Winter wood working

[dmksails]

I'm moored in Port Townsend in the Pacific NW. My boat needs to have it's woodwork stripped and refinished. I'm wondering if I could do the stripping work now in-between rains, then do the actually re-varnish in the spring when the weather turns nice again.

I had one person at the dock suggest that it would not be a problem for the wood to be bare over the winter. Any thoughts on that?

[fahtcha]

Base on my I experience, you will need to re-sand the wood before finishing in the spring. I personally would leave the wood to that much exposure, but it shouldn't be a huge issue.

[Shrew]

The wood will more than likely start to grey and require it be re-sanded in the spring.

The wood stands a chance to absorb moisture. This can cause expansion. Not enough to cause deformity, but you might start getting some texture in the grain.

My vote would be to NOT do this. Unfortunately, now you have a 50/50 split of opposing views. now what?

[atmartin]

Your wood look like teak nonstructural trim.

If schedule-wise it works better for you to strip it now, go for it. Teak is just about the most dimensionally stable wood there is and shouldn't move around too much bare. Your finish is shot anyway.

Also, I see no reason you can't get a couple of thin sealer/build-up coats on between the rains. If it's more than 50 degrees for a few hours and dry for more than six (just making up numbers really, this isn't laboratory science) it'll cure eventually.

If you're going to varnish in cold weather, I'd also recommend Epifanes. In my experience, best varnish to work with in cold weather. Never had a problem with cure. You'll probably need to pre-heat it to help flow.

Advice is worth what you paid for it.

[atoll]

strip and apply danish oil,tung oil it will protect the wood over the winter and reduce the amount of prep work you need to do in the spring when applying varnish,add white spirit and thin danish oil a bit for best results in lower temperatures.

[rbk]

I plan to try and cover smaller sections (like the portside cap rail) strip, sika, sand, and get a coat or two of thinned epifanes to seal it up. Then lite sand and more coats when it's nicer weather. IMO that's easier than sanding the grey out in the spring and is manageable in a weekend. Boats in SE Alaska.