Interior refit question

[butler_tim]

Hi all,

My first post!

I've just bought a 28" Sailing Yacht (Salty Dog 28). I'm picking her up in a couple of weeks time and already planning on refreshing the interior.

The interior is pretty tidy to be honest, but the previous owner has varnished the marine plywood with about 5 coats of clear varnish (i assume this is standard practice to keep moisture out)

What I'd like to do is sand it back and apply a iron veneer. By applying a iron on veneer and edging, is this sufficient to keep moisture out of the plywood? or should i treat the plywood first? I'm assuming i cannot apply a veneer directly to a varnised plywood surface.

I'd love to also see some pictures of restored interiors, especially the sink area for inspiration. But maybe thats a separate post.

Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Tim

 

[Tranona]

Varnish is decorative if the bulkheads are marine ply. Presumably you don't like the colour/finish. There are ways of changing this. The ply will probably have a decorative veneer on it anyway, so you could strip it back, see what the underlying veneer is like and re-finish using a stain if you don't like the colour, or one of the matt/satin finishes which enhance the wood but without a shine.

Re-veneering vertical panels is a tricky job and if it goes wrong looks awful. An alternative which I have used is to paint the bulkheads matt white if they are very dark and increase the amount of good quality wood trim. Break large expanses up with something like pictures or bookshelves and the effect is a transformation for little cost.

With regard to galleys, tiles can be useful to lift boring bits and replacing plain locker doors with wood framed sliding perspex is a useful technique.

 

[butler_tim]

Hi Tranona,

Yep I'm not a fan of the shiny finish, it feels a bit tacky. I should never have gone to the Southampton boat show last weekend, its given me too many ideas


Thanks for the advice. I think i need to get some pics of interiors next.

 

[Tranona]

Hi Tranona,

Yep I'm not a fan of the shiny finish, it feels a bit tacky. I should never have gone to the Southampton boat show last weekend, its given me too many ideas


Thanks for the advice. I think i need to get some pics of interiors next.

Then a strip and refinish in Epifanes rubbed finish should do the job. Be careful with removing the old varnish the method depends on type and you may find the face veneer thin so don't go mad with sanding. Try an inconspicuous bit first.

 

[xtiffer]

Carefully strip back to bare wood ( veneers are always VERY thin)
then build up coats with Epifanes gloss (easier to see errors).
Finally carefully apply one coat of Epifanes Rubbed Effect Varnish.
Walk away and leave it for 8 hours; if no holidays or runs then all done.
Cheers,
Chris

 

[joliette]

Hi all,

My first post!

I've just bought a 28" Sailing Yacht (Salty Dog 28). I'm picking her up in a couple of weeks time and already planning on refreshing the interior.

The interior is pretty tidy to be honest, but the previous owner has varnished the marine plywood with about 5 coats of clear varnish (i assume this is standard practice to keep moisture out)

What I'd like to do is sand it back and apply a iron veneer. By applying a iron on veneer and edging, is this sufficient to keep moisture out of the plywood? or should i treat the plywood first? I'm assuming i cannot apply a veneer directly to a varnised plywood surface.

I'd love to also see some pictures of restored interiors, especially the sink area for inspiration. But maybe thats a separate post.

Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Tim

You could try a structural veneer. These are about 2 - 3 mm thick and available in many different hardwoods from the likes of Robbins. You'd need to strip off the old varnish and use a good quality adhesive such as epoxy, balcotan or even an exterior PVA wood glue. An alternative (more modern?) approach would be to make up interior linings - 4 mm plywood panels covered with your choice of vinyl - that can be screwed into position.

I'm facing some of these issues on my current project http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=179427293999 I built a galley area and vanity unit in the heads some time ago.