Refurbishing The Cabin Sole.

[Jolly Roger]

I want to refurbish my cabin soles, which haven’t been touched for many years. The floorboards are the normal Teak with Holly strips of veneer on plywood.
I would like to achieve a shiny finish like I’ve seen on many boats, but I also need a non-slip finish.
Is it possible to achieve this combination?

[SURV69]

Wait .... is this Dejevu?

I was just thinking along the same line about an hour ago.

My sole is teak(?) plywood with black stain lines that are supposed to represent some exotic something or other wood.

I'll help you wait for an answer.

[sy_gilana]

I would advise against Shiney. Really, I have done several including my own. Build with gloss, but last two coats of rubbed effect or eggshell is a much better finish and hides a million sins. The reflections will accentuate any line that is not perfectly straight. 8 coats of two part Epiphanes will do it, and use gloss for the build coats so you can see the irregularities, sand with a slow orbital. First coat 50% thinned. then 20% next then 10% all subsequent coats. These will be gloss, sand till uniformly grey, recoat, resand, etc until final two of Rubbed Effect. You will love the outcome.
Allow to harden and if you can get a UV (disco) light, 36 hours will harden up before use.

[btmarino]

Sand the crap out of the parquet floors - start with 60 grit - then 80 - up to 150 - finish with 180 - 220 grit - then do as SV Gilana saids - you'll love it

[TheOffice]

strip it, bleach it, epoxy coat it and use Cetol natural

[rourkeh]

Epiphanes makes a Polyurethane Clear Gloss that is harder than a standard varnish. If you have a carpentry shop near you take the sections of flooring to them and have them run each through an electric planner to level them out, them run through one of those large drum sanders first. This will take care of most of the hard prep work quickly for very little cost.
There are some high gloss polymer coatings that are VERY hard and are used for re-coating bowling alleys that will work as well. These last much longer than a marine product.
Polychem Bowling Products

[a64pilot]

Mine are high gloss and are not slick at all, until one drop of water gets on it or maybe wet feet, then it's slick as ice.
We use rubber backed throw rugs.
I think the veneer may be thin, be careful with a planer / drum sander.

[bletso]

I have no problem with shiny. I recently re-finished ours. Normal blemishes are really not visible from a few feet away. Bare feet or the right shoes keep the slip down. 8 coats

[Jolly Roger]

Thanks for these replies:
Has anyone used one of the anti-slip additives, like Rustoleum or Algrip make? I’ve spoken to both companies and they seem to be the answer to shiny but slippery surfaces. The only thing I was told is that they are more difficult to keep dirt off.
JR

[wsmurdoch]

Originally Posted by btmarino

Sand the crap out of the parquet floors - start with 60 grit - then 80 - up to 150 - finish with 180 - 220 grit

But, the original poster said, "The floorboards are the normal Teak with Holly strips of veneer on plywood." I doubt that he has even 1/32" of teak and holly veneer to remove before he sees the interior of the plywood.

[Stu Jackson]

You are aware of course that this is not the first time this question has been asked and answered. I am trying to help, really. This is a perfect example of how Google can help broaden your horizons. It will allow you to connect to many other boating forums, all of which have had this question.

I did ours a few years ago and used 4 coats shiny min-wax. Looks great.

Point being, the only consistent thing is that if you're dealing with a veneer, the top teak & holly is, as mentioned, very thin.

After that, you'll get 10 answers if you ask 5 skippers what to use on the top!

Good luck.

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by wsmurdoch

But, the original poster said, "The floorboards are the normal Teak with Holly strips of veneer on plywood." I doubt that he has even 1/32" of teak and holly veneer to remove before he sees the interior of the plywood.

^^^^^Exactly correct, with the boat the age it is and from where it was made.

Dear Jolly,

How I would do this is wash with TSP. Rinse and let dry. Now it's clean. Then, using 120 grit, hand sand with the grain, carefully, till the surface is hazy.

Use the kind of high gloss the high school gymnasium uses. Don't worry about little low places (dings) because the veneer is very thin, although one guy we knew worked out a method, using clear epoxy to built up the dings, then shave and sand the top, and it did disappear them, so there's a way. Just remember this is where you walk, your feet may track in sand which will scuff it, your hands might accidentally drop tools on it. It is not a table in the Smithsonian. It's a cabin sole. Use as many coats as the product recommends.

Incidentally, if you have an airless sprayer, you can spray them, and that goes fast and feels pretty rewarding. At least get them up on saw horses where they are at an easy level to work at. Preferable to have good ventilation and moderately dust-free. (Written by someone who has done it on her knees at the dock in a foreign country where there were sandflies.)

Ann

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

... I think the veneer may be thin, be careful with a planer / drum sander.

Indeed.
Standard face veneer thickness can be as little as 0.55mm - 0.6mm (0.024") measured before sanding. Premium face veneer thickness should be at least 1.4 mm (0.055") measured before sanding.

[Jolly Roger]

I know how to handle veneer. I’ve cut up two 8’ x 4’ sheets and veneered many parts of the boat in the restoration.
My question is more to do with obtaining a non slip finish, and I can’t find an answer in any other forum, or with Google.
The reason I'm adamant about non slip is because, as many members may remember, six months ago I slipped in the saloon and broke both bones in my left leg. I don’t want to repeat that.
I’m in the process of sanding the removable floorboards, and the veneer is between 1mm and 1.25mm, so I have some to work with.
Of course, it’s not just the removable floorboards I want to refurbish, which are the easy bits. It’s the fixed floor which is difficult, with all the nooks and crannies, but the process is the same.
I’m going to experiment on a spare bit of floor with a top coat mixed with Rust-olleum Marine non slip additive and see what happens.
JR

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by Jolly Roger

>>>>>>>>>>>>>
My question is more to do with obtaining a non slip finish, and I can’t find an answer in any other forum, or with Google.
JR

Ann wrote: Use the kind of high gloss the high school gymnasium uses.

Basketball courts use non-slip, right? Easy to find.