Teak trim plug replacement

[n5ama]

I’m refinishing the teak toe rail on my Cape Dory 25D. I’ve sanded it all down to brown wood and will be applying Awlwood primer and varnish as soon as the “feels like” temperature drops below 165-175 degrees in the afternoon.

My question is about the teak trim and handrails I removed from the cabin. I removed them so I could do a good job of sanding all surfaces, including the bottom, and varnishing them in a more pleasant environment.

The trim had 3/8” plugs at the screw locations and the handrail had 1/2” teak plugs. My plan is to get the required 8 coats of Awlwood on the pieces and re-install them on the boat with tape sealant on the screws.

Since the new plugs are unfinished, I’ll have to tap the plugs in place, cut the proud part of the plug and sand flush with the trim and hand rail. I will apply the Awlwood primer and then another few coats of varnish to the top surface of the trim and hand rail that I sanded.

My question is, do I apply some adhesive on the plug before tapping it in place. It can’t take much because the hole for the plug is less than 1/4” deep.

Also, are there any suggestions about my technique for this operation? Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

[sailingunity]

I can tell you from what I've read "officially", is that you're not supposed to put anything on the plug when you put it in, and that the finish effectively glues it in.

On my boat, I suspect they either put finish on the plug or glue before installing it, because they've been impossible to remove in one piece when I've needed to remove trim (which is the reason for the "no glue" rule I suppose!)

[Bill O]

We use an exterior wood glue to help seal and keep bungs in place.

When/if we ever need to remove them, I drill them out w/an appropriate sized forstner bit. This leaves a clean hole for a new bung

[Cheechako]

No adhesive. If one is loose in the hole then you'll have to use some.

[Chris Cringle]

I always dipped the plugs in varnish before I tapped them in. It holds but allows them to come out clean if necessary later on. The joint is filled and waterproof, and “glue line” is so thin that it is invisible whether varnished, oiled or left raw.

[donradcliffe]

Originally Posted by Chris Cringle

I always dipped the plugs in varnish before I tapped them in. It holds but allows them to come out clean if necessary later on. The joint is filled and waterproof, and “glue line” is so thin that it is invisible whether varnished, oiled or left raw.

That's what my father taught me. We always trimmed the plugs of with a SHARP chisel, then sanded them flush, then varnished the surface.

[Bill O]

For more consistent results, I use a thin blade Japanese saw off the bung tops instead of a chisel.

[n5ama]

It seems like I will need to deepen the holes on the trim bit with a fostner bit because the holes are really shallow and tapered to match the tapered wood screw. I'll have to be very careful because the trim isn't but about 3/8" thick. I'll have to set the stop on my drill press to make sure I don't drill the hole out.

If I do, I may have to replace the trim with a thicker piece of teak. The good news is the trim is long but very simple and it will be easy to mill a replacement.

[Searles]

Shilac or oil based varnish ,but if possible deepen the plug holes to at least 3/8 or ten mills shallow plugs may not stay in ,if nit possible to deepen the holes good glue is the way to go,.⚓️⛵️

[capalfie]

Originally Posted by n5ama

I’m refinishing the teak toe rail on my Cape Dory 25D. I’ve sanded it all down to brown wood and will be applying Awlwood primer and varnish as soon as the “feels like” temperature drops below 165-175 degrees in the afternoon.

My question is about the teak trim and handrails I removed from the cabin. I removed them so I could do a good job of sanding all surfaces, including the bottom, and varnishing them in a more pleasant environment.

The trim had 3/8” plugs at the screw locations and the handrail had 1/2” teak plugs. My plan is to get the required 8 coats of Awlwood on the pieces and re-install them on the boat with tape sealant on the screws.

Since the new plugs are unfinished, I’ll have to tap the plugs in place, cut the proud part of the plug and sand flush with the trim and hand rail. I will apply the Awlwood primer and then another few coats of varnish to the top surface of the trim and hand rail that I sanded.

My question is, do I apply some adhesive on the plug before tapping it in place. It can’t take much because the hole for the plug is less than 1/4” deep.

Also, are there any suggestions about my technique for this operation? Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

Hello,

right now I am working on my more than 30 years old teak deck. When I find a loose bung, I remove it, then remove the screw, clean the hole of debris and dirty. Clean the screw if needed, seal the hole and the screw theads with a bit of butyl tape, and put back the screw to its corresponding hole. I forgot to mention that if after removing the hole I notice the hole is less than perfect or too shallow I work a bit perfecting it, either by sanding or using a 3/8 drill bit, but just enough to make it a little deeper, 1mm or less. And finally put back the screw and use some epoxy resin mixed with teak dust for color and if some strength is need, (i.e. the hole is not perfectly round or has dents and scratches around), I add some glass fiber dust the the mix and blended. Then I just touch the mix with the bung, and place the bung over the screw inside the hole, first with my hand, in minutes with a small mallet. 48 hs later, a good quality chisel or Japanese knife will remove the excess of bung and later 80 or 120 grit sanding papel or orbital and..voilà! No more water leaks, perfect bond, and it will last more than me...

My two cents,
Cap Alfie

[n5ama]

Thanks Captain Alfie!
I'm using most of the elements you are suggesting including the Butyl tape wrapped around the screws. My screw to fiberglass contact is really good, probably because the 10' trim piece has a screw every 6" and there is no load or movement caused by foot traffic. It's on the side of the cabin and there are no leaks,

I'll use a Fostner bit to slightly deepen the screw holes in the trim, install the trim and drive my plugs in. I've drilled a hole in another piece of wood with the Fostner bit to test the fit of the plug and it is nicely tight. I will shave the proud plugs with one of my sharp chisels and don't expect to need any sanding.

I've got 5 coats of Allwood on the trim, so I'll install the trim with plugs and then apply the Allwood primer to the plugs. I'll spot apply the Allwood clear to the plugs and then apply two more coats of clear on just the top surface of the trim and plugs.

Pending the results of this process on the trim, I'll do the same for the handrails. Pulling the teak off the boat for working at home has provided several advantages for me. It has allowed me to do a better job with the sanding (I sanded between each coat). It allows me to make sure my coats are dry. The primer coat took more than a day to dry. The clear coats dried a whole lot faster.

The other major advantage was the temperature at clear lake. A typical afternoon has a feels like temperature over 150 degrees in the shade. My shop is located 50 miles north of the marina and has feels like temps at 108-110 degrees. When you are 76 this is a big deal.

Thanks,
Tom

[n5ama]

So far so good on the plug replacement. I was having a problem keeping the butyl on the end of the screw prior to scewing the trim in place, so I plugged the screw holes with a small ball of butyl and that seemed to work.

After screwing the trim in place I dipped the plugs in some Allgrip primer and tapped them in place. I probably have less than 1/4” plug in the hole before it bottomed out against the screw but that was as deep as I dared drilling the trim holes and still have 1/8” left at the bottom for the shoulder of the screw.

I let the primer set for 24 hours to make sure it was dry and went back with a VERY sharp chisel to trim the protruding plugs. All trimmed nicely except for one that had less than straight grain and that one dipped below the top edge of the trim a small amount.

I locally applied some primer to the tops of the freshly trimmed plugs and will go back with several coats of Allwood clear applied just to the plugs before 2 more coats of clear applied on the top surface of my trim. This will give the trim 8 coats of clear. Now with fingers crossed, I hope the Allgrip Allwood finish will last long enough to justify all this trouble.

Tom