How best to restore woodwork?

[ash2020]

I've just taken ownership of a delightful new boat. She's the prototype Yachting World 5 tonner, designed by Robert Clark and built in 1947, just slightly older than I am. She's in great condition, new rigging, lovely Beta engine and I'm really looking forward to getting her on the water in Fowey, Cornwall. I would like to start gently restoring her to concours condition but, although I had a woodworking business for over 20 years, I have to admit I'm a bit stumped as to how to bring to woodwork back to good condition. I'm suffering a bit from arthritis so not keen on too much hand sanding and not a fan of traditional shiny yacht varnish. Any suggestions as to the best way to get back to clean timber and a good finish? Will the dark stains ever come out?

 

[steveeasy]

What a great project. Could look really nice indeed. A good scrapper and heat gun. One that you pull. A palm sander with fine pads. Sugar soap to remove dark stains.
I use international goldspar. It’s a satin finish varnish. So much easier than gloss and with three coats looks and feels great.

Will take some work but slow and steady and she will look as good as new.
Steveeasy

 

[Tranona]

No escaping lots of hard graft. my preferred methods are either heat gun or chemical stripper depending on the type of coating you are removing and often a combination of the two. A Bacho scraper is the tool of choice followed by sanding. Staining responds to bleach if light or oxalid acid. Use a modern woodstains such as Sikkens HLS/Cetol7 or International Woodskin which is cheaper and easier to apply but not so durable, but better than most conventional yacht varnishes.

 

[johnalison]

Wow. That will look fantastic. If I were to attempt to give you advice on the wood it would be like me trying to advise Lester Pigott, based on my ability to ride a bike, but I think that Tranona is right, just detailed hard work.

 

[Wansworth]

Could you afford someone to scrap off back to bare wood and then continue if arthritis is aproblem

 

[ash2020]

What a great project. Could look really nice indeed. A good scrapper and heat gun. One that you pull. A palm sander with fine pads. Sugar soap to remove dark stains.
I use international goldspar. It’s a satin finish varnish. So much easier than gloss and with three coats looks and feels great.

Will take some work but slow and steady and she will look as good as new.
Steveeasy

Thank you Steve. I didn't know sugar soap removed stains. That's good to know. I guess the thing is not to try and think about the whole thing but just a small area at a time. Goldspar sounds good. I'm anxious not to make it too yellowy.

 

[ash2020]

No escaping lots of hard graft. my preferred methods are either heat gun or chemical stripper depending on the type of coating you are removing and often a combination of the two. A Bacho scraper is the tool of choice followed by sanding. Staining responds to bleach if light or oxalid acid. Use a modern woodstains such as Sikkens HLS/Cetol7 or International Woodskin which is cheaper and easier to apply but not so durable, but better than most conventional yacht varnishes.

Thanks Tranona. I do have a Bahco but I've never used it with heat, more as a cabinet scraper. Great suggestion, oxalic acid. Thanks for the stain suggestions too.

 

[ash2020]

Wow. That will look fantastic. If I were to attempt to give you advice on the wood it would be like me trying to advise Lester Pigott, based on my ability to ride a bike, but I think that Tranona is right, just detailed hard work.

You're right, no getting away from hard work! Thanks.

 

[ash2020]

Could you afford someone to scrap off back to bare wood and then continue if arthritis is aproblem

Sadly, I'm afraid not. Cash strapped always. I'll have to grin and bear it. Thanks.

 

[Wansworth]

Sadly, I'm afraid not. Cash strapped always. I'll have to grin and bear it. Thanks.

Inbeween scraping can you post more photos,always nice to see a proper small yacht

 

[Tranona]

Just to give you some encouragement here are some shots of my GH after treatment. Not quite as bad as yours originally but pretty grim. Finish is Woodskin

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Sadly, I'm afraid not. Cash strapped always. I'll have to grin and bear it. Thanks.

It’s your penance for being stupid enough to buy a proper wooden boat. Welcome to the club.

 

[steveeasy]

Nothing more satisfying than hammering varnish on in spring sunshine.
Steveeasy

 

[pandos]

Second the advice on the heat gun and scraper. Just realized myself how easy it is.

Also don't underestimate the value of a good gentle wash on everything before you start. Not alone does this take away filth but I find it brings your attention to things that you may never notice otherwise.

I found Detol mould and mildew remover to be very good and convenient for dealing with black stains..

Its a bit slow but very handy in the spray bottle..

Nice looking boat...

 

[Tranona]

Another thought. The very best thing to preserve the cockpit is a cover such as the one in the photo of my boat, particularly if the cokpit is not self draining. some photos of my Eventide which was all wood. Taken in 2019 after being laid up for 9 years . Most of the brightwork (Woodskin) was 12-15 years old at that point and only the cabin sides needed a fresh coat. The teak deck was laid in 2011/2. The mast is finished in Sikkens. The cockpit varnish and teak dates from mid 90's, but always covered when boat was not in use.

 

[ash2020]

Just to give you some encouragement here are some shots of my GH after treatment. Not quite as bad as yours originally but pretty grim. Finish is Woodskin

What a lovely job. Well done.

 

[ash2020]

Second the advice on the heat gun and scraper. Just realized myself how easy it is.

Also don't underestimate the value of a good gentle wash on everything before you start. Not alone does this take away filth but I find it brings your attention to things that you may never notice otherwise.

I found Detol mould and mildew remover to be very good and convenient for dealing with black stains..

Its a bit slow but very handy in the spray bottle..

Nice looking boat...

Thank you. Good ideas.

 

[ash2020]

Another thought. The very best thing to preserve the cockpit is a cover such as the one in the photo of my boat, particularly if the cokpit is not self draining. some photos of my Eventide which was all wood. Taken in 2019 after being laid up for 9 years . Most of the brightwork (Woodskin) was 12-15 years old at that point and only the cabin sides needed a fresh coat. The teak deck was laid in 2011/2. The mast is finished in Sikkens. The cockpit varnish and teak dates from mid 90's, but always covered when boat was not in use.

Lovely! There is a cover that covers the cockpit. I'm mainly worried about the dark stains on the mast and cabin.

 

[Tranona]

Stains on solid timber are usually less of a problem than on veneered plywood, but I guess your boat might not have much of that. Once you get the old coating off you can assess how severe it is. That mast was fairly well protected when the boat was laid up having been coated in Sikkens, but it was on an open rack and the exposed third had failed. It was a very good piece of Douglas fir and I managed to get most of the staining out with oxalid acid solution and sanding. It took about a week on and off to strip it and another week to coat it in SikkensHLS/Cetol7. This is the same stuff I use on the barge boards of my house and some (using an earlier formulation) have been up for 30 years. The light tint on the mast looked great and to my eyes much nicer than fancy yacht varnish.

Your cabin bulkheads look in quite good nick. In general vertical faces fare well, but horizontal like your cockpit seats are difficult to keep looking good. You can see on the Eventide that I covered the seats in 1.5mm strips of teak construction veneers available from the Veneer Hub. I am doing similar on the GH and have done the aft end of the coachroof under the sprayhood so far. Not doing the rest of the deck as it is Treadmaster, but have enough veneer to do the cockpit if I can summon up the energy to remove the Treadmaster! Not difficult or expensive to do. The Eventide cockpit was done in around 1990 as a post Christmas project. That was laid on epoxy but now I use CT1 for adhesive and sika for caulking.

Old boats are hard work but once you get them up to scratch with good materials, particularly coatings not difficult to keep in good shape.