Has anyone revamped their interior?

C

carl170

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halcyon23.blogspot.co.uk
Hi all.

My new boat has a VERY dark 1970's interior, that has been restained even darker. It is pretty horrible and quite depressing down below!

I would like to brighten it up somewhat,but am not too sure how to go about it.

I had though about sanding down the doors etc and some of the wooden edging and then varnishing them with a light honey colour stain.

Once the varnished bits were done, I then though perhaps I could paint the remaining wood a cream colour, after carefully masking off the newly varnished bits.

Has anyone done something similar? How would the professionals do it? what colours did you use?

also, does woodstain actually sand out?(!)

I would LOVE to see any pictures people may have of anyone who has done something similar.

Regards

Carl

PS I can take photos at the weekend if anyone would like to see them?
 
Everyone's taste varies, but personally I do like the "white panels, oiled-hardwood trim" look. You do need to make sure you have enough "stuff" to break up the white, though - whether it's simply enough bits of trim or whether it's pictures, bookshelves, lamps, swivelling plant-pots, etc. Otherwise the effect can be a bit too reminiscent of an Army sail-training yacht - relentlessly practical, excellent for six tough men in a gale in the Western Approaches, but not in the least bit homely.

I'm not convinced that trying to lighten the wood will be effective, but maybe it won't be necessary if it's just an accent against white or cream.

Pete
 
I have always felt that small sail boats are just too ambitious in the furniture they fit. It makes the boat seem claustrophobic and often is not practical. Obviously on bigtger boats say over 27 ft then there is room for furniture. Yes a light colour in large areas will give more reflected light and lift the mood. You might consider simply attaching panels of light ply wood with foam and cloth covering or even wall paper over bulkheads and large dark areas. I do think it will be difficult to significantly lighten large areas of wood stain.
goood luck olewill
 
If some the areas you intend to sand are plywood with a hardwood veneer, proceed with caution. The veneer can be very thin and you might easily sand straight through it.
 
I would not sand much at all. Hope that the original varnish comes off. I used hot air gun to soften, then scrape off with quality scraper such as Bahco Carbide. Practice on a non visable bit first so you get to know the right amount of heat. Hopefully should be down to bare wood quickly then very lightly sand.
 
much prefer a painted interior. when i had the seawych i sanded all the ugly varnish off and painted with matt white. much brighter and cleaner
 
I had the same issue with a dark sad interior, but I do like wood. So I painted parts of it to make it a bit brighter & leaving some wood to enhance the appearance. I would do a bit at a time until you're happy with the appearance. Once it's been painted you can't go back & I've seen some which have been painted all over & I think it looks yuk.

View attachment 37433
 
I should have said our interior was dark and tired but you will be amazed how much lighter it looks when you get down to bare wood. After you varnish it, it will/should look warm and glow, not dark.
 
I'm in the process of doing this. First was putting off-white Formica on the saloon table, and painting the underneath white. This alone made a huge difference.

Next job is to use some similar colour kitchen cabinet resurfacing film to cover the inlay on all the lockers.

Then recovering the settee, I'm a bit scared of this.

Last job will matching Formica on the galley work-top, but this could be difficult (there is another thread about this).
 
Simonpk said:
I had the same issue with a dark sad interior, but I do like wood. So I painted parts of it to make it a bit brighter & leaving some wood to enhance the appearance. I would do a bit at a time until you're happy with the appearance. Once it's been painted you can't go back & I've seen some which have been painted all over & I think it looks yuk.

View attachment 37433
Click to expand...

That looks pretty good!

I think I will take a locker seat off (it has been stained too). I will get the stain off the underside and test a a little varnishing.

Thanks for all your input (and photo) so far!

Best wishes

Carl
 
White headlining is good.
Lighter upholstery.
Even a small clear hatch in the deck can make a huge difference, and it's nice for ventilation too.
 
http://s1090.photobucket.com/user/vert1go1/media/IMG_1113.jpg.html

http://s1090.photobucket.com/user/vert1go1/media/IMG_2866.jpg.html




I took a slightly different route, my lower saloon was ALL dark wood, to brighten it up , I used spray glue to attach rot proof carpet underlay to the panel as a soft feel, then spray glued a vynl cover over the top of that, stretched out and then stapled the edges to prevent it peeling or coming loose and then used small teak battens to screw in over the staples and tidy the edges.

i used this technique on SOME of the teak bulkheads , so there is a combination of lighter and soft vynl and old school varnished teak, the finish is easily achieved and wasn't too expensive, its really nice in the winter months as it stays warm to the touch and contributes to the insulation.
 
Last edited:
nigelmercier said:
I'm in the process of doing this. First was putting off-white Formica on the saloon table, and painting the underneath white. This alone made a huge difference.

Next job is to use some similar colour kitchen cabinet resurfacing film to cover the inlay on all the lockers.

Then recovering the settee, I'm a bit scared of this.

Last job will matching Formica on the galley work-top, but this could be difficult (there is another thread about this).
Click to expand...

I second the recommendation for Formica. Have used it extensively to replace tired wood, tiles and even headlining panels.
Trimming it is not that hard (sharp scissors will do) and then glue it in place with epoxy mixed with colloidal silica.
It can be bought in very large sheets or slighter smaller ones which are door skins. Both will roll up and go in the back seat of a car.

Here are the heads before and after. The off-white is Formica.
 
The varnished bulkheads on my old Albin Ballad had an awful lot of holes from umpteen barometer and clock sets. I covered it all with matt white formica. Looked really smart with the original teak trim. Bit of a sod templating and fitting the formica though.
 
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