Furniture Polish Down Below ?

[LONG_KEELER]

Well I have just done mine and it only took 20 minutes. The dirt comes off as well and a shiny finish remains.

Best of all it smells great with a choice of fragrances.

Any other users of this fantastic process ?

 

[pvb]

Always keep a spray can in the boat. Also good for removing sticky label residue.

 

[RivalRedwing]

You are referring to the cabin of a boat?

 

[Caraway]

I tend to just use soap and water.

 

[graham]

On a serious note I would be concerned about the polish soaking into the wood and making it difficult to re varnish if any residue remained in the grain after sanding.

 

[thinwater]

On a serious note I would be concerned about the polish soaking into the wood and making it difficult to re varnish if any residue remained in the grain after sanding.

This. Refinishing waxed furniture is a nightmare. Revarnishing in the cabin is simple and easy if it has never been waxed. I've revarnished cabins that have never been waxed, and I have refinished waxed furniture, cursing the fool that loved wax for hours.

Never on my boat. If you like the smell, use an air freshener. If you want it clean, wipe it down with a cleaner. But don't contaminate it with wax.

 

[johnalison]

The wood inside our boat is satin rather than shiny and I wouldn’t dream of doing anything other than lightly clean it.

 

[jdc]

I (or, to be more accurate swmbo) use furniture polish frequently. There is a down-side: It takes as much as 20 seconds per square meter to remove when we want to revarnish. But, imho, it's worth making the whole sailing experience as nice as you can for family and guests,: are you after a monastic, masculine, cell or a shared family holiday (or lurve pad come to that)?

 

[WoodyP]

If it's polished why would you varnish it?

 

[ashtead]

Great for cleaning hood windows and down below. A man who had many classic cars used for weddings told me he always used to give a quick sparkle before any new wedding etc.

 

[penfold]

This. Refinishing waxed furniture is a nightmare. Revarnishing in the cabin is simple and easy if it has never been waxed. I've revarnished cabins that have never been waxed, and I have refinished waxed furniture, cursing the fool that loved wax for hours.

Never on my boat. If you like the smell, use an air freshener. If you want it clean, wipe it down with a cleaner. But don't contaminate it with wax.

It's not wax, it's the silicones in some polishes; they play havoc with paint and varnish, leaving fisheyes everywhere.

 

[PaulRainbow]

If you cannot wax your wood because it will make varnishing next to impossible, how can it be possible to spray your car, after all of those coats of wax ? How is it possible to make repairs to your gelcoat after years of waxing the hull ?

It's a nonsense. All you need to do is give it a wipe over with some automotive panel wipe (no doubt other substances will work too). It's what refinishing trades use and it will remove wax and silicon, so no fish eyes either.

 

[reeac]

I've found that polish based on citrus oil cleans very effectively and leaves a pleasant slight perfume.

 

[LONG_KEELER]

I decided a few years ago to give up on varnish. It's fine if you can take bits home in the winter time to play with , but everything topsides is now the rather in" grey colour . I tried Woodskin but it wasn't for me. Not that I dislike varnished boats .

This coming winter I will be stripping all the internal varnish.

A while back, I spoke to the chap
who runs the boat paint shop. He confirmed that previously polished silicones are no problem at all .

 

[pyrojames]

A lot of my cabinetry is French polished rather than varnished, so I have a can of furniture wax on board.

 

[thinwater]

If you cannot wax your wood because it will make varnishing next to impossible, how can it be possible to spray your car, after all of those coats of wax ? How is it possible to make repairs to your gelcoat after years of waxing the hull ?

It's a nonsense. All you need to do is give it a wipe over with some automotive panel wipe (no doubt other substances will work too). It's what refinishing trades use and it will remove wax and silicon, so no fish eyes either.

Cars and gelcoat yes, but with varnish, that has not been my experience, more than once. Varnish is not gel coat or autofinish.

• If there are any failures the wax will get into the wood then it will not wipe off.
• Wax penetrates into the varnish. It does not sit on top as it will with auto finishes and gelcoat.

General Finishes--Recommendations for Finishing over Waxed Varnish

 

[pvb]

How often do people plan to re-varnish their internal woodwork? My last boat was 24 years old when I sold it, and the internal woodwork was in fine condition and had only ever been damp-wiped or spray polished.

 

[thinwater]

How often do people plan to re-varnish their internal woodwork? My last boat was 24 years old when I sold it, and the internal woodwork was in fine condition and had only ever been damp-wiped or spray polished.

Obviously, this depends on use and kids. Baby it, perhaps more than 24 years. Put it in hard cruising use, far less. I've seen many charter boats that needed more than varnish after just 5 years; it was simply worn off.

 

[Alfredmylne]

Jeez, I thought at first this was about personal hygiene.