shiny.

[dgkreiss]

Thanks. I plan to varnish the complete interior. So I can use any stain. Big decision is whether glossy or matte. Me thinks glossy.

Thanks again. I'll let you know how it went.

[Terra Nova]

While I am not a finishing specialist, 400 grit seems way too fine for initial sanding of such an old finish. Pretty sure it should be more like 180 or 220-grit.

A technique that is sometimes used, when trying to match sun-bleached wood to new or unbleached, is to strip it to bare wood and chemically bleach the dark areas, selectively, until colors are closer.

[MarkSF]

I have started refinishing the interior of my Bristol. So far, what is working very well is this :

Sand with 220 grit.
Coat with one to two coats of well thinned spar varnish.

Good spar varnish contains pigment to block UV, which also has the effect of darkening the light areas. The result is much less difference between the light areas and the dark ones.

I am still undecided about the higher gloss finish. I may go over it with rottenstone to reduce the gloss.

[Terra Nova]

For my tastes, a little bit of gloss solid trim complements vast fields of satin varnished veneers. Whereas all gloss tends to show every tiny imperfection and smear. But TN's interior will be mostly white paint with varnished solid teak and mahogany trim.

[Sea7King]

Don't forget to wipe with tack rags after sanding/before next coat.
Also, if you use bristle brushes, wrap two turns of masking tape around your idle hand and "paint" the tape with a new/restored brush. You'll be amazed how much comes off. Clean brush afterwards to remove any glue residue.


And I vote for satin. But here's a thought...
If you know your going put on more than two coats, why not start with 1 coat of thinned gloss then a coat of full gloss and then do a third coat in full satin on a couple of pieces and compare the two different, but similar sized pieces, that have the gloss only. You can always go over either with your final choice.

[farmall.dude]

DG, Here's another thing to consider... Gloss shows EVERY flaw. I'm an amature woodworker with years of experience. I rarely use a high gloss finish on my projects because 1) as I mentioned, it shows EVERY flaw in the wood and finish. Believe me, unless you're a Master Craftsman, you'll have flaws. 2) A glossy finish "darkens" the environment. I think it has something to do with Refraction vs Reflection. As an example, if you were to paint a room in a glossy or even semi-gloss finish, when you turn on the lights it SEEMS darker. Whereas if you paint it in a Flat finish it SEEMS brighter. Personally, I would go for a Satin to Semi-Gloss finish. It shows the character of the wood, hides the flaws better and refracts the light more evenly. But, that's just my humble opinion.
As for applying stain and finish, google woodworking finish techniques. You'll find tons of tips and tricks to make your project come out perfect! There's a great one, by a Finish Master out there. Unfortunately I can't remember his name right now! (darn old timer's) If I can find it, I'll re-post...
Good Luck!

Found him! Search for Charles Neil Finishing. This guy is full of great info.

[HansSolo]

I'm with Terra Nova on this one, I use high gloss on the edge and trim pieces and satin for the larger areas like the doors and bulkheads. With as much teak as our boat has, gloss on all of it would look a bit much. IMHO.

[Suijin]

Lightening is most likely sun bleaching. Not much you can do about it other than sanding it down to undamaged wood, but if it's veneer that's a recipe for disaster.

If you're taking the varnish off, definitely do as much removal with heat and chemicals before you move to sanding, particularly on veneer. It's easier, and it is non-destructive.

I strongly suggest that you shy away from glossy varnish for the reasons mentioned. It will show every ding and nick, every flaw, and every error in application. And, if you're not an expert varnisher, you're going to have errors in application. An absolutely gorgeous alternative is hand-rubbed satin varnish. It has a warmth and luminosity to it which is magnetic, and it's much easier for a non-expert varnisher because it does not require perfect application technique. Google it if you're interested.